Key Point: Rick Perry will continue to succeed -- both financially and in the polls, despite his massive failures -- in a Republican primary race, because the Republican base celebrates and desires the failure of government. That, and because Perry is a cyborg.
On March 16 -- about four months ago -- we reported in a post titled, "Rick Perry Narrows Lead on Kay Bailey Hutchison in Latest Poll" about how Perry was closing in on Hutchison in the polls. In that post, I wrote: I still think Perry will win in the primary -- he has a presence in the state, he is more connected with the hardcore base voters that will absolutely turn out to vote, and he's a cyborg that never sleeps so he'll be able to campaign 3-4 times more than Hutchison.
Today's news that Perry raised $4.2 million in 9 days and has $9.3 million in cash-on-hand isn't that startling. It's what everyone should have expected. Rick Perry is a cyborg, built for the base. That is his narrative; that is who he is. Do you know how easy -- and how enjoyable -- it must be for Rick Perry to want to be the longest-serving Governor in Texas history when he probably believes it has been ordained by God for him to run and win? (I bet Senator Kay Coward wouldn't mind a coronation, instead of having to run against him -- don't you?)And on top of that, Rick Perry can run a perfect campaign for a Republican primary. He is built to turn out the base -- that's what he has programmed himself to do. And the base doesn't care if he's a failure, because the more Rick Perry fails the state of Texas, the happier the Republican base of the party becomes. That's why he was able to raise $4.2 million in 9 days -- his utter failures are exactly what the Rush Limbaugh-loving, Sarah Palin-worshipping, Secessionist-teabaggers that control the Republican base want. Rush Limbaugh wants the country to fail, because it furthers his ideology. Rick Perry wants Texas to fail (except those corporate folks who are his friends, of course), because that furthers his political career. It is that simple. And that's why (along with the sheer cowardice of Kay Bailey Hutchison) Rick Perry keeps climbing in the polls and is able to post $4.2 million raised in 9 days as he continues to act like the failure that he is -- failure is exactly what the base wants.
Let's just look at the recent news stories about Perry since March, and how he's fared in the polls over that time: - March 26, 2009: Rick Perry Confesses: Unemployment Tax Plan Will Raise Business Taxes. (This was all captured on video, too).
- April 15, 2009: At the Texas Teabag rally, Rick Perry utters his infamous secession remarks, going so far in his robot-driven message discipline to contrast himself (Texas) versus Kay Coward (Washington) that he was willing to suggest leaving America. As it turns out, 75% of Texans Disagree with Rick Perry's Calls to Secede -- leaving only Republicans like Tom Delay to defend Perry's secession remarks. Yet Perry continues to use the secession language in his fundraising letters -- because it works for his base.
- April 17, 2009: Meanwhile, back in the real world, the Texas Workforce Commission Reports 47,100 Additional Jobs Lost in March.
- May 21, 2009: Rick Perry consultant Dave Carney -- who crafted Tom Craddick's winning candidacy for the Speaker this year (oh...wait) -- refers to Hutchison's campaign as a "whorehouse." And yes, it most certainly made some news.
- May 29, 2009: Rick Perry opposes and threatens to veto CHIP expansion. Legislation that had a majority of support from both parties dies after Rick Perry opposes and threatens to veto health care for an additional 80,000 children in Texas. The help of his fellow failed leaders covered him inside the dome, but it won't help him outside of it...except for with his base.
- June 19, 2009: Rick Perry Hires Lobbyist as Chief of Staff, Vetoes "Revolving Door" Ethics Bill. Can there be a more corrupt same-day action than this? How obvious can Perry be -- and look at how much he knows that his base of Republican voters won't care about his corruption.
- June 23, 2009: Perry Vetoes Bill To Help Rural Hospitals Hire Doctors. To quote from that link, Rep. Warren Chisum -- one of the biggest conservatives probably in the entire country -- was unhappy with the veto because "114 of the 254 counties in the state are medically underserved, including 27 in West Texas that do not have even a single physician."
Yet, despite all that terrible news, look at the polls over that time frame (links are to the original poll, whenever possible): How do we reconcile the terrible news coverage and failed leadership with his improvement in the polls? Simple: Rick Perry will continue to succeed -- both financially and in the polls, despite his massive failures -- in a Republican primary race, because the Republican base celebrates and desires the failure of government. So given today's announcement -- no, I'm not surprised. Rick Perry will tour the state with Sarah Palin, appear daily on Rush Limbaugh radio, and actively shred public education, health care, and transportation policies in order to win the Republican primary. That's what he is programmed to do. Rick Perry is a cyborg. And right now, he's winning this primary. *Ed. Note: Baselice did a split-ballot; these were the results when the titles (i.e., "Governor" Rick Perry instead of just Rick Perry) were read with the names. Without the titles of "Governor" or "Senator" Hutchison won, 47%-36% -- but this campaign will have titles, so I followed Baselice's lead on choosing to report the "Governor vs. Senator" results. |
