Entering the race late in the game on the day of the Ames, I.A. straw poll (and very much a reason for the withdrawal of my pick, Governor Pawlenty), Texas Governor Rick Perry started his candidacy much anticipated and exciting, but has failed to live up to those expectations for a variety of reasons.
The first contributing factor of what seems to be the decline of Perry are his debate performances. As I’ve emphasized before, America is looking for a strong leader who can demonstrate the ability to be rigid to break the current Washington stalemate. And while Perry certainly has presence of his own, he crumbles when pitted against Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, his biggest rival thus far. When put under pressure, Perry grovels and fails to confront the problem at hand.
Even though he’s known for his domineering presence, he has disproved it during the past three debates. In order to gain confidence from voters (and those who can provide some much-needed financial support but are holding out for now), it is essential that Perry step up his game and learn how to deal with the pressure.
Perry’s Texas record can at times be questionable to voters, most notably his executive order to use the GOP’s curse word (mandate) to require teens receive the HPV vaccination. While Perry provided an “opt-out” for those who object, he’s got two huge Republican faux pas going on here. Republicans despise mandates; they take away personal freedom and responsibility, and in the case of this vaccine, parental consent of the teenage girls required to receive it. Certainly Perry allowed for parents to “opt-out,” but the conservative means for preserving liberty is to “opt-in.”
Further distancing himself from voters and making the most conservative cringe, Perry insisted on creating this mandate using executive order. Rather than passing the mandate through the Texas legislature, which Republicans would still likely be complaining about, he only added to the problem by rushing it through as an executive order.
To his credit, Perry tells a story of trying to save the lives of young teenage girls who are being protected by the vaccine, but at the end of the day, it’s still a mandate and it was still effected by an executive order; two big-government moves that the Republican party would rather not see.
Finally, Perry’s rhetoric is certainly inflammatory and not what the Republican Party is looking for their nominee to have. While Republicans would like to see the most conservative candidate take office, the party is also aware of the fact that it is essential to have a candidate who might appeal to the independent block. Ultimately, the Republican Party needs to push a candidate into the presidency, and those on the fringe in terms of philosophy are not going to accomplish that. The party already has to defend itself from the “Palinism” and similar rhetoric; we don’t need to add the defense of “Ponzi scheme” to that list.
The race for the Republican nomination has been called a clear race between Romney and Perry. But as Perry continues to misuse his media spotlight to set himself back, as in last Thursday’s debate and the Florida straw poll in which Herman Cain beat Perry, he strengthens Romney’s lead. So, the question becomes, is Romney all we have left? Perry’s certainly not polling well and is far behind in fundraising goals (although everyone’s suffering due to economic hardships), but does the decline of Perry mean an automatic win for Romney?
Unfortunately, it’s still too soon to tell. The emergence of potential candidates still feeling out the race or the potential of an underdog success story are still possibilities that could set Romney off track.
Allie Bedell can be contacted at abedell@keene-equinox.com