Thoughts on Rick Perry

Karl-Thomas Musselman, a writer for the Burnt Orange Report, a blog about Texas politics and government, wrote an article on Sunday analyzing what he calls the "natural advantage" of Rick Perry. In it, Musselman argues that, in his opinion, Perry is the wrong candidate to support, and that Perry would be headed towards certain defeat in any other state for several reasons. Perry is facing a serious challenge in Bill White, who was previously mayor of America's fourth-largest city. Perry has had to defend himself from attacks by both Democrats and Republicans, an expensive task. Perry has also possibly been involved in several scandals, and has refused on some occasions to meet and talk to the media on a wide range of issues. Finally, Perry has been in public office for a quarter-century and thus epitomizes the "status quo" in government that many voters are fed up with. Nevertheless, the governor is still ahead of White in the polls. Musselman provides two reasons of why this is the case, two "natural advantages". The first is what he calls the "shrinking media", or the problem that fewer people are reading or seeking political news, which is leading to an uninformed voting base. The second advantage is the fact that many Texans view the Texas economy as "on track" or "headed in the right direction". This contentment, whether misguided or not, leads many to eschew change and support Perry. Unfortunately, it seems like Texans aren't in the mood for change right now, or are too ill informed to have any opinion at all.

Musselman makes several good points. Perry does have some major flaws as a candidate. Specifically, I am amazed, especially with the support the "Tea Party" is receiving in other states, that voters are content with the status quo. A politician who has been in public office for a quarter-century and governor for a decade, it could easily be argued that Perry has attained far too much power and influence. However, the author's views and beliefs do seem obvious from the editorial, and any reader can easily see the author's disgust with Perry. The article was probably aimed at a liberal audience, as it is a little too harsh to effectively convince moderates to support its view (it ignores the other side of the issue, and hardly references Bill White), and would probably anger conservatives. The author is a 25-year-old graduate of UT, which will probably turn some readers away due to the apparent lack of experience and credibility (although he does write for a well-respected blog). As a moderate, I found the article very interesting and somewhat convincing, although I was turned off a bit by the author's antagonistic tone aimed at Perry.