Would the GOP suddenly soar if Rick Perry jumped into the race?
Republicans think their 2012 savior is still out there. The only thing they can't decide is who that savior is. Mitch Daniels has been getting them hot and bothered for a while, and the speculation about a potential Daniels run is now hitting a
fever pitch. And now there's a
new name to add to the mix:
Texas Governor and secession advocate Rick Perry.
As many grass-roots Republicans remain in search of a conservative candidate with the pizazz to go toe-to-toe against President Obama, a man from deep in the heart of Texas who was tea party before the tea party was cool appears to be giving the presidential race some thought.
Gov. Rick Perry has insisted on multiple occasions that he has no interest in the presidency, but RCP has learned that political associates have begun to nose around quietly on Perry's behalf.
A Texas pol who is close to Perry has been telling a few key strategists that the nation's longest-serving governor sees a vacuum and is waiting to be summoned into the race. This source believes that could happen by late summer. Without fellow Southerners Haley Barbour or Mike Huckabee in the race -- and with Newt Gingrich's early troubles raising further doubts about the current lineup -- there could be a glaring niche for Perry to fill.
Rick Perry's list of weaknesses is a mile long, but the thing that I think is most notable here is that Republicans still haven't figured out that their fundamental 2012 problem doesn't have anything to do with their candidates: it's that the GOP has moved so far to the extreme right that none of their candidates have room to take positions that would appeal to mainstream Americans.
This dynamic is illustrated perfectly by GOP outrage at Newt Gingrich's criticism Paul Ryan's plan to repeal Medicare. Gingrich might be a flamboyant buffoon, but he was right when he said repealing Medicare was a radical plan dreamt up by right-wing social engineers, and the fact that he was forced to personally apologize to Ryan for saying so underscores just how disconnected from the American public the Republican Party has become.
Gingrich might not understand the mechanics of 21st century politics, but Republicans don't understand Americans aren't interested in returning to 19th century public policy—and their desperate pursuit of new candidates like Rick Perry or Mitch Daniels shows that they aren't close to getting a clue.
Until and unless Republicans realize the problem they have is with what they are trying to sell, not who they have trying to sell it, they're going to be in a world of hurt. Sure, the economy is in bad enough shape that they can still win elections, perhaps even the presidency. But that is literally the only thing they have going for them, and with every day that they spend obsessing about the messenger instead of the message, they are digging a deeper hole for themselves.