Conservative

Jackson: Rick Perry’s new image could make him a strong contender in presidential race

As of Summer 2014, Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, seems to have taken on a new persona. He is playing the role of the folksy Texas cowboy, an image that has been stereotyped as dumb, bigoted and jingoistic after the Bush years. Despite this, he has been reaching out to Republicans, and trying to show himself to be a force for a George Bush-esque, Texas style conservatism that still has some pull in the Republican Party. He’s been speaking out much more and has been making more frequent public appearances. But will his political makeover give him a better shot at the presidency?

Rick Perry was generally considered to be the weakest of all the Republican nominee candidates in the 2012 Republican presidential primary. What is said to have really hurt him were his gaffes in public. The media found out that his hunting ranch was once named after a racial slur, and accused him of being racially insensitive. And in 2011 he made a speech at a New Hampshire radio station that was so incoherent, some journalists legitimately thought he was on drugs. He also stated during a debate that he would shrink the size of the federal government by shutting down various government agencies, but was unable to name even three government agencies. Perry’s presidential campaign didn’t go anywhere in 2012, as he came in fifth place in the Iowa caucuses and he was dead in the water in South Carolina.

While Rick Perry has had some new slip-ups — the National Journal reported on June 12th that Perry compared being gay to alcoholism — he does seem to be trying to show himself to be a competent competitor in the Republican presidential primary race by going on the attack. This is a new Perry we are seeing, one who tries to get into the media as much as possible and show his ability to lead and speak out. He recently attacked Congress for failing to pass any immigration legislation and has sent troops to the border in order to handle the situation, according to an August 3 article by the Christian Post.

These actions only help reaffirm to voters who Perry is, not what the media makes him out to be: he is a staunch social conservative, anti-amnesty; he is pro-jobs and he is pro-small government. He’s a maverick, a cowboy who stands still as the party shifts in order to appeal to more voters. These are all pretty strong positions to take in the current GOP, but they are consistently popular positions for establishment Republicans that play to Perry’s strengths. For example, he has created policy that has attracted new jobs to Texas, with George W. Bush’s former Press-Secretary Ari Fleischer stating in August: “He’s got a strong record, especially on economics, job creation, and growth.”

I think Rick Perry is bound for a minor comeback. He does seem to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, he’s like a Republican Joe Biden in that sense. Despite this, Perry’s new image could work for him. He is playing the role of the economically-minded social conservative — the type of politician that sells very well in the South.



Although Perry lacks the new ideas of Rand Paul and Paul Ryan, the mission objective during the presidential primary election is to be as ideologically extreme as possible. New ideas are great, but not necessary. While many of these politicians are trying to make reaches towards Libertarians, young people and Latinos, Perry is going for Bush conservatives and the Tea party. It’s a strategy that could make him a powerful force in the upcoming battle for nominee and really doesn’t require him to do anything but stay the ideological party course — something he quite  is good at.

As people at the top of party are searching for candidates who have new ideas and an ability to reach out to a more diverse set of voters, Perry takes the establishment and Tea Party values that many want the GOP to consider changing and runs with them. While Rick Perry isn’t saying much of anything new, his mainstream positions could become a bridge for establishment Republicans and Tea Party voters, making him a new powerful wildcard in the Republican presidential primary.

Rami Jackson is a junior entrepreneurship and policy studies major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at rdjackso@syr.eduand followed on Twitter @IsRamicJ.





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