Is Rick Perry Confused?

Is Rick Perry Confused?
by Randy A. Samuelson

This week, Governor Rick Perry endorsed John McCain. There should not be any surprise there, as Perry’s first choice, Rudy Giuliani, dropped out of the race after poor showings in the first handful of Republican primaries and the Governor feels the need to support a candidate publicly.

Remember back a few months to when Perry announced that he was endorsing Giuliani when the buzz was with Rudy. When Perry filed the paperwork for Giuliani to be on the ballot in Texas, Perry said he is “in support of Mike Huckabee.” Oops. After saying that, Perry stated that he misspoke and that Huckabee is his second choice. Well, last I looked, Mike Huckabee is still in the race today when Perry endorsed the new front-runner John McCain.

Perry’s endorsement of McCain should come as no surprise to Republican loyalists either. In 2006, John McCain was actively supporting and fundraising for Rick Perry in his re-election bid in Texas.

There is no confusion for Rick Perry at this point. Perry’s political options are very limited. After having 60% of the state vote against him in his 2006 re-election, it should be crystal clear that Texans want new leadership and that he will not win another election in Texas again. Perry, to further his political ambitions, must leave Texas and go to Washington. Perry’s only chance of moving on his political life is to hitch his wagon the Republican front-runner and do it in a timely manner before the primary is decided.

Perry is master of political pandering and maneuvering to gain his own political power. Now that Rick Perry is supporting John McCain, I will have to vote for the Republican that has the best chance of defeating McCain in the Texas Primary on March 4. This Republican will not support Republicans like McCain and Perry that not only do not uphold the Republican Party platform, but also change the party platform to fit their misguided principles.