We all roll our eyes each and every time Obama and the Democrats repeatedly blame Bush for “the mess they’ve inherited.” Never mind that they’ve had absolute control for three years, never mind they had control of two whole branches of government up until recently. Nope, all our woes are Bush, Bush, Bush.
    They’ve been trying to label all Republicans as Bush since Bush was elected. That’s how Obama got elected – he was the anti-Bush. Clearly that resonated with a great many Americans, so much so that they ignored Obama’s very radical past and ideology. We chose the devil we didn’t know, versus the devil we did. Only to find out the obvious – um, dude, devils kinda suck. But sure enough, one Devil is still screaming, “It was the other guy! It was Bush, Bush, Bush!”

    Are we really prepared to give them more Bush ammunition?

    Let’s look at this honestly. You know they’re going to smear Perry as Bush 2.0. Hell, they’re already doing it! So let’s look at this objectively.

    Sure, at first glance, Perry has a great story to tell – Texas is responsible for most of the job growth as of late.
    But start to scratch the surface and you’ll see that in the midst of that, Perry also radically grew the size of Texas’ state government.

    After 8 years of Bush undeniably growing the size of our government, grassroots Republicans have been trying to reclaim their status as the party of small government, of fiscal balance, of personal responsibility. That’s what the Tea Party is all about.
    If you really believe in fiscal conservatism… then why are you going to support Perry? He grew government. Period. End of story.
    Don’t you think it’d look more than a wee bit hypocritical if Republicans went for another clear government-growing Republican?

    Please, Republicans, do not make the same mistake the Democrats made in nominating Barack Obama. Let’s not run from one proverbial devil, only to end up in the arms of another. Judge your candidate not by their words alone, but by their actions. Perry can claim he’s now a born again fiscal conservative until he’s blue in the face. But we both know his actions say otherwise. Are you really prepared for the implications of nominating him, only to be labeled the continual party of Bush, Bush, Bush? Are you really prepared, if he somehow gets elected, to deal with all the Bush Derangement Syndrome that’s sure to manifest itself with a vengeance?

    I don’t. I don’t think our country could take it, honestly. We all need a nominee who is NOT a polarizing figure. If they paint him as Bush 2.0, what could possibly be more polarizing than that?

    Add to that concern the recent evidence that Rick Perry isn’t exactly the most elegant or artful communicator. His recent comment that Ben Bernanke is “almost” guilty of treason clearly illustrates that he is not just guilty of being a loud-mouth, but it’s further evidence of his potentially polarizing nature. Ronald Reagan he most certainly is not.

    Like it or not, Republicans absolutely must get better at optics. If fiscal conservatism is to regain its foothold in the American consciousness, we all must improve our public relations skills. We all must better communicate our ideas, our intentions, and our beliefs.
    Otherwise the Democrats will continue to be successful in painting all fiscal conservatives as compassionless, obstructionist, heart-less barbarians. We know their charges are unfair, but how will the American people know it if we don’t know how to speak as effectively as possible?

    How could we possibly accomplish our goals if our chosen leader is as careless in his communication as Rick Perry?

    For those reasons at the very least, I simply cannot support Rick Perry. I wish more people would realize this as well. We can’t afford to look as if we haven’t learned our lesson from 8 years of Bush’s spending and growth of government.
    Do I think Bush is the devil the Democrats made him out to be? No. But do I think he grew government and started us on the path to unsustainable debt? It’s undeniable.
    We need to get off of that path right now! We can’t do that if we choose another leader who looks, sounds, and acts suspiciously like the last one.

    More candidate reviews will be published soon! In the mean time, what do you think? Share your thoughts! But please be as constructive, calm, considerate & kind as I know you are!