Why some tea partyers are skeptical of Rick Perry
| Washington
When asked to name their top options for president, tea partyers often include Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R).
He was one of the first major Republicans to embrace the low-tax, small-government movement when it started in early 2009. Now a fully announced candidate, he talks about a President Perry vetoing new spending measures 鈥渦ntil the ink runs out鈥� of his pen. He includes himself when discussing the tea party 鈥� as in, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not angry, we鈥檙e indignant.鈥�
In the latest Rasmussen poll of likely GOP primary voters, 39 percent of tea partyers back Governor Perry. (And overall, Perry leads the Republican field at 29 percent. Ex-Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is at 18 percent, and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota gets 13 percent.)
But not all tea party leaders are sold. Take Katrina Pierson, a top member of the Dallas Tea Party. She told Reuters recently she thinks the Texas budget is balanced only on paper. And she鈥檚 fielding phone calls from tea party activists around the country who want to know if Perry is 鈥渇or real.鈥�
鈥淲ith Perry, there are a lot of concerns, including his stance on illegal immigration,鈥� wrote Judson Phillips, head of the social networking site Tea Party Nation, on his website before Perry announced.
Another blogger on Tea Party Nation, Andrew Cochran, asked this question before the Perry announcement: 鈥淲hich Rick Perry will run for president?鈥�
Will we see the Rick Perry who cherishes and honors the 10th Amendment as the vehicle for protecting states' rights 鈥� the one who is willing to honor a state's decisions even when it might interfere with his personal views?鈥�
Mr. Cochran continues, 鈥淥r will we see the Rick Perry who continues to brag about Texas-style tort reform, as [if] it's a nationwide solution, even though federal tort reform is clearly a breach of the 10th Amendment and states' rights?
Other points about Perry have come up as tea partyers decide whom to support for the GOP nomination:
- Perry was a Democrat until 1989. He was, of course, a conservative Southern Democrat 鈥� which is different from, say, a Minnesota Democrat, as Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R) of Minnesota was as a young woman. But a D is a D.
- Not only was Perry once a Democrat, he was the Texas chairman of then-Sen. Al Gore鈥檚 presidential campaign in 1988. At that point, Senator Gore was already a crusader on climate change, though a Perry spokesman says the governor didn鈥檛 agree with him on everything.
- Perry appears to hold contradictory views on gay marriage. He said he thought New York should be allowed to legalize gay marriage in the name of states鈥� rights, but then said he backed a federal marriage amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. This is one point where social conservatives who want the federal amendment are at odds with tea partyers who choose to focus on fiscal matters.
- Perry mandated the Gardasil cancer vaccination for all Texas sixth-grade girls, but the measure was rescinded by the Texas Legislature after a backlash. Perry now says he regrets the mandate. Perry faced accusations of government intrusion and even shady money dealings with vaccine manufacturer Merck, which donated to his campaign.
- In the Republican universe, Perry is as establishment as they come. He was until recently the chairman of the Republican Governors鈥� Association. He鈥檚 held elective office in Texas since 1985.
- In 2001, he signed Texas鈥檚 version of the DREAM Act, which allows some illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition. To conservatives, the DREAM Act is anathema; Perry opposes the federal version of the act. If Perry wins the nomination, he will have to walk a fine line as he woos the Latino vote.
- Perry has been living in a $10,000-a-month rental home, at taxpayer expense, since 2007 while the governor鈥檚 mansion has been undergoing repairs. This flies in the face of his claims of fiscal prudence, as he cuts the state budget.
Mark Meckler, co-founder of the national coalition Tea Party Patriots, says the scrutiny of Perry鈥檚 record is typical for all the candidates, and he sees no wave of tea party support for any of them.
Folks are still in the 鈥渄eep analysis鈥� phase, and that鈥檚 a good thing, he says.
鈥淭ea partyers are very acutely aware of what enthusiasm and excitement put into the White House in 2008, and he鈥檚 sitting there now,鈥� says Mr. Meckler, who plans to stay neutral in the nomination race. 鈥淲hat they鈥檙e doing now is the exact opposite. They鈥檝e put aside the emotion, and are logically and methodically looking at records and analyzing every candidate.鈥�
