The Republican Party this year seems to be stuck in a bipolar rut. On the one hand, the party establishment senses some vulnerability in President Obama as he seeks a second term. On the other is the movement from the far right, which is threatening to overwhelm the party and make their gains in 2010 a one-time anomaly.
Somewhat above the fray but reportedly about to jump in is Rick Perry. The Republican governor of Texas looks to bridge the gap between Tea Party darlings like Michele Bachmann or Rick Santorum and candidates seen as more electable. What are some negatives that could sidetrack his run at a nomination?
His record as governor
Perry presides over the state that is by far the biggest polluter in America. Almost 25 percent of the children living in Texas live in poverty. The state is 42nd for educational attainment and income, but No. 1 in the disparity between rich and poor. Perry refused to hear direct evidence proving a death row inmate innocent, then covered it up by firing and replacing three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, according to The New Yorker.
While those statistics aren't likely to bother Tea Party supporters, they would be hard to get past in a general election. Conservatives might be riled by the fact he wanted to build a toll road across Texas, seizing huge tracts of land. Not to mention he ran the Al Gore campaign in 2008 and used to be a Democrat.
His saying Texas seceding from the Union is an option
Recently, a second reference by Perry suggesting Texas should or might consider secession from the Union has surfaced, reports The Texas Tribune. The comments will carry a lot of water with the far right, but won't allow him to make headway with independents.
Meanwhile, the tough-talking Texan was greedily accepting federal stimulus dollars. Texas used federal money to plug 97 percent of the shortfall in its 2010 fiscal year. The $6.6 billion the state was short was mostly covered by $6.4 billion in stimulus funds, according to CNNMoney.
Perry and his old-time prayer meeting
Another act designed to appeal to Republican primary voters, his ranting prayer meeting in front of 30,000 faithful at Reliant Stadium in Houston Aug. 6, sticks in the throats of the less evangelical. The speaking list reads like a who's-who of the fundamentalist extreme. In a nation where the fastest growing religious group is those people saying they aren't religious at all, Perry automatically alienated them.
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