At question here is the following quote, offered by Perry at a news conference during yesterday’s tea parties:
“There’s a lot of different scenarios. We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot.”
First things first, let’s set aside some alternative explanations, because let’s face it, he could have just made a mistake. Was he misquoted? No, the camera’s present clearly recorded the message. Perhaps he wasn’t addressing reporters, but making a joke to a member of his staff? Surly not, the comment was offered in response to a question posed directly to the Governor from a journalist. Was it a flippant comment, not intended to be taken seriously? Not likely, given the context. Was it vacuous? Yes.
So what do we do? Charge him with treason? Chalk it up to typical Texas pretentiousness and let it go? It was a casual suggestion, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. It is representative of the typical Republican line on Obama policies. The GOP isn’t getting it their way, so they kick and scream to get attention. In Perry’s case, it is about his rejection of part of the stimulus funds intended to go to his state, a rejection which has put him in the line of fire of Kay Hutchison, who is challenging Perry for the Governor’s office. Perry wants to look cool and tough. Instead he looks like a fool. Perry has still refused to back away from the comments.
Why is it significant? It’s not like Texas is actually going to split from the union any time soon. Perry may be encouraging political extremists, but most of the population of Texas still prefers being American. Those small band of Texas “Revolutionaries” if that’s what I may call them, are an extreme minority, and could not possibly hope to keep Texas out of the union. What are they going to do, start a war with the US military? Please.
No, it’s significant because in symbolizes the problems that the GOP is having. They lack a clear leader, a prominent man or woman that the party can coalesce around. They lack any real policy options. Their alternative stimulus was just tax cuts, nothing else. Their alternative budget was a joke. And finally, there is the omnipresent problem of a shrinking political base. More and more independents are identifying themselves as Democratic, and more and more Republicans are identifying themselves as independents. That leaves only the most conservative members of the old GOP as still members of the party, and as Perry’s comments suggest, the GOP would rather cater to those conservatives than attract moderates.
Sarah Palin could have been that transformative figure to bring back moderates to the GOP. People would vote for a woman to become President. The problem is that she also decided to accommodate the right, and it has scared off even more moderate Republicans who reluctantly allow their party to become obsolete.
And so now the GOP is the party of “NO.” All Rick Perry has done is to take it to the logical extreme of saying “NO” and “WE QUIT” all at the same time.
