Rick Perry 'treasonous' comment a strategic play for South Carolina vote?
Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the controversial topic du jour around the political stratosphere due to comments he made Monday .
While Decoder wrote about , conservative newsgroup Human Events argues Perry may be crazy like a fox. And like a South Carolina fox, in particular.
Human Events鈥� Tony Lee Perry鈥檚 statements may help the governor in South Carolina, Perry鈥檚 clearest shot at winning an early primary state, by endearing him to the state鈥檚 strong libertarian-leaning Republicans (who abhor the Federal Reserve). Further, his comments could be seen as pitting him against the national media, another positive for South Carolina voters in Lee鈥檚 eyes.
Not convinced? Maybe Perry was sending sartorial signals: He reportedly changed into a seersucker blazer 鈥� a staple of conservative southern fashion 鈥� before he made his remarks in Iowa.
Lee reminds us that Perry has used what many saw as a gaffe to his political advantage in the past. Chiefly, his 2009 comments hinting that Texas could secede from the union which were, Lee argues, carefully crafted to avoid using the word secede. What Perry did say:
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of different scenarios. We鈥檝e got a great union. There鈥檚 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鈥檙e a pretty independent lot to boot.鈥�
That supposed gaffe 鈥渉elped him gin up the conservative base in Texas to help him cruise to a primary win over establishment politician Kay Bailey Hutchison鈥� during Texas鈥� Republican gubernatorial primary, Lee writes.
The Bottom Line: Perry eventually beat Hutchison, a well-regarded Texas senator, by north of 20 percentage points. Sometimes, one man鈥檚 gaffe is the same man鈥檚 political gain.
