SocraticGadfly: #RickPerry announces: I'm not #gay

August 13, 2011

#RickPerry announces: I'm not #gay

Oh, yes, Texas Gov. Tricky Ricky Perry also announced he's running for president.

That said, the old gay rumors, including with a one-time Texas Secretary of State, are one of several that will get resurrected in either the primary season or the general election, should he get that far.

I've actually said before I'd love to see him make it to the general; more than any other candidate, Bachmann's nuttiness about "socialism" aside, there's personal bad blood there.

Anyway, in the general, Texas' great work at creating minimum wage jobs will be an issue. So will the executive of the likely innocent Cameron Todd Willingham.

On the gay rumors, will any GOP candidate have the gonads to do oppo research? Romney has the money to do it, and would most benefit from making sure Perry doesn't pull too far ahead of Bachmann and other tea party faves.

But, if he does that, he'd better be prepared to fight back.

Beyond that, his book of a year ago, which he said showed why he wouldn't run for Prez but which really showed how much he'd do to court the tea party, showed there his social conservatism vs states' rights conflicts. He's already stumbled over this and New York gay marriage. Of course, it's not a conflict that's unique to him; it's one that trips up tea partiers in general, if they care about logical consistency. This would be one for Huntsman to exploit, perhaps.

That said, in both primary and general elections, the phrase, "Haven't we had enough Texas presidents?" may also resonate.

No comments: