Last night Rick Perry had a horrible debate performance. Or perhaps it was a necessary and good thing to see his ideology on full display. However, it would not be surprising to see him slip into the #2 or #3 position after such a performance. Along with a horrible attempt at attacking Mitt Romney there were three critical issues that drew out his weakness. The pre-teen school girl inoculation program, his position on Social Security, and worst of all his position on illegal immigration.
Perry: “I Don’t Think You Have a Heart” If You Oppose In-State Tuition for Children of Illegal Immigrants
(Weekly Standard) During Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum all took shots at Rick Perry’s record on illegal immigration. Bachmann said that Texas’s law allowing in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants acted like a “magnet” for illegal immigrants. Perry’s response was forceful and personal. “I don’t think you have a heart,” Perry told his critics.
“If you say that we should not educate children who come into our state for no other reason than that they’ve been brought their through no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart,” Perry said. “We need to be educating these children because they will become a drag on our society. I think that’s what Texans wanted to do. Out of 181 members of the Texas legislature when this issue came up [there were] only four dissenting votes. This was a state issue. Texas voted on it. And I still support it today.”
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ….. Telling conservatives that if they do not support benefits for illegal aliens they don’t have a heart is ridiculous. That comment alone is going to have serious backlash from Tea Partiers who are sick and tired of being told they are “heartless” and “extreme” just because they want the rule of law enforced.
When he continued to state it is “impossible” to build a fence along the Southern border he really doubled down on stupid. Of course it is possible. Heck, you could give 10,000 people pole diggers and each build a quarter-mile and the whole darned thing could be built in less than a week. You just have to want to git-r-done. His position on immigration is as toxic to conservatives as the ‘third rail’ of Social Security is to liberals.
I have no idea who is advising him, perhaps no-one, but the immigration position was just fundamentally disconnected from mainstream conservatism. Additionally, the attack Romney approach made him look small and significantly unprepared in the manner of his attacks.
Perry has three visible policy weaknesses:
- No specifics on Social Security reform. Yes, it is going to default. Yes it needs to be repaired. Now how do you plan to ensure that millions of Americans are able to receive it as they have anticipated?
- Refusing to admit the “concept” of forced inoculation was wrong in both implementation (which he as admitted) and in ideology of overreach, which he has not admitted. The “I will always err on the side of life” explanation, can be, and is, a scary consideration when undefined entities can determine what they consider to be “life” issues. Especially given the current propensity toward Nanny-Statism, he should be more clear on this. Would he regulate by mandate other aspects of healthy life? Food, etc… He is on a slippery slope with this one.
- Immigration. His Texas Dream Act. His refusal to even consider a border fence. And the concept of illegal aliens being granted access to social programs at the expense of taxpayers is seriously out of the mainstream of conservatives.
He might not be knocked out yet, but he was certainly down for a solid NINE count and looks extremely wobbly and vulnerable right now.
