On Saturday morning, many eyes were focused on Iowa, in anticipation of the Ames Straw Poll. That quickly changed paced at 1 PM EST. The eyes of conservatives everywhere shifted to South Carolina, where Texas Governor Rick Perry (with swagger bigger than the State of Texas) declared his candidacy for President.
What will Perry's impact be? Will he be the "game-changer?" The answer is maybe. For reasons I hope to explain, on paper, Rick Perry brings more to the table than any nominee for President in the GOP since Ronald Reagan.
Some have offered complaints about the lack of real depth in the Republican field. Frontrunner Mitt Romney was indeed a governor, but a governor of only one term that by the election will have ended 8 years ago. He didn't seek re-election. Pawlently likewise won in a challenging environment, but has also been out of office for some time now. Michelle Bachmann's "experience" involves giving a few speeches on CSPAN. I believe the GOP faithful have been seeking not so much someone of ideological red meat, but of someone not just with proven leadership credentials, but active leadership. That is why the darlings of conservatives are those like Chris Christie and Scott Walker. It is why people are enthralled with Paul Ryan. In high school, most of us would've picked on Paul Ryan. Yet he is a leader.
Rick Perry has this quality. He is America's current longest serving governor. He has won re-election for governor three times. With every election, he continues to advance his agenda forward. There are some who think that Texas is a weak governorship. Perhaps. Yet we conservatives I think need to remember something: the power of shaping culture. Those currently in power in the Texas GOP more or less have had their experiences shaped by Rick Perry's rule. Over the past decade of Texas politics, one way or another, has been shaped by Rick Perry. That is leadership.
Of course, if you want conservative credentials, Perry has them. He is the "unite the clans" candidate. He not only advocates positions pleasing to fiscal hawks, social conservatives and foreign policy conservatives, but he holds them genuinely, and has since becoming a Republican over twenty years ago. Bachmann may have the ability to give a great speech, but her lack of experience has been criticzed. She will need every boost the straw poll provides once she collides with Perry.
Finally, you can tell a lot about the man's talents when you look at the list of his enemies. Once it became clear he would enter the race, President Obama's machine began going after him. First, in one of the greatest howlers I've heard in awhile, the Obama machine attempted to take credit for the job creation success story that is Texas. When that obviously didn't work (is anyone really going to believe that Obama has been a big job creator in one state yet epically failed in the other 49?), the left switched gears. Now it is that while yes, jobs have been created, these are mostly minimum wage jobs. Some of Perry's conservative opponents (mainly Bachmann fans) have picked up this line of argument.
They will use it to their own destruction. In today's tough labor market, many people employed are under-compensated. Yet they still take the job, because a low paying job beats no job at all. There was a time when a job was viewed as something to be valued because of the intrinsic value of work. That still resonates. Quite simply, you have to start (or begin anew) somewhere. For a Democrat, this line would be even more suicidal. If you want to have yourself classified as completely out of touch with the middle class, start publicly attacking these kind of jobs. If you want to annoy the young, keep at it. These young work minimum wage jobs throughout college, saving up a little money to pay off those loans and work their way up in the world.
So Perry has leadership, he has conservative credentials, and he has the right kind of enemies. Is that enough? Again, maybe. This is the first time Perry has entered a national contest. He can, should, and will be tested. If he can survive that contest stronger, he certainly looks poised to be one of the biggest game-changers Washington has had in some time.
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