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Nathan'ette
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The
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Monday, October 08, 2012
Politics
Published December 28, 2011
“Is James Richard Perry throwing in the
towel”
by Nathan’ette
Burdine-Follow on
Twitter@nbnylemagazine
Actions
are the most visible signs of what a person is thinking. Over the course of two months, James Richard Perry’s
actions suggest he may be thinking about throwing in the towel.
Perry has gone from retracting his “heartless” statement, signing the
Conservative Pledge, going off on Romney during the Nevada debate, behaving
strangely during his New Hampshire press conference, to forgetting the three
agencies he would eliminate as president. The
earliest sign that Perry was having a change of heart about his chances of
becoming the Republican Presidential nominee occurred after the CNN/Tea Party
debate held in Orlando, Florida.
Perry’s
poll numbers began plummeting after he was booed at the CNN/Tea Party
debate in Florida for referring to individuals as “heartless” if they did
not agree with him approving a bill allowing illegal immigrants’ children to
receive free in-state tuition. Within
that moment, Perry appeared to support illegal immigration.
Due to Perry not extending the same benefit of free in-state tuition to
US’ citizens who were not Texas’ residents, it became a question about if
the rights of American citizens were being suppressed in favor of illegal
immigrants’ rights. Perry’s
“heartless” comments had some voters wondering how deep was his relationship
with Mexico, and if a Perry presidency meant Mexico would be given open access
to the United States by-way of his allege “pay to play” system.
While Perry was on the campaign trail, there were some voters standing
with signs saying that Perry was a supporter of Mexico.
After all, Mexico is Texas’ biggest foreign investor and contributor to
the state’s economy, with oil being the biggest commodity.
On CNN’s “American Morning,”
John Washburn, the president of the Open Records Requests, stated that
there is the feeling that Perry is just in it for himself and he just loves the
office and the power that comes with it. So
in an effort to not appear selfish or create any further distance between
himself and the Republican base, Perry retracted his “heartless” comment and
apologized to the voters. However, Perry’s apology didn’t have the affect of
countering the anger Republican voters have with him for his support of free
in-state tuition for illegal immigrants’ children.
According to a Fox News poll taken during the last week of
September, Perry was removed from his number one spot.
Mitt Romney polled in at 23%, Rick Perry polled in at 19%, and Herman
Cain polled in at 17%. And during the first week in October, Qunnipac University
released its poll numbers with Mitt Romney at 24%, Herman Cain at 18%, and Rick
Perry at 15%, while a CBS poll showed Romney and Cain tied at 17% and
Perry polling in at 12%.
Perry
seemed to recognize things had taken a downward spiral and his chances of being
number one again were slim to none. So
on September 29, 2011, he took a step backwards by signing the Conservative
Pledge promising to limit the power of the federal government over the states.
This decision was in contrast to the decision Perry made, after entering
into the race, when he decided not to follow the lead of his fellow Tea Partier,
Michelle Bachmann, who signed the Conservative Pledge.
At that time, Perry behaved as if he did not want to be associated with
controversial issues, like the Conservative Pledge, because he was trying to
position himself as a general election candidate and a serious contender for the
presidential race. However,
Perry’s position on immigration hindered his ability to appeal to the general
and far right of the Republican Party to the point that they had chosen
Perry’s replacement, Herman Cain.
The
clearest sign that Herman Cain had taken over Rick Perry’s number one spot
occurred during the New Hampshire debate where Cain took Perry’s familiar
position of standing next to the Republican Party’s top contender, Mitt
Romney. Perry sat on the sidelines
watching as Romney and Cain had it out over Cain’s 9-9-9 plan, which according
to Chris Matthews, was mentioned 25 times during the debate. When Perry did have a chance to say something, he sounded
more robotic than natural. His
answers suggested he was coached and he was trying his best to remember the
correct answers to the questions. Yet,
the reality of his new position in the Republican Presidential race proved too
much for Perry and he decided to just be himself.
During
the Nevada debate, Perry’s demeanor changed from controlled to
confrontational. This was unlike
the first four debates where Perry did not allow Mitt Romney’s questions about
his immigration policy or inability to be economically sound dissuade him. While during the Nevada debate, Perry became so upset with
Romney that he turned blood shot red and raised his voice and called Mitt Romney
a “liar.” This did not go well
with the Republican voters. After
the debate, voters were asked who won and according to Red Dog Report,
Ron Paul came in first with 54%, then Mitt Romney with 19%, Herman Cain came in
third with 12%, Newt Gingrich had 8%, while Perry had 5%.
The bad news for Perry continued after Quinnipac University released its
poll numbers showing that Perry was pushed down to the number four spot and
replaced by the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, while Herman Cain
and Mitt Romney remained in their number 1 and number 2 spots.
The
further push down the Republican Presidential nominee ladder resulted in Perry
blaming his new position as number four on what he believes is an unfair debate
structure and a shorten time period to answer questions.
On CNN’s “John King Reports,” Ray Sullivan, Perry’s
Spokesman, stated that the campaign believes it can make more in roads if Perry
is spending more time in Town Hall meetings talking with voters than appearing
in debates. Rick Perry’s strategy
is to remove the politically correct veil and reveal the true James Richard
Perry who is extremely loose and carefree.
This was evident during the New Hampshire press conference where Perry
jokingly explained his economic plan, expanding the state’s tax footprint, and
growing up on a farm. During his
press conference, Perry gave a wide smile as he explained how all voters have to
do is fill out an index form card stating if they wanted to keep the current tax
code or apply his tax code. Perry
then lean forward and said, “States can expand their tax footprint.
If you know what I mean.” Perry’s
behavior was out of context for a potential presidential candidate and resulted
in some wondering if Perry had received just a little too much Novocain, while
others wondered if he was high, drunk, or both.
Dallas Morning’s Walter Slater explained Rick Perry’s behavior
as Rick Perry just being Rick Perry. However,
Rick Perry just being Rick Perry is not something that is getting wide
acceptance.
Every
since Perry entered into the race, the attention on him and the comparison to a
fellow Texan, former President George W. Bush, increased. On MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews”,
Walter Slater stated that Texas’ Republicans couldn’t picture Perry as
president but they could picture George W. Bush as president. Some have also said that people in Texas can’t picture
Perry in a job that requires an actual thought process.
And if asked to think outside the box and be innovative, Perry would give
a blank stare like, “huh?” Perry’s
“huh” moment came during the Republican Presidential debate held in
Rochester, MI, after the candidates were asked how they would fix the political
gridlock in Washington D.C.
Perry
stated that he believes Republicans and Democrats can work together, but he
believes the problem is that neither side has a plan.
According to Perry, he will have a plan that doesn’t have strict
regulatory laws resulting in companies loosing a considerable amount of their
profits. As an example, he cited
how he was able to persuade Caterpillar to build its hydraulics and engine
manufacturing plants in Texas. Perry
continued by emphasizing how his flat tax plan will allow businesses to grow by
creating a balance budget by the year 2020, and freeing up the regulatory
climate so the economy can grow. Perry
then turned towards Ron Paul and said, ““And I will tell ya…it’s three
agencies of government when I get there that are gone Commerce, Education, and
the uhhh, uhhh. What’s the third
one there? Let’s see, Comm….” Ron Paul responded by holding up five fingers and saying,
“You need five.” Perry then
held up five fingers and said, “Oh,
five , ok, so Commerce, Education, and uhhh, the uhhh, the um, um.” Mitt Romney saw Perry in distress and decided to throw him a
lifeline by telling Perry that the third agency was the EPA.
Perry turned towards Romney’s direction, smiled, and said, “The uh
EPA. There you go.”
The moderator asked Perry if he was serious when he said that he would
get rid of the EPA. Perry responded
by saying that the EPA needs to be rebuilt.
However, when Perry was pressed on the issue again, he said, “The third
agency of government I would I would do away with the Education, uh, the uh,
Commerce, and let’s see, I can’t. The
third one I can’t, sorry. Oops.”
The
Republican Party has made it clear that their objective is to make President
Obama a one-term president. During
the earlier phases of the primary, Perry seemed to be the candidate who would
make good on the Republican Party’s wish.
He is a southerner from the big state of Texas and he could get the Tea
Party and southern votes. Unlike
Romney, Perry appeared to be the candidate who would alter the political map so
that President Obama would have to walk on water in order to become president
again. And although Perry’s
debate performances were not that good, Republicans were willing to overlook
that considering how another Texan, former President George W. Bush, performed
during debates. However, Perry’s
star quickly faded and his opponents got the bright lights shined upon them once
Perry committed the cardinal sin for all Republicans by showing support for
illegal immigration. Perry’s
“heartless” comment about people who didn’t approve of him giving free
in-state tuition to illegal immigrants’ children dimmed any bright lights that
would have guided him down the yellow brick road into the Oval Office.
Questions increased about his alleged “pay to play” system and his
relationship to Texas’ biggest foreign investor, Mexico.
Greater attention was given to Perry’s inability to expand his
thoughts. His poll numbers began to
take a deep-water dive and he went from a number one contender to number four.
And Perry’s actions suggest that after looking at all of these factors,
he knows the Republicans are not willing to risk the chance of President Obama
becoming a two-term president by matching Perry against him. So Perry has decided to just throw in the towel, let
everything out, and just be himself.
Email-nathanette.burdine@thenylemagazine.com
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