Walking Tall with Rick Perry

Timothy Birdnow

Rick Perry has shot up to the front of the class simply by entering the GOP field. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the Yosemite Samurai from the Lonestar State, and who am I to damnpen (misspelling intended) the enthusiasm? Still, there are some things to consider about the frank, hard-bitten Texas governor.

First, let's look at his recent statements about Ben Bernanke. William Katz at Urgent Agenda (someone I rarely disagree with) thinks Mr. Perry made a huge mistake http://www.urgentagenda.com/PERMALINKS%20VI/AUGUST%202011/16.PERRY.HTMLand should apologize, and I'm not at all sure about that. What did Perry do?

He made the following statement;

"If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous -- or treasonous in my opinion."

End quote.

Now, notice he said "what y'all would do to him in IOWA" which clearly means politically; Iowa being the place where POLITICAL change is initiated. And there is nothing factually inaccurate about this statement. Yes, it is a bit incendiary, but is it threatening or inaccurate? He SHOULD be treated pretty ugly; what Bernanke would be doing is levying a tax without representation. I seem to recall Americans took up arms and spilled blood over that very thing long ago. It would be an act of grand theft. If America would re-elect Obama then America would be in favor of such a stealth tax, but Perry's point is well taken; doing it before the election would be tantamount to thievery, would be treacherous, and almost treasonous. Treason involves giving aid and comfort to an enemy in time of war, and running the printing presses (thus devaluing American currency) most certainly brings delight to our enemies in Al Qaeda, the Taleban, and others.

One must also observe that President Obama threatened conservatives with bringing guns to knife fights, thus suggesting that he was going to assault us, yet little was said. Vice President Joe Biden and others in the administration have also refered to us as terrorists and recently the President refused to back down from such assertions, invoking Timothy McVeigh as a Tea Partier http://gulagbound.com/19385/barack-obamas-timothy-mcveigh-moment-in-iowa-on-video/ . Frankly, if a sitting President can make such statements then the Texas governor has a similar right.

Why are conservatives holding themselves to a higher standard than the President? That has always been a part of the problem; the GOP refuses to fight fire with fire, prefering to use whipped cream. Our candy and unicorn approach has never worked, yet we inevitably return to it as though it will win over the media in the end. Well, it doesn't, and the media portrays us as thugs and vermin to the general public. If we are going to be portrayed wrongly, we may as well earn it. But too few on our side grasp that fact.

Frankly, Mr. Perry is doing what he should do; he's opening fire. Americans are tired of cowards. The Tea Party has been very successful in turning the tide because they have refused the business-as-usual approach, demanding real change. People on our side are crying for plain-spoken leaders, leaders who will not shrink from a fight. We are tired of the knock-kneed approach that has given us the slow, agonizing slide that has characterized America in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It is well past time we fight back. America is crying for such a champion. What we do not need is more "comity" among politicians.

That said, there are some disturbing aspects to Mr. Perry. http://nationaljournal.com/politics/perry-s-vulnerabilities-with-the-right-20110815?page=1 He is every bit as committed to open borders as was former President George W. Bush. He wasted a huge amount of money on a Texas Trans-Corridore, a boondoggle turnpike that would have created a de-facto Trans-American Highway in the Lone Star State (and that has, thankfully, not been built; it was a cornerstone of a North American Union), he signed into law a bill requiring sixth grade girls to receive vaccinations for the Human Papilloma Virus (although allowing an opt out) which generally included a counseling session (meaning the girls are told it's ok to have safe sex). Turns out that last was also an act of cronyism; Merck (manufacturer of the vaccine) had hired Perry's former chief-of-staff as a lobbyist. Oh, and Perry had run the Texas campaign for Al Gore.

Many Texans complain that Perry talks a much tougher game than he plays - particularly prior to election time. Still, he did not institute socialized medicine, or get in bed with Crapped Out Trade, er, Cap-N-Trade, or any of the other foibles that have befallen much of the current Republican field. He is likely a conservative version of George W. Bush. We have to ask ourselves; is he honest enough? Bush was catastrophic to the conservative movement by being fairly liberal but playing a conservative to the base. Is Perry more of the same?

At least he is talking tough. We need that; it's time we draw a line in the sand.