In his two weeks as a presidential candidate, Rick Perry has done something that neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney could do: wake up the left.
Perry panic has spread from the conference rooms of Washington, D.C., to the coffee shops of Brooklyn, with the realization that the conservative Texan could conceivably become the 45th president of the United States, a wave of alarm centering around Perry’s drawling, small-town affect and stands on core cultural issues such as women’s rights, gun control, the death penalty, and the separation of church and state.
The epidemic of lefty angst isn’t just a matter of specific Perry policies though; it goes to the heart of the liberal worldview. His smashing debut on the presidential stage suggests that the victory of an urban liberal Democrat, Barack Obama, wasn’t a step toward a more progressive nation, but just a leftward swing of an increasingly wild pendulum, now poised to rocket to the right.
“His entry in the race is a signal and a wake-up call,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told POLITICO.
Perry, Sharpton said, “is looking to go to the O.K. Corral and start shooting. … Rather than the left get caught sleeping, we better load up, because he is bringing it.”
For Democrats, the pre-Perry GOP primary process was hardly for the faint of heart, as the other candidates have jockeyed to show who dislikes Obama the most. But even as the primary is fought on conservative turf, liberal leaders say they and their constituents see Perry as far worse than your average, hated Republican, and indeed as bad — if not worse — than his hated predecessor in Austin, George W. Bush. And progressives who might have had a hard time getting worked up about Mitt Romney find themselves struggling for superlatives with which to express their fear of a President Perry.
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12 Responses
A typo on my part above…should has read “A beautiful thing….reading that the left is squirming. The countdown to the end of the Obama debacle has begun”
Perry’s extremist views are not in accord with the majority of the American Public. He is appealing to a very vocal group of Republican activists. Unfortunately, so are most of the other “dwarves” in the declared candidate pool.
Make no mistake.
Obama haRasha* WILL be re-elected if the Republican party does not come up with a really very strong, charismatic person to oppose him.
To those that think that obama is SOOOO bad that he’ll never get re-elected, THINK AGAIN!!! All those on the receiving end of all his hand-out programs, all the Hollywood and media leftists, and the liberal Jews, WILL vote for him by the tens of MILLIONS!
Whether it’s Perry or Bachman (or the two together) or whomever, – a powerful ticket is needed desperately!
* I personally moved him from the category of mushchas to the category of rasha when he refused to allow Jonathan Pollard to attend his father’s funeral. Not setting him free is horrible, not letting him visit his dying father was disgusting, BUT to not even allow him to go to the levaya – unforgiveable reeshus!
Candidate’s are supposed to raise panic among those they disagree with (unless you are in some place such as Russia or China). That’s a FEATURE of a Democracy.
Perry’s views aren’t all that radical. Neither are Obama’s. Are foreign affairs (which isn’t a big concern in 2012), you need to a magnifying glass to see where they differ (they do disagree, but it involves fine nuances). On social views (important to some people, not most this time) they disagree, but neither is extreme on such issues – and the ones with radically extreme views (such as mandatory abortion for large families or putting gays in concentration camps) are still quite marginalized. In facts, Perry’s support of State’s Rights may qualify him as a middle of the roader since he would end up supporting California’s marijuana legalization or New York’s same sex marriage (not to mention Texas’s desire to criminalize homosexuality). But most people aren’t interested in such issues in 2012.
On economics they radically disagree. One favor big government, high deficits, a soft currency and high taxes – and the other doesn’t. They are SUPPOSED TO DISAGREE. That’s why we have elections. These are real issues, and they are what matters. Obama and Perry represent mainstream views supported by leading 20th century economists (people like Lord Keynes or Von Hayek) – nothing super radical. If you want an election focused on economic policy, this is the best since 1896 (the “cross of gold” year – many fascinating similarities to 2012).
Are you rally saying that that everyone who is scared of Perry is on “the left?” I hope not, but I’m afraid you are, and that such a position appeals to most of your readers. If it ain’t glued on to the right wall you guys think it’s socialist left. Really very silly.
The left and Obama is petrified of Perry.
Perry is a true friend of Jews and Israel.
The onus will be on Perry to prove hes not a wolf in sheep’s clothing like GW Bush the Liberal was. Now just because someone talks like a conservative it wont be enough he will really have to prove he is and contrast his views with the Rino’s of the liberal republican party
“Perry’s support of State’s Rights may qualify him as a middle of the roader since he would end up supporting California’s marijuana legalization or New York’s same sex marriage ”
Perry just flipflopped on the latter issue.
Perry’s public threats toward Ben Bernanke make Perry unfit for public office. I don’t care how much you disagree with someone, you don’t accuse someone of treason and threaten them with “ugly” treatment. If anything, Perry is the one who isn’t loyal to the US as he has on multiple occasions suggested that Texas should consider leaving the US.
President Perry was my guy a year ago when his run was no more than a dream. If the left is scared, and they obviously are, then he has got to be saying something right. The day he announced the MSM lit up on him. Like charliehall, the left is afraid of what his straight talking campaign will do to the psyche of America. We will no longer be afraid to be conservative nor vote that way.
to “Charliehall”- everyone flipflops on the 10th amendment depending on which way they want to use it – no hiddush there. However once you focus on the 10th amendment, it moves you to the center of the spectrum, in general, since you respect local options as opposed to someone who wants one national policy forced on all states – Perry’s ends up being “left” of most other Republican canddidates.
And he was clearly being sarcastic when talking about Texas leaving the Union. He wasn’t advocating disunion. The left is misrepresenting what he actually said.
After meeting Rick Santorum last night, I’m compelled even more to offer him my support. He’s America’s best choice.