Patterico's Pontifications

7/8/2013

Perry Not Running for Re-Election in Texas

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:14 pm



Naturally, the talk is that he may be running in 2016.

That’s what we do, right? Pick one of the losers from last time. Every time.

Works out great, dunnit?

85 Responses to “Perry Not Running for Re-Election in Texas”

  1. Him, Jeb, Santorum… Might as well hand Hillary the White House on a silver platter.

    Ghost (996b5a)

  2. So Iowa picks either Christie or Perry and we are off and running.

    Just ducky.

    Ed from SFV (6382f3)

  3. Who Perry reminds me of is characters played by G.D. Spradlin. He just has that egg-stealing dog look.

    nk (875f57)

  4. Saint Wendy has to be licking her chops.

    JD (8f669d)

  5. I’m quite sorry to hear this. I think his staying in the Texas governorship would have properly addressed two ongoing potential problems.

    elissa (0e6049)

  6. Would have been his fourth term, I’m sure there’s some new blood, this Parker person referred earlier.

    narciso (3fec35)

  7. Like Reagan?

    Rodney King's Spirit (ae12ec)

  8. Iowa will go to Walker, I’m thinking. Texas might too!

    Dustin (0960a8)

  9. Hope he stays off the seconal this time.

    mg (31009b)

  10. Republican candidates who never ran before and then won, W, Eisenhower, Harding,

    narciso (3fec35)

  11. Perry is a pretty successful governor, and his record is difficult to compete with. But one true criticism raised on this blog many times was that he had it easier because Texas is already conservative and its government is so constrained that we tend to have a less burdensome government.

    I preferred someone with a conservative record as executive to those with no executive experience or outright liberals, but I hope the GOP can do better… someone with conservative results despite a much tougher fight. Walker is a possible candidate, but you never know. We’ll see if any of the GOP candidates are worth support soon enough. For a very long time, the nominee really hasn’t been worth all that much.

    Dustin (0960a8)

  12. We don’t need no stinking politician to be elected.
    Someone from the private sector has to man up and abort the collapse of the once greatest country on earth.

    mg (31009b)

  13. That would be great, mg, but to be willing to do it you need to be willing to put your family though hell. You basically need to be a selfish egotistical weirdo.

    Dustin (0960a8)

  14. Someone from the private sector has to man up and abort the collapse of the once greatest country on earth.

    A lot of us were taken with Herman Cain a few years back. That was great until it turned out that he had a Clintonian problem with women. Steve Forbes always managed to attract a very loyal 10% following back when he was running.

    Nope, as much as I wish it weren’t so, we are probably stuck with a politician in 2016. I just dread the day that Ted Cruz departs from conservative orthodoxy and gets excommunicated from the movement, then we’re screwed for a generation or more.

    JVW (23867e)

  15. What year did Reagan first run for President?

    SPQR (768505)

  16. 1976, narrowly lost the nomination to Ford,

    narciso (3fec35)

  17. Hmmmm, really narciso?

    SPQR (768505)

  18. there were some rumblings in 1968, but nothing came of it;

    The contest for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1976 was between two serious candidates: Gerald Ford, the leader of the Republican Party’s moderate wing and the incumbent president, from Michigan; and Ronald Reagan, the leader of the Republican Party’s conservative wing and the former two-term governor of California. The presidential primary campaign between the two men was hard-fought and relatively even; by the start of the Republican Convention in August 1976, the race for the nomination was still too close to call. Ford defeated Reagan by a narrow margin on the first ballot at the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, and chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas as his running mate in place of incumbent Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller. The 1976 Republican Convention was the last political convention to open with the presidential nomination still being undecided until the actual balloting at the convention.

    narciso (3fec35)

  19. Hmmmm, imagine that.

    SPQR (768505)

  20. Yeah, mg, are we really going to begin, peak and decline in less than 300 years?

    Bob Schieffer (be0117)

  21. there were some rumblings in 1968, but nothing came of it;

    According to both Edmund Morris and Lou Cannon, Reagan winning the nomination in ’68 was a much more active campaign than Reagan loyalists later were willing to admit. They had a strategy to deny Nixon the nomination when balloting started at the convention and then seek to leapfrog past him in the deadlock. It failed when party bosses supporting Nixon managed to keep key southern states from releasing their delegates to vote for the candidate of their choice.

    JVW (23867e)

  22. didn’t Perry shoot a dog once

    I’m pretty sure he did

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  23. Perry did not seem Presidential in the debates to put it mildly. I don’t know what would change by 2016. Romney was the only one who did seem Presidential. Walker seems Presidential.

    Gerald A (b44a50)

  24. No, he shot a coyote. It can be the gateway animal, but he never went on to the hard stuff. Now that’s the kind of self-discipline we should demand of our politicians.

    nk (875f57)

  25. i’m sure the same Beltway RINO’s that gave us McLame & Mittens have another spineless “middle ground” candidate already picked out for us, no matter what the public wants.

    my guess is they will try to stick us with the New Jersey Gasbag, or some other nitwit just like him.

    they’d rather be in charge of a minority party than win a major election

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  26. I stand corrected

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  27. I think Perry really, really wants to run for President. He messed up last time and now he’s sure he can do better. I don’t think he’s got a chance but my prognosticating abilities aren’t that good, so who knows?

    However, I also think a part of Perry’s decision involves Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has been waiting patiently to run for Governor. The word is Abbott isn’t going to wait any more and there’s a good chance Abbott would beat Perry in the primary. That may have helped ease Perry out the Governor’s Mansion door.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  28. Serving as executive for 18 years doesn’t seem like a very conservative thing to do anyway. If 8 years was good enough for George Washington. . . .

    JVW (23867e)

  29. As Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott appointed Ted Cruz to be Texas’ solicitor general and they worked together for 5 years. They are smart, articulate, and don’t make many mistakes. I expect the Democrats to attack them mercilessly.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  30. DRJ, we once again have essentially the same take on these issues.

    My only question is: How long before the first hard Leftie mocks Abbott for being in a wheelchair?

    Because that is going to happen, the only question is how often and whether it’s caught on camera or tape from someone high enough up in the Democratic Party that they’ll all have to pretend to be embarrassed, kinda sorta, for about 15 seconds until someone shouts “Squirrel!” and points a finger in another direction.

    Beldar (4fb95c)

  31. I obviously would favor and vote for Perry over any Democrat in 2016, but I’m hardly representative of squishy voters, left-leaning voters, schizophrenic voters, apathetic voters.

    I’m forced to think strategically and tactically because this nation can’t afford any more of the ongoing lunacy of liberalism run amok. In a way, things already have become so broken and downhill in that I actually have to worry about the possibility of a majority of the electorate pulling the lever or punching a chad for Democrats like Hillary “what-difference-does-it-make?” Clinton or God-knows-what-else will come out of the left.

    Mark (181c26)

  32. I really hope he rides off into the sunset.

    JD (b63a52)

  33. Only lawyer Since JFK to get elected Gov was White – the worst Gov in 82/83 –

    Republicans have never put a lawyer in the Governor’s office in Texas

    Last tried I think was Eggers? Way back

    Abbott isn’t going to win.

    E.PWJ (010b0c)

  34. Saint Wendy will crush Team R

    JD (b63a52)

  35. abbotts a good guy, shame he’s leaving the post, I hope if he gets the nomination, he wins

    I’m glad Rick is leaving, Texas is a much better place after his stewardship and his health is becoming an issue to his family.

    He may run in 8 years for president.

    E.PWJ (010b0c)

  36. Concern troll is concerned.

    SPQR (768505)

  37. I wouldn’t vote for Perry for dog catcher, but that has more to do with toll roads than anything else.

    BradnSA (69f417)

  38. mark

    if biden runs, he will win. If Ryans the brightest we got, he spanked him, owned him brutally.

    Biden is the last power democrat, Hillary not so much, then the dems are out of bullets.

    We will have another parade of people, Walker wont run, Scott seems to be the one who could take on Biden

    E.PWJ (010b0c)

  39. It would almost be worth it to have Biden run just for the circus value. We could watch the media twist themselves into knots trying to make Plugs look competent while scurrying around trying to erase out and explain away all his bloopers. I envision it along the lines of a sequel to Weekend at Bernies.

    elissa (0e6049)

  40. It will be good for Texas to have a new governor and I don’t think they should serve as long as Perry did (albeit the state obviously thought he was the best option every time, and you can’t argue against his results).

    DRJ’s comments about Abbott are very reassuring. Any friend of Cruz is a friend of conservatism and Texas.

    I forgive Perry for his simplicity because successful government from a conservative is supposed to be simple. The last thing you want is a Mitt Romney or a John Mccain or a Joe Biden in charge, figuring out all the things government can help you and force you to do. The Texas plan is more like ‘I’ll leave you to do what you want’. It’s not always like that… just moreso than the rest of this country to the point where you can really see the difference in results. Clearly Texas is better run than any other large state.

    The GOP ticket could use someone who has successfully fought the left and won, because the fight to balance the budget would probably be the most difficult battle in American political history. For that reason I’m paying attention to Walker to see what he puts forward. But after 2008 and 2012 I just don’t think a conservative or a reformer is what the GOP voters want. They want someone who promises them more stuff, but mixed in with a little social conservatism to reassure us we’re not commies (a ton of Republicans basically are at this point).

    Dustin (303dca)

  41. I’m of the opinion Romney won and Obama cheated.

    G (bbda88)

  42. figuring out all the things government can help you and force you to do.

    “The nine most frightening words are, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help!”

    Ronald Reagan

    peedoffamerican (ee1de0)

  43. Reagan ran for the nomination in 1976, lost, then ran again in 1980 and won.

    So I don’t see that as being a fatal flaw in Perry.

    Also, Clinton ran for the nomination in 2008 and lost, so in 2016 she’d be a loser from the time before last, like McCain in 2008.

    Rich Rostrom (75d56f)

  44. if biden runs, he will win. If Ryans the brightest we got, he spanked him, owned him brutally.

    Biggest laugh I have had all day. Who says that concern trolls bring nothing to this blog?

    JVW (23867e)

  45. For that reason I’m paying attention to Walker to see what he puts forward. But after 2008 and 2012 I just don’t think a conservative or a reformer is what the GOP voters want.

    Me too, Dustin. I think Walker’s reelection is probably the most interesting race of 2014. Liberals know that they have to defeat him, or else his brand of conservative reform may just catch on in states like (gasp!) Michigan and Illinois. The Democrats are going to throw everything they’ve got at him. I am hoping that moderate and independent Wisconsin voters are so burned out by the recall campaigns that they will greet the Democrats’ claims with great skepticism.

    JVW (23867e)

  46. Look, I actually liked Perry. But he’s no Reagan. I mean, come on.

    I’m of the opinion Romney won and Obama cheated.

    Comment by G (bbda88) — 7/8/2013

    Cheated how? You mean rigging the votes all across the country, in myriad districts with myriad judges? I think not.

    If you mean via the media burying his administration’s true deeds until after the election, so the American people never got a chance to really reelect what this admin was up to… well you have a point.

    Still, I think the election was a decision, on the American people’s part, to rob our future. The moochers won both the GOP primary and the general election.

    Liberals know that they have to defeat him, or else his brand of conservative reform may just catch on in states like (gasp!) Michigan and Illinois.

    Absolutely right. Every now and then you see a glimmer of hope that the essential rightness of conservative reform… how it makes everyone better off except those who were parasites… can take hold in a powerful way. As things get worse, the potential for a sudden reversal of politics becomes more real. After all, if you’re chained and dependent on the government, you are eventually going to run out of other people’s money. All the right needs is a principled leader with a spine to speak clear and simple truth. The reaction the left has had to Walker is the reaction a vampire has to the sunlight.

    Dustin (303dca)

  47. they didn’t have to rig every district throughout the country, just all the inner city ones… you know, were there were more votes than registered voters, or like the ones here in LA where you get more votes than there are citizens, at least if you compare votes to census records…

    nope, no voter fraud at all, and you’d be racissssssssssss to say there was.

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  48. After all, if you’re chained and dependent on the government, you are eventually going to run out of other people’s money.

    Run out of other people’s money, we have! 101M Get Food Aid from Federal Gov’t; Outnumber Full-Time Private Sector Workers

    peedoffamerican (a84075)

  49. Pick one of the losers from last time. Every time.

    Works out great, dunnit?

    It did work out with Ronald Reagan in 1980. And the year 2000 was an exception, in that George W. Bsh had not run for president before. 1996, 2008 and 2012 do fit that pattern, though.

    All this really indicates is a shortage of candidates.

    Sammy Finkelman (a4dbab)

  50. Is Mr. Sowell black enough for whitey democrats?
    This is one brilliant man, Run Thomas Run.

    mg (31009b)

  51. 10. Republican candidates who never ran before and then lost: Charles Evans Hughes 1916, Alf Landon, 1936, Wendell Wilkie 1940, Goldwater, 1964.

    ANother one who ran for the nomination before and then got he nomination the next time and lost Dewey 1944. He also ran again in 1948 and lost.

    Sammy Finkelman (a4dbab)

  52. peedoff

    yeahI saw that and people are wondering why Boehner wont discuss the farm bill (which is really the 101 million food stamps for a whooping 90 billion dollars)

    E.PWJ (010b0c)

  53. Democrats who never ran before for a national ticket and lost: Alton B. Parker, 1904, James M. Cox, 1920, John W. Davis, 1924, Adlai Stevenson, 1952, Michael Dukakis, 1988, John Kerry, 2004.

    Sammy Finkelman (a4dbab)

  54. People who won their party’s nomination more than once:

    William Jennings Bryan, 1896, 1900 and 1908. Thomas E. Dewey 1944 and 1948, Richard M. Nixon 1960 and 1968 (he won the second time)

    Losing vice presidential candidates often run he next time for president but invariably fail to gain the nomination. Sargent Shriver 1976, Bob Dole 1980, Joe Lieberman 2004.

    A possible semi-exception is Bob Dole who was the Republican Vice Preidential nominee in 1976 and the presidential nominee in 1996. He also tried in 1980 and 1988. Also maybe FDR who was the vice presidential nominee in 1920, before he got polio, nominated in part because they hoped people would connect him to Theodore Roosevelt.

    Sammy Finkelman (a4dbab)

  55. 55. How did I manage to leave out Adlai Stevenson 1952 and 1956? (people who won their party’s nomination more than once who lost the general election the first time they had the nomination)

    Sammy Finkelman (a4dbab)

  56. Well I could vote for Perry. If I found some reason to vote, that is.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  57. if biden runs, he will win. If Ryans the brightest we got, he spanked him, owned him brutally.

    EPWJ, I know you filter things through your biases, as most people do. So I’m not sure if your sentiment reflects what you believe are the impressions of a majority of other people, or if it’s also the strong influences of your own perceptions combined with those of the aforementioned people.

    I’m not being flip when I ask this — and, for that matter, this question can be applied to various Republican presidents whose biggest screw-ups can be traced to when they allowed their liberal side to get the better of them (eg, Reagan permitting secret negotiations with hostage-taking Iran, George W Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” and his being willy-nilly about bloated budgets or, now, SSM) — but have you ever assessed how your left-leaning emotions affect your take on people and situations, and thought, “oh-oh, I therefore may be susceptible to “d’oh!” moments”?

    Mark (181c26)

  58. Rick Perry is a great Governor, and his record was by far the best going into the 2012 primaries. But he proved that being a good governor did not mean being a good candidate, and President Obama turned around and proved that even if your record in office absolutely sucks, if you are a good enough candidate, you can still win, after having proved in 2008 that if you are a good enough candidate you can win even if you have no record at all.

    I’d be very pleased to see Mr Perry as our next President, but I’d shudder to think of him as our next candidate.

    The Dana who supported Rick Perry in 2012 (3e4784)

  59. G wrote:

    I’m of the opinion Romney won and Obama cheated.

    Only if by “cheated” you mean appealed to the dumbest, least productive voters, and bought them off with food stamps and Obamaphones.

    The saddened Dana (3e4784)

  60. nope, no voter fraud at all, and you’d be racissssssssssss to say there was.

    Comment by redc1c4 (403dff) — 7/9/2013

    While I do believe that voter fraud occurs and is a serious problem, thanks to the electoral college I do not think it’s quite enough to turn the presidential election.

    In your defense, democrats react to any sane election fraud reform like you’re absolutely right.

    Dustin (303dca)

  61. I’d be very pleased to see Mr Perry as our next President, but I’d shudder to think of him as our next candidate.

    Comment by The Dana who supported Rick Perry in 2012 (3e4784) — 7/9/2013

    That’s a good way to put it.

    Dustin (303dca)

  62. Picking a loser from last time…..

    In 1960, the Dems selected a loser from the Veep sweeps in 1956….
    How did that work out for them?

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  63. Dustin, and the Adjectivized (is that even a word?) Dana…..

    Perhaps the country is ready, and needs, a no BS candidate on the stump?

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  64. Needs? Absolutely. Ready? I hope to be proven wrong, but I not optimistic.

    Dustin (303dca)

  65. *am

    Dustin (303dca)

  66. One advantage Perry will have in ’16 over ’12, is that there will not be BHO on the ballot.
    But, I’m sure the OFA mudslingers will be operating at full throttle, and the MSM will studiously look away.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  67. Didn’t you guys get the memo? It’s a woman’s turn to be president next.

    Ghost (996b5a)

  68. askeptic wrote:

    Dustin, and the Adjectivized (is that even a word?) Dana…..

    Perhaps the country is ready, and needs, a no BS candidate on the stump?

    We’ll agree to agree that it is a word! 🙂

    Howsomeever, I’d say that the voters have proved that they want more, not less, bovine feces. If we had had a no BS tolerant electorate in 2012, Barack Obama would be busy writing his presidential memoirs right now, having lost at least 53 states.

    The politician Dana (3e4784)

  69. What Dana said. This is what democracy really looks like. The argument against Obama in 2012, after the GOP finally got its chance to say to the American People we have a different direction to go in, was the GOP version of Barack Obama.

    The only shred of hope I have left for the GOP is that it turns out the IRS was shutting down Tea Party groups like the Virginia GOP was unconstitutionally shutting down ballot access for non-RINO candidates. Maybe, just maybe, the GOP primary in 2012 was not a true measurement of the opposition to democrats. But it probably is.

    Conservative reform won’t happen if almost everyone wants to keep getting their entitlements at the expense of our children’s wallets.

    Perry and Walker can debate it out and we’ll see who has the chops. I suspect a RINO will get nominated instead, though. Hate to be an Eeyore about it.

    And Ghost is right. The fierce moral urgency of the historic election of the first Black president is about to get a remix. That’s all this election will be about. Every time someone criticizes Hillary’s actual awful performance as Secretary of State, the media replies by saying how sexist it is to care how she’s 70 years old (or however old she is). Trolls like Matt Drudge only help the left’s cause by highlighting that kind of issue (with an occasional link to Alex Jones).

    The right will not make a coherent case against Hillary, and enough morons (particularly RINOs) will make a disgusting case that the media will be able to exploit to make the election about GOP sexism. Just as with Obama, the case against should be extremely easy to make, but it won’t be made because our RINO candidate (who went to the mattresses against Walker and Perry) will embrace comity. Or maybe I’m totally wrong. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

    Dustin (303dca)

  70. But, will Hillary release her medical records, particularly as pertaining to the episode she just suffered?
    The record with her husband, and the current President, is not encouraging in this aspect.
    Do we know if she is medically fit for the stress of the job?

    I denounce myself for my sexism.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  71. Of the people who will probably run, there’s a stage-full of folks who haven’t run before:

    In no particular order: Walker, Rubio, Cruz, Rand Paul, Christie, Jeb, and probably one or two other governors. Sure, there will be retreads, but 2016 is an open seat election with the Dems reeling from Obama’s bad-days-to-come. I expect we’ll empty the bench.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  72. There’s the nightmare scenario, of course: Biden leaves office and Obama is impeached/resigns. President Hilary is running for re-election to her first term.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  73. But, if Biden leaves office before his term is up, and Obama is impeached or resigns; we have an Agnew/Nixon scenario.
    Will the Congress approve a replacement Veep in time for BHO’s departure, and who would it be?
    Is there another Ford in our future?
    Absent a replacement for Biden, the Speaker is next in line.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  74. Hillary’s no longer in the line of presidential succession since she stepped down as SecState. Now it’s Biden (Veep), Boehner (House speaker), Leahy (Senate president pro tem), and John F’in Kerry (SecState).

    Beldar (ebbef1)

  75. Who else? Rubio? I like Rand Paul but he makes too much sense for The Stupid Party to nominate.

    Funeral Guy (51a2fe)

  76. Kevin’s right. 2016 could be a good year. GOP has some new blood. Some of it is the kind of candidate I dislike, like Rubio, but some of it is the kind that is inspiring, like Walker and Cruz. It’s difficult for me to be optimistic because all my adult life the GOP has produced mediocre presidential candidates, the least bad being W.

    Each cycle, the situation seems more urgent and the GOP seems less serious. We nominate jokes for candidates based on their stage presence, despite a record of outright insincerity or liberal policies. I hear from many that they are so desperate to be the democrats that we should nominate the most moderate guy because that is our only chance… but of course this sends the opposite message to the country. If we really mean what we say, we wouldn’t be promoting someone so similar to the democrats on policy.

    There is plenty of potential for the GOP to get this right in 2016, nominating a true reform ticket that doesn’t act like it is ashamed of conservatism and also doesn’t take it so easy on the democrat opponent. Maybe, just maybe, principles and clear leadership will work out better at the ballot box than RINO candidates have.

    Dustin (dfe6b6)

  77. Hillary’s no longer in the line of presidential succession…and let’s keep it that way.
    Perhaps she can open an antique store in Chappaqua?

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  78. Dustin: the lovely Mrs Clinton will turn 69 just a few weeks before election day in 2016. I am on record as having said she will not be a candidate in 2016, due to her age and health.

    Ronald Reagan was slightly older during his first campaign, but he looked and sounded very healthy and robust. To me, Mrs Clinton doesn’t look all that healthy now, much less three years from now.

    The prescient Dana (af9ec3)

  79. Of course, my guess is that Mrs Clinton will helping someone else ghost-write a revisionist history of her four years in Foggy Bottom, to be released in early 2015, just in case she does decide to run. Foggy Bottomhole would be my suggestion for an appropriate title, though Lying History 2 would be a close second.

    The very prescient Dana (af9ec3)

  80. Dana, I hope you are right about her not running. I wouldn’t underestimate her, nor would I underestimate the ability of her campaign to make her look younger. It’s clear a campaign is underway to make the age issue toxic (though it is a legitimate issue).

    Dustin (dfe6b6)

  81. Dustin, I am absotively, posilutely certain that Mrs Clinton would like to be President, thinks that she deserves to be President, and, damn it, should already be President! But her age is her age and her health is her health, and I believe that both are against her.

    The Dana who hopes that his crystal ball is right (af9ec3)

  82. I don’t think Hillary Clinton wants to be president at all. And the more she tries, the better the chances all the coverups will collapse right in front of them.

    Sammy Finkelman (a4dbab)

  83. perry perry boo berry i’d rather have franken berry but mom says it makes you poop funny

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  84. People such as Bill Whittle need to be looked at for a possible run at the white house.

    mg (31009b)


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