April 18, 2008
More on the Perry 2010 plan

PoliTex has some follow-up comments from Rick Perry after his surprise re-election announcement from yesterday.


[Perry] didn't seem to see the big deal [over the timing of his announcement].

"I just got asked," Perry said. "After a while, as people keep asking, I just answered their question."

Perry couldn't give an answer as to why he decided to make the announcement today in Grapevine.

"My wife and I have discussed some weeks ago and made the decision we wanted to keep on doing the job we've been doing for Texas," Perry said. "And it was a good a time as any to make the announcement and I hope Texans agree with us that's what's happening in the state is a reflection of the leadership."

More of Perry's musings:

On any suggestions he's just saying he's going to run and will back out later: "I'm set to go. The good Lord may call my number tomorrow and then ya'll will have to write that He fouled up Perry's plan."

On his surprise announcement: "I told a lot of folks I was going to run again. I think this was just the first time there was an audience with a camera and reporters." [Editor's note: There was no cameras nearby when Perry told two reporters he was going to run again]


Why am I not surprised by that last bit? Burka scoffs at Perry's professed rationale:

Is there any impulse other than self-gratification? At the very least, the people of Texas deserve some indication of what he hopes to accomplish as governor for life. This announcement was an insult to the state. There was no gravitas to it. The episode captured what drives Perryphobes crazy. His ambition is without substance. It consists only of the desire to hold office and exercise power. Never mind that the question, "To what end?" has no answer, other than to reward his friends and draw pleasure from the misery of his critics.

[...]

At this point in my writing, I received a call from a friendly intermediary with good contacts in the Perry camp. This was the message: (1) The governor did not intend for this to be a real announcement for reelection. He would not have announced his intentions in this way. (2) He isn't prepared to run for reelection at the present time. He doesn't have an agenda yet for the next legislative session. (3) His closest advisers are split on whether he should run again. (4) Please convey this to Burka before he starts hyperventilating. (Too late. EMS is on the way.)

So I guess I am supposed to believe that this was an amateurish mistake by a supreme political pro. I'm not buying it.


He goes on from there, but you get the idea. I don't really know what Perry has in mind, but as I said before, I'll enjoy the spectacle as the likes of KBH and David Dewhurst froth over it.

Burka also expands on this discussion in a podcast interview with Evan Smith and the DMN's Wayne Slater, which you can listen to here. An interesting point they both raise is that Perry has neither a signature accomplishment that will resonate with a broad swath of voters, nor a clear rationale for why he wants to run again. If this really isn't a bluff, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with for that. What task can he say he's still got work to do on that he's been working on and making progress on since 2003? Property tax cuts, I guess, but do you think anyone will really believe that? I don't see it, but then I'm not inclined to.

One last thing, from PoliTex:


On term limits: He may have been interested in them idea years ago but, obviously, no more. "Term limits by and large mean that the bureaucrats run government and not the elected officials because the longevity of elected officials allow the people's voice to be heard..."

Funny how many still-incumbent Republicans who were for term limits back in the 90s feel that way now, isn't it? It's almost as if it had been a cynical ploy to gin up an issue against then-incumbent Democrats.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on April 18, 2008 to Election 2010
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