Posted in: Blog, Voices of the Tea Party
Many Texas Tea Partiers Aren’t Thrilled With a Rick Perry Presidential Campaign
Since the beginning of the Tea Party movement, I’ve frequently pointed out that much of the energy of the movement emanates from Texas. In many respects, the Lone Star State stands as the last bastion of American individualism. The steadfast commitment of its straight talking, no nonsense, “Don’t Mess With Texas” citizens gives encouragement and inspiration to the rest of us around the country.
For this reason, when my tea party friends in Texas talk to me about anything, I listen with great interest.
Here’s what many of them are telling me about the possibility of their Governor, Rick Perry, running for the Republican Presidential nomination:
Tea partiers in Texas aren’t crying out for Rick Perry to run for President, and they definitely aren’t referring to him as a tea party candidate. Instead, it’s a very savvy and experienced Rick Perry media team that is promoting the “meme” of Perry as a tea party Governor.
Elected officials who want to have a relationship with the Tea Party movement and want to be known as tea party candidates or elected officials seek out tea party people. They meet with them and ask their opinion. Perry, my friends say, shuts out all tea party voices. He doesn’t meet with tea partiers or talk with them to seek either their guidance or their support.
Rick Perry also has a track record of more than ten years as Governor to define himself, and many Texas tea partiers find him lacking in areas that matter most to them.
Here are some specific examples they cite:
Immigration reform – Governor Perry said that Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 was “not right for Texas.” His positions on sanctuary cities and in-state tuition for illegals have also been problematic.
Fiscal responsibility – Governor Perry recently “gave away” the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” without even putting up a fight.
Education – The State Board of Education has long been a target for liberals because of the nationwide influence of the textbook selections made by the State of Texas. Governor Perry refused to join the recent textbook fight, in which the proponents of returning to a more traditional constitutionalist view of America opposed those who favor a more revisionist left-wing view.
Practical Politics – Since the explosion of the Tea Party movement in Texas, there has been an all-out war within the Texas GOP between the liberals and the conservatives. Perry has had every opportunity to step in and side with the conservatives, but he refuses to take a stand. In Texas today, the most powerful political person in the state is House Speaker Joe Straus, a man who follows a very left wing liberal agenda. Governor Perry has done nothing to stop that agenda.
These insights from my tea party friends throughout Texas suggest, once again, the need for a Voices of the Tea Party e-book that rates the various Presidential candidates on the degree to which they support the core values of the Tea Party movement.
I close by noting it’s entirely possible that my network of tea party friends in Texas is far from comprehensive, and I welcome any comments or guest contributions from Texas tea party supporters who have a different view of Governor Perry.
Michael Patrick Leahy is the editor of the Voices of the Tea Party e-book series and co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter and the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition. His new e-book, I, Light Bulb: A Death Row Testimonial, will be published in July, 2011. His new book, Covenant of Liberty, will be published by Broadside Books in spring, 2012. He can be reached on Twitter at @michaelpleahy .
I admit I am troubled. I have been following Texas for some time now as a barometer for the conservative movement around the country. I think of it as a conservative version of California.
I remember many of the incidents listed in the post. I actually shook with rage when Gov. Perry announced that the Arizona Illegal Immigration Law was “not right for Texas.” He has never been the front runner in my mind.
At this point, I’m not overly excited about any of the GOP prospects. All I know is that we need to put someone in office that will implement Constitutional solutions to the problems created by the leftists in both parties. I am not convinced that Gov. Perry is the man for the job.
It’s disturbing that Perry has not been overly involved with the tea party, I am. However, he is a Conservative and has a record far more impressive than any of our current GOP candidates to prove it. Perry was a staunch conservative before the tea party was in existence. Michael, did you miss the fact that Bush/Cheney tried to defeat him in the primary by supporting Hutchison? Perry was tea party before there was a tea party. We can never expect perfection, but Perry is far more in sync with all of the important major conservative issues than any other viable candidate. It makes me cringe thinking that I may have to support ethanol subsidy loving, Global warming hoax believing, RomneyCare creating Romney for President! It would me reminiscent of McCain II.
In the scheme of things, the issues of contention you point to are trivial and explainable. 1) The raining day fund? For God Sakes, Perry fought ObamaCare “tooth-and-nail” and then finally had to acquiesce which meant coming up with $6 Billion plus in ObamaCare reserves! Government surpluses are not the way things work in Texas-give the man a break. Second, with the Nation crumbling around Texas, Perry had his hands full, yet he successfully had conservatives battling the Text Book WAR which they won- successfully removing all of the Leftist progressive books from the purchase calendar. Last but not least, the War against Illegal Immigration is being fought on too many battle fields to count-remember Texas was the only state in the Union with positive job growth throughout the recession until ObamaCare forced them to cough up the reserves. Don’t you recall Perry even joked about receding from the Union? He is adamantly against Illegal immigration and as President would seal the border forthwith, but as Governor he had to pick which battles to fight. Arizona, next door was already ground zero for the illegal alien fight, hence the prudent move was to concentrate on other issues-given the fact that Holder and Obama were going to fight stopping illegal immigration at all cost; requiring the issue to work its way to SCOTUS. Bachmann is a congresswoman, she’ll never win the nomination; Cain doesn’t have the political clout necessary to get enough delegates; Pawlenty is too Vanilla; as Senator- Santorum made some RINO quid-pro-quo moves expecting them to work out, which in the end, failed miserably. Huntsmen is like fly-by- night, unprincipled Conservative like Daniels with strong RINO tendencies. Newt, is nowhere and will return to being a FOX news commentator in November. We need Rick Perry. He’s unafraid, has chutzpah and is as solid a conservative as can be, without becoming a flaky, (retreat from world dominance crack-pot) Ron Paul Libertarian.
We are on the same page-OBAMA must be defeated at all cost. If he is allowed to wreak havoc for another 4 years, the America we know will be lost forever. However, we need a rock solid conservative, who’s willing to stand toe-to-toe with the far-left maniac Democrats who are set on destroying the Republic. Settling for a compromising RINO will merely delay the inevitable destruction of America. Bold colors, not pale pastels-even Reagan was not faced with such a well oiled, SOROS funded Leftist propaganda machine, on US soil, seeking to destroy the foundations of our nation operating.
It’s disturbing that Perry has not been overly involved with the tea party. However, he is a Conservative and has a record far more impressive than any of our current GOP candidates to prove it. Perry was a staunch conservative before the tea party was in existence. Michael, did you miss the fact that Bush/Cheney tried to defeat him in the primary by supporting Hutchison? Perry was tea party before there was a tea party. We can never expect perfection, but Perry is far more in sync with all of the important major conservative issues than any other viable candidate. It makes me cringe thinking that I may have to support ethanol subsidy loving, Global warming hoax believing, RomneyCare creating Romney for President! It would me reminiscent of McCain II.
In the scheme of things, the issues of contention you point to are trivial and explainable. 1) The raining day fund? For God Sakes, Perry fought ObamaCare “tooth-and-nail” and then finally had to acquiesce which meant coming up with $6 Billion plus in ObamaCare reserves! Government surpluses are not the way things work in Texas-give the man a break. Second, with the Nation crumbling around Texas, Perry had his hands full, yet he successfully had conservatives battling the Text Book WAR which they won- successfully removing all of the Leftist progressive books from the purchase calendar. Last but not least, the War against Illegal Immigration is being fought on too many battle fields to count-remember Texas was the only state in the Union with positive job growth throughout the recession until ObamaCare forced them to cough up the reserves. Don’t you recall Perry even joked about receding from the Union? He is adamantly against Illegal immigration and as President would seal the border forthwith, but as Governor he had to pick which battles to fight. Arizona, next door was already ground zero for the illegal alien fight, hence the prudent move was to concentrate on other issues-given the fact that Holder and Obama were going to fight stopping illegal immigration at all cost; requiring the issue to work its way to SCOTUS. Bachmann is a congresswoman, she’ll never win the nomination; Cain doesn’t have the political clout necessary to get enough delegates; Pawlenty is too Vanilla; as Senator- Santorum made some RINO quid-pro-quo moves expecting them to work out, which in the end, failed miserably. Huntsmen is like fly-by- night, unprincipled Conservative like Daniels with strong RINO tendencies. Newt, is nowhere and will return to being a FOX news commentator in November. We need Rick Perry. He’s unafraid, has chutzpah and is as solid a conservative as can be, without becoming a flaky, (retreat from world dominance crack-pot) Ron Paul Libertarian.
We are on the same page-OBAMA must be defeated at all cost. If he is allowed to wreak havoc for another 4 years, the America we know will be lost forever. However, we need a rock solid conservative, who’s willing to stand toe-to-toe with the far-left maniac Democrats who are set on destroying the Republic. Settling for a compromising RINO will merely delay the inevitable destruction of America. Bold colors, not pale pastels-even Reagan was not faced with such a well oiled, SOROS funded Leftist propaganda machine, on US soil, seeking to destroy the foundations of our nation operating.
Before jumping to any conclusions about not being a strong enough supporter of the Tea Party, go to his new book FED UP, and check out several totally strong idea of Tea Party support. Right now, he’s governor for ten years of an exemplary state of the union. That’s better, more useful, than any of the other earl entrants for president. His book is thorough, a fine platform, each plank well thought out. He even mentions mind altering plants and leaves that issue to each of the states. He grants it is working in certain states and it is not federal. I became a believer when he spoke to a group last year and each time he mentioned the enemy, he only used one word: socialist. Unlike almost every other public person (good guy or bad guy), Rick did not call these criminals “liberal” or “progressive”, or any other softcoating, cover-up words. To me that was semantic amazement at his clarity. He looks presidential, acts it, and like I say, is the only guy with the best background. The Tea Party DC newcomers DO NEED constant, public encouragement fom all of the strong people (Rick, Sarah, Donald, Bachman, Napolitano, Mark Levin, Rush, Glenn, Malkin, any of the tougher candidates, too, to NOT be intimidated by the RINOS like RINO Boehner and all the rest. If only they were not so secretive. If only EACH TEA PARTY WINNER KEPT AN EMAIL JOURNAL
of everything that is coming down. That’s one good wish. Is anybody keeping account to their constituency ? So, read Rick’s FED UP! It’s a gem and a wonderful roadmap.
Well it won’t take much digging to discover that Perry is a Governor Texans have wanted to ouster for many years. In 2006 his re-election bid succeeded with LESS than 50% with the vote. He supported his buddy Kinky Friedman to help split the anti-Perry vote and Texas coyly doesn’t believe in RUNOFF elections making this kind of sleezy reelection contrary to the will of individuals and popular vote possible ONLY IN TEXAS. There is are many reasons TEXAS remains dead last in a lot of achievement categories and Rick Perry is among the biggest reasons. I had been really shocked he would even try a run for President and even moreso shocked however tout his long tenure as Gov given how he quietly snuk within the mystery with under 50% with the vote in 06. People who are illegitimate power holders maybe ought not tout their prowess in cheating the device.