While I've been flogging the horse at the lead of the Perry bandwagon since January, I fully acknowledge that he's another nut. In fact, that was exactly why I thought he would become the GOP nominee.
He's conservative as hell and he "looks" like a TV president. Republicans are pretty good at what the Reagan White House identified as the central theatrics of politics: TV news with the sound off. If it looks good, it is good.
But Perry - who moved ahead of Romney on InTrade today - has too many little soundbites out there to haunt him.
Consider what we've learned of him so far in 48 hours since he declared:
- Any federal role in education is unconstitutional.
- Social Security is a Ponzi scheme (and probably unconstitutional).
- Ben Bernanke's monetary policy is "treasonous" and "we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas."
- He goes jogging with a loaded gun.
Now, I don't think these things disqualify him at all from the GOP nomination. In fact, they probably will help him cement his frontrunner status.
But he will have to tone down the Texas-sized crazy a little bit. He doesn't want to make Bachmann look like the SANE Teatard in the race.
And to Ross Douthat and other "sensible" Republicans lamenting the tone and content of the GOP nomination process, I give you this widely disseminated line from Jonathan Bernstein:
What you’re upset with isn’t the candidate — it’s the party. It’s inconceivable that anyone could get the Republican nomination while using anything but solid Tea Party rhetoric on pretty much every issue. They’re all going to claim that taxes should never, ever, ever be raised no matter what, that half of what the government does is evil or unconstitutional or whatever, that the scientific consensus on climate is some sort of crazed conspiracy, and so on down the line. I’ve been saying for some time now that the odds are against Republicans actually nominating a candidate who believes crazy things — but the odds of them nominating someone who says crazy things has gone up.
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