Texas Governor Rick Perry says that he's not quitting and that his inability in last night's to remember his own burn-it-down platform for governing won't finish his presidential campaign. But when a politician is seemingly so bent on such a complete remaking of government, he can look remarkably unserious in a hurry if he can't remember the third pillar he intends to knock down.
Gail Collins, bless her heart, knows where her sympathies lie:
Pity the Republican voters. They aren’t asking for much. They just want a candidate who’s really conservative but not totally crazy. Who has verbs in his sentences. Who didn’t drive to Canada with the family dog strapped to the roof of the car. Yet they’re still searching with such desperation that you expect to wake up some morning and see a headline like: “Poll Says Most Likely Voters in South Carolina Favor the Geico Gecko.”
Considering the many minds of Mitt Romney, Republicans do have one thing to thank Governor Perry for: With performances like last night's and the one in New Hampshire, he's getting consistent.
What else happened in the debate? Try the Romney flipflop on payroll taxes for working folks, and Herman Cain's pretzel logic about the sexual harassment allegations.
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Yo... Koch bros... money CAN buy stupidity!
The Koch bros knew he is stupid..... but didn't know that stupid..
As I predicted Rick Perry would do on his announcement to run.
His six shooter is now out of bullets from shooting himself in the foot. Will anyone loan him any??
Is there anything inside that pretty little head of Gov. Rick Perry? So far, his campaign has been a giant waste of time and a complete failure at everything he has set out to achieve. Even his own Tea Party friends are abandoning him. His fiery and often offensive rhetoric is not backed up with facts or much of a plan for anything. He cannot simply say what will happen under (God forbid) President Perry. He needs to have you know, a real plan based on facts and reality. http://www.sunstateactivist.org
A waste is a terrible thing to mind...
Well, stupid is as stupid does, and the whole entire republican field repeatedly demonstrates stunning stupidity. Arrogance. Contempt for things they clearly don't understand and crushing fear of progress.
Science has definitively and conclusively proven conservative brains are different from liberal brains. Poll results show about 1/3 of the country suffers Enlarged Amygdala Syndrome (Primitive Brain). We can declare it a disability and prevent any of them from ever running for political office again!
Argh I was w/ you until your last sentence. Let's not pretend that people who are disabled or mentally ill cannot run for office and be good political leaders. There is a huge difference between disability and comprehension. Perry is not disabled, but lacks comprehension. Tammy Duckworth, whom granted is not an elected official, is disabled, but fully competent. Whom would you feel safer w/? I know my answer (and I'm pretty sure yours and mine is the same, just saying) ;-)
lol, there are all sorts of disabilities, mental illness included, and no, I don't think the mentally ill should be running for and holding political office!
An enlarged Amygdala is a handicap if it's sufferer is desperately trying to legislate America back to the Stone Age out of fear.
Teddy Roosevelt managed quite nicely from a wheel chair, and Jack Kennedy had physical issues as well. I wouldn't dream of saying a woman who lost her legs to war isn't capable of holding office. Nothing is wrong with her brain.
I'm saying science has demonstrated there is something specifically different about the conservative brain, and this could be considered a handicap to their functioning in modern society, and perhaps they shouldn't be allowed to influence public policy.
peanut
You have attracted the attention of the nit picky amateur historian squad, which solely consists of me. When was Teddy Roosevelt in a wheelchair??? Are you thinking of Teddy's cousin Franklin mayhaps?
You are right phyisical issues should not impede a person from seeking public office. I also agree that those with mental issues should not seek public office. The current crop of GOP candidates is a fine example of that.
Oh I'm not suggesting that there isn't a physiological difference, I am just curious. So why should someone w/ a mental illness not be allowed to run for political office? You're aware that I am mentally ill, correct?
Thanks, Maria. I had a feeling I should be checking that one!
Mouzer, no, I didn't know you had a mental illness. I would not want you running for public office. Mental illness is something we know too little about, and have too little control over.
Ah. Now that is an interesting sentiment, from both of you.
Please educate me, Mouzer, I respect your opinions.
Seriously. Why am I wrong? I have mental illness in my family, I have friends who are mentally ill, and who have mental illness in their families. From what I know of mental illness I do not want it involved in government.
Medication and therapy can't do enough to control, let alone cure mental illness, and both can be too easily skipped and are far too difficult to monitor effectively long-term, especially on an out-patient basis. We know almost nothing about the brain and how it works, and the primitive ways in which we're messing around chemically are kind of scary to me.
The current grid-lock in congress and the desperate attempts to legislate away rights, civil and otherwise, hard fought and deservedly won, speak to my point.
Mouzer
To be clearer for you. When I say mental issues I mean the non-cognitive mental function I currently seeing on the GOP side. I mean the craziness of Michele Bachmann. OTOH Lincoln was very probably bi-polar and functioned just fine as president.
And as to you being mentally ill (although you did tell me directly) I did not know. Mental illness is a complex thing and different people function differently according to the type of illness and how a person handles it.
My mother suffered from bi-polar with paranoid-schizophrenic tendencies. She eventually had to hospitalized. She tried to kill herself twice. The second time she succeeded. She did not handle her illness well. I hope you will not judge me too harshly for telling you this.
You OTOH seem to me to be functioning well. Would you care to elaborate? If not I fully understand. I like you for what you are Mouzer. :-)
I would like to know more about this finding that conservatives have a (supposedly) dysfunctional brain structure. Is it not possible that variations in brain structure reflect qualities that are needed in society. Perhaps we liberals with our "good" brains are valuable to society in some ways and those conservatives with their "strange" brains are valuable in other ways or in other times.
As to whether the mentally ill should serve in office, it could be argued that the desire to serve (or rule) itself reflects a kind of mental illness. People should always be judged by their ability to do the job rather than their accidental qualities, bearing in mind that someone who happens to be an axe murder is not likely to work out as a school board superintendent.
http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/class_warfare_and_the_conservative_brain/
http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/08/liberal-vs-conservative-does-the-difference-lie-in-the-brain/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differences_between_conservative_and_liberal_brain
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iISI7ifh-AjUE3ejyC1wQmwFrMFw?docId=CNG.61c886c438708471a9f4ea23070fa70c.3a1
All you have to do is google "the conservative brain". Up pop more links than I could possibly copy/paste here. This isn't new. American conservatives live in a dark and scary place. They are driven by fears the rest of us don't experience. This is a problem for our country when they are in charge, because they act on these unfounded fears, and damage public policy and programs.
It is not rational to believe the communists are trying to control our thoughts by fluoridating our water. That's just a step away from a tin-foil hat!
Here's the mystery to me: has he always been a dolt, or is this a recent phenomenon? Is this the same guy Texas voters keep re-electing, or has he recently suffered some kind of brain injury like a stroke, or possibly the onset of dementia? I'm serious. If this in fact is the same Perry, then Texas is toast.
Texas Toast with egg on his face? Oatmeal for brains?
He has always been an oaf, but he buys his votes in Texas with connections to oil, gas, land developers and the residuals from his close relationship with the crook, Tom Delay. He doesn't ever really campaign here. He wins because he keeps his mouth shut and lets the industries he owns go out and pressure their employees to support the candidate that keeps big business at the forefront of all of his policy decisions. Most Texans before this Presidential campaign probably knew him for his hair and his feed-the-rich policies, but hadn't heard much more than a couple of John Wayne quotes out of his mouth.
Now that we in Texas have seen the unvarnished, un protected-by-corporate-money Perry, I think his political career is over even here (even though there are some truly stupid voters in this state).
nope, always been that way. I know, I'm a Democratic Texan. Sad, actually.
People used to ask the same question about the younger Bush. There was even a video on YouTube that showed his remarkable debate prowess when he was campaigning for Governor of Texas, and contrasted it with his embarrassing performances while campaigning for the office of POTUS. Hrm... here it is:
Bush Mental Decline?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0vEJneflBw
I'm seeing Perry get in on the "performance art" bandwagon here. "It worked for that Cain fellow, I'm gonna try it!"
Perry is TOAST after last night. So he'll join Bachmann and despite his pronouncements, Herman Cain. OK Newt, you're next. Watching these candidates implode is priceless.
Toast with a smear of raspberry. Now I want breakfast!
I would really love to believe that Americans won't vote for another dumbass in cowboy boots - - but what I believe might be true, and what is reality are two very different things. For every person like me who is horrified by the prospect of this guy being president, there are those who love his folksy, stumbling "real" style, and would like to have a beer with him. They've learned nothing from the last decade. Sadly, it will be Jeb Bush owning the election in 2016, and guys like Perry will be back in the game, in some form.
With some men, if their wife blows in their ear, they respond with: "Thanks for the Refill!" Nancy D love your post!
And now for something completely different....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buovLQ9qyWQ&feature=player_embedded
The man is absolutely pitiful....so sad.
Governor Perry Please name the Three Stooges ?
Let's see 1-Moe 2-Larry 3-Let me see what was his name it will come to me what was his name O Yea that's right EPA.
Please go back to Texas and start executing citizens again
I want him to go away too, but PLEASE, GOD, DO NOT SEND HIM BACK HERE TO TEXAS!!!
You got that right! Lets see if they will take him somewhere else, ANYWHERE ELSE.
There are certain pivotal moments that have doomed a politicians career. We can all name them: Dukakis's apparent lack of emotion when contemplating the hypothical rape of his wife, the Muskie cry, the Dean scream. I think Perry's memory lapse will go down as the strongest memory of his now defunct campaign.
Perry: "I wursh that durn Romernaryeryo would stop spikin' mah watah bafur I tries ta uses mah brain an mah mouth."
Don't write Perry off because he has a lot more money than the rest of the candidates. If other candidates start dropping out, the anti-Romney vote needs a candidate to coalesce around. Cain will be gone soon and that leaves Perry as the only serious contender to challenge Romney. The wackos who vote in Republican primaries are going to overlook Perry's blunders, but not Cain's indiscretions. Bachmann and Santorum are bucking for a VP spot. Newt is in it for the money and is not serious. In fact, Newt would be a major liability because of his affairs. He cannot explain away his hypocrisy for impeaching Clinton while Newt is carrying on an affair. Independent voters will decide the election and none of the current candidates are palatable or electable other than Romney and Perry.
Which, to me at least, says something mighty powerful about how reactionary our electorate has become.
When I told friends Rick Perry is even dumber than G.W. Bush many said they didn't think that was possible. Do you believe me now?
Never underestimate the division of the American people! We might find a lot of what was said and forgotten at the debates ridiculous, but if you listen to the crowd's response to the answers on stage and check the comments on Fox and the other right leaning sites defending and supporting some of the candidates....anything is possible!
Just look what stories are covered on these sites...people are not getting the same information and the slant is profound.
The candidates, almost without exception profess to want to trash just about everything currently in our government....Gov. Perry's 'lapse' was due to the fact that he basically wants to eliminate everything...so he gladly accepted the EPA as another department to get rid of. It is ironic that the governor forgot 'Energy" the one area he wants to develop in his own state!
Dems should ask the rhetorical question "Why are you working for the government when you hate the government?" Dems could also ask Bachmann why she takes government money when she hates government spending. These are major themes that Dems can use against anyone of the Republicans. Plain, simple and easy to understand. Even Elizabeth Warren would approve.
Yes, it does seem easy to understand...to some of us.... Others would say that you need to be in government to reduce it...and if the government is 'handing out', it is legal to take it... they are immune to hypocracy...
That's why they say that if the rich wants to pay more in taxes...nothing is stopping them from sending their money...
Fairness? Mr. Cain says "fairness" according to the dictionary is that everyone pays the same amount ....It doesn't matter how much they make or if that amount is also 'fair'.... Can you reason with people who see government/business so differently? I think there is still hope to reason...but you have to go about it differently....not that I would know what that is...
This Republican line-up is like a three-ring circus! Step right up folks and see the clowns in the fun house. One does back flips, one steps on his own tongue, one is a... well you know. Ya can't take any of it seriously.
... and one has 20 hands!
the GOP must think Obama is going to win again, and are just lining up their throw-away candidates. I've heard many a GOP "strategeryist" on morning talk shows, for months, saying that it will be Jeb in 2016 - they actually admit out loud that it's too soon to run a Bush again (admission that GW destroyed the economy, perhaps?) If Jeb is in the wings for 2016, the fix must already be in. Those Diebold machines will be re-calculating those votes. Smoke will be coming out.
They can't run Jeb until the statute of limitations on George's war crimes runs out.
Whether Jeb Bush runs in 2016 is dependent on what the Dems do if the win the 2012 elections. If the economy is doing a lot better, it will be easy for the Dems to say to voters "Do you really want to go back to the George Bush economy?" Dems need to put the stake through the heart on trickle down economics once and for all time. The 30 year experiment is over. We don't do reruns.
I wonder if he can see Mexico from his house? Sarah Palin and him would make a terrific couple.
The candidate that's conservative and not crazy is Jon Huntsman.
Can he get airtime on the "conservative" media? No, of course not. Because what's become "conservative" is some sort of weird bat-@!$%# crazy combination of Libertarian-theology.
I agree. I'd like to hear what he has to say but the GOP would rather put on a circus.
The voters want the breads and circuses not serious discourse about issues.
See no evil - Paul
Hear no evil - Steel
Speak no evil - Romney
Think no evil - Perry
Married to evil - Gingrich
Lying about evil - Bachmann
Evil - Cain
GOP
Not a fan of Rick Perry, but anyone can have a brain fart ... I've done ti, and Rachel I'll bet youv'e done it on-air! True, tha man's an idiot, but I've gotta cut him slack on this moment.
Makes George W look like Mensa material doesn't he?
Yo.
Lay off mensa.
Would it make you feel better if I said Perry is Bush with an lobotomy?
Perry has been brainwashed and now he can't do a thing with it.
This is from @CindyBegel on Twitter. It's GREAT!
It's Perry video with appropriate music added.
I am listening to various people saying Perry is done. But I do not share the same certitude that Perry is finished. The pundits are talking about the gaffe as if this were a regular election. It is not and those pundits are failing to consider that this is a Republican primary that is dominated by the farther right wing portion of the party. The rules for a regular election have no bearing on these primaries. The Christian fundamentalists are not going to vote for Romney or Cain for the obvious reasons. That leaves Perry as the only viable candidate. These Republican voters are going to overlook Perry's gaffes. Consider these are the same people who thought George W. Bush was the best qualified person for the president despite his obvious scholastic deficiencies.
My personal take on the debate between Romney and the Seven Dwarves...
Jon Huntsman thought nothing was fin-a,
Being Obama's bigwig in China,
'Til the day that the slob
Wanted Obama's job;
Now, he's turned into his biggest whin-a!
Herman Cain figured blondes were so fine,
He felt every blonde was worth tryin';
Until each one said "nope"
To a BJ and grope;
Now, he's de-Nine, de-Nine, de-Nine...
Michelle Bachmann professes to pray
And ask for God's guidance each day;
If she spends so much time
In the Presence Sublime,
Why'd she marry a guy who's so Gay?
Rick Perry took Bush as his guide.
He'd follow his example with pride.
He would fill all the shoes
Of this guy who can't lose;
Shame he copied the idiot inside.
Mitt Romney thought chances were fair
His supporters would carry him there
To replacing the 'louse'
He saw in the White House;
Didn't think he would fight Romney-care..
Newt Gingrich believes he's superior;
All his candidate foes are inferior.
There is no mystery,
He'd rewrite history.
'Cept his ego's out-stripped his interior.
Ron Paul wants his government shrinking
To the size where you'd miss it while blinking.
If he don't want to feed it,
Why's he wanting to lead it?
Tell me, what in the world is he thinking?
Rick Santorum desires the fame,
Bringing lovers down to pits of shame.
He would spend all his time
Making sodomy a crime.
Why'm I skittish to Google his name?
Knock Knock.... who's there.. Rick Perry.. Rick Perry who? Rick Perry who.. ah.... er... ah...
Knock Knock.. who's there.. Herman Cain.. Herman Cain who? Herman Cain who reversed the number of women that have accused him of assault.. That being for every 1 woman he did not attack there are thousands he did.
Knock Knock.. who's there.. Michele Bachmann.. Michele Bachmann who? Michele Bachmann who didn't know the Constitution includes the separation of church and state (and should spend some time with Herman Cain- wait she's not blonde).
BTW, Perry wouldn't close the DOE because he wants it to facilitate the wildly expensive Nuclear Power industry and its government Price Anderson insurance act. But, this government agency eviceration is standard procedure now. Bush got in and put bible school graduates as department heads, and the Arabian horse guy in charge of FEMA. They don't even have to shut the doors, and can simply incapacitate the agencies as public servants and watch dogs by making them extremely ineffective, instead.