Gov. Rick Perry Wants Some Things For America That Should Suprise You

Texas Governor Rick Perry has certainly made a splash in his first week on the campaign trail to be the GOP nominee for President. In fact, his first view under the national microscope finds some disturbing things on the Governor's wish list for America. He has captured headlines all week with his brash demeanor, and blunt vision for the Country, but while the Tea Party crowd eats it up, will the rest of us be able to swallow the United States according to Rick Perry? Let's take a look at some of the things the Governor wants for the Nation.

In a shot at President Obama he "...wants service members to have a commander-in chief who they can respect." and "someone who is in love with America." when asked if he thought President Obama didn't love America he replied, "I dunno you need to ask him." These kind of dog whistle moments, perk up the ears of the GOP fringe, but rarely play for mainstream America, including Independents. Perry joins a long line of conservatives that have made a hobby out of questioning the legitimacy of the President. Whether it's his birth certificate, his birthplace, his religion, or any other vague reference that calls into question his right to the oval office.

Another history buff in the same vein as Michelle Bachmann, he claimed "...when Texas entered the union in 1845 it was with the understanding it could pull out." Texas negotiated the power to break into 4 additional states at some point, but not the right to secede. Sounds like delusions of grandeur to me, to talk secession from the union in the 21st Century.

He threatened Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke with treason if he printed more money between now and the 2012 election. He said "...we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. He also wants to make the federal government as inconsequential in your life as possible. If your on Social Security or Medicare, that one will give you the warm fuzzies.

Oh but wait there's more. He wants to abolish the lifetime tenure of federal judges, to "...restrict the unlimited power of the courts." He goes on to say Congress should be able to override the Supreme Court with a 2/3rds vote, "...nine unelected judges tell us how to live." He wants to alter the Constitution to do all this.

He wants to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments to the Constitution. The sixteenth would eliminate the federal income tax, the seventeenth would end the direct election of senators. He said "The American people mistakenly empowered the federal government during a fit of populist rage." So how would the government function, donations? No direct election of senators What? Had enough? Oh no, yes there's more.

He wants a balanced budget amendment. For 235 years the people have counted on their elected representatives to do this, and the merits of this may or may not appeal to you, but most economists agree in general this is a bad idea all the way around. Our ability to be flexible with our monetary policy is crucial to avoiding unnecessary crisis.

Abortion should be made illegal throughout the Country, and there should be an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. In both cases state laws currently on the books would be overturned. This would effectively ban gay marriage nationwide, and outlaw abortion of any kind. On abortion he said "so important...to the soul of this country and to the traditional values [of] our founding fathers." Really? was gay marriage or abortion even on the radar of the founding fathers? And for someone who wants to uphold the tradition of those founding fathers, he sure wants to make a lot of changes to the document they came up with to govern this country.

So what do you think of Rick Perry now? Wanna know the scary part? ITS ONLY BEEN A WEEK! What other Constitutional quandaries will he come up with? Hell at this rate he'll have the whole Constitution on the scrap pile in a month! Front runner? maybe for a little while, but don't hold your breath on his nomination hopes. Besides do you really think the nation is ready for another ultra-conservative wing nut Governor from Texas? I'm thinkin not.

Busy Week For Republicans, But Message Remains The Same

Well a Republican debate, and the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa has kept Republican presidential hopefuls on their toes over the last 5 days. The debate had few notable moments as the candidates took aim at each other, rather than the President, no doubt to swing Iowa voters for the Straw Poll. They concentrated on the ever looming specter of an out of control Federal Government, and a renewed pledge to cut spending and not raise taxes. This was capped by a unanimous show of hands to the question, "...if you were given a debt reduction bill that was a 10 to 1 ratio of budget cuts vs. raising revenues would you take the deal?" They all said "No". A scary message from a field that seems captured by the intransigence of the Tea Party crowd.

As for the Ames Straw Poll Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), and Chairman of the Republican Tea Party Caucus won the most votes, with Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) just 150 votes behind her. Tim Pawlenty captured a distant third place showing, which effectively put him out of the contest. He put all his resources into the Straw Poll, and a dismal third place, coupled with empty coffers forced his exit from the race.

He was replaced by Texas Governor Rick Perry who announced his intentions to seek the White House in South Carolina yesterday. Perry who brings 26 years of political experience to the table, is categorized as a prolific campaigner, and no one to take lightly. He will no doubt grab the spotlight for a time, the question is will he be able to sustain some momentum, or simply fall in line with the rest of the mediocre Republican field? There is general consensus he needs to hit the ground running, due to his late entry into the race.

The big problem with all of this is Iowa. The State of Iowa is not a true litmus test for mainstream America, but because they're the first delegate contest in the Nation, they get bombarded with media attention a full year before the actual contest. Iowa's Republican electorate is heavily evangelical, and I think it's fair to say dominated more by social conservative issues, than mainstream conservative issues. Which is why Mitt Romney, and Jon Huntsman did not fully participate here. The only mainstream Republican to participate was Tim Pawlenty, and he is now gone. Why? Because mainstream Republican ideals do not resonate there. Republican Iowa is bible land, bastion of one man - one woman marriage, gun toting NRA members, Pro-Life fanatics, and uncompromising fiscal Tea Party rubes. So the candidates doing well here, are the ones who embrace these views. So it comes as absolutely no surprise when Michelle Bachmann wins here. The Republican field as I see it breaks down this way:

The Mainstream Republican: Mitt Romney

The Right Wing Tea Party Extremists: Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum.

The Short Lived Bottom feeders: Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Thaddius
McCotter.

In my experience as a political analyst, oddly enough Republicans are very predictable when it comes to picking their Presidential nominees. They generally choose the person who has done the time, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain. All were people who made runs in the past and fell short, but were eventually rewarded by the party despite their ability to win the General Election. So going out on a limb early here, Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee, because he's done the time. Now the battle for king of the extremists will be entertaining to watch, but will most likely only produce the V.P. pick, so that when all is said and done, the crazies will have a place at the table. Their battlegrounds will be States like Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, and the Deep South, look for Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry to be the main contenders here. Romney will most likely get the lions share of Pawlenty's supporters, and will eventually get Jon Huntsmans people as well, so hang in there, the Iowa feeding frenzy won't end until January 2012, and most likely a few more names will be gone by then as well.