Rick Perry has just taken the lead among Republican presidential candidates. However, his past might severely hamper his 2012 campaign as Ron Paul’s new commercial points out:
Now America must decide who to trust. Al Gore’s Texas cheerleader, or the one who stood with Reagan.
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Right, Perry was a Democrat at the time—he was a Democrat before he became a Republican. So was Reagan! I think Paul’s ad pretty neatly contains its own repudiation.
Thanks for your comment.
Reagan talked about it in his legendary 1982 press conference:
But my point was about something else. You and I know that Rick Perry’s campaign will most likely suffer from the fact that he himself was once a democrat. Other GOP will love to emphasize this. – Regardless other whether or not it carries any importance.
Besides, the ad contains a second mistake: Reagan might have been in favor of small government but his actual decisions as president caused spending levels to increase.
What can I say? I agree, it’s very troubling! The government keeps getting bigger, seemingly no matter who wins the elections. I was reading about it again just this week in Mark Steyn’s new book:
(endnotes omitted)
All I read was the prologue, and I was already depressed. I’m still hoping for the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment, but who knows whether that or any other significant reform is feasible, and anyway who knows whether any of them would be enough?
Totally agree. Sadly, 2012 will not bring about any change, whoever wins the election. The president (rightfully and fortunately!) is no king but rather depends on what Congress allows him to do. That is why no president is likely to change the status quo or the direction this country is heading towards. Simply because too many politicians have no incentive (or no mandate) to do so.
By the way, the deeper problem was brilliantly described by Walter E Williams:
https://swissecon.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/seven-minute/
“Those politicians are doing precisely what you and I sent them to Washington to do.”