The Rick Perry Show (Canceled)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Indicted Clown is the first campaign casualty of the 2016 GOP presidential preseason:

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry announced Friday he is ending his presidential campaign.

Perry announced the end of his campaign at the Eagle Forum — an event founded by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly — in St. Louis, Missouri.

“We have a tremendous field – the best in a generation – so I step aside knowing our party is in good hands, and as long as we listen to the grassroots, the cause of conservatism will be too,” Perry said, according to his prepared remarks.

(Lavender)

This is one of those things about which we haven’t much to say insofar as we don’t really care except to make the note that it happened.

Oh, right. And to wonder who’s next.

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Image note: Composite from source photo by Jim Young/Reuters, 2015.

Lavender, Paige. “Rick Perry Ends His 2016 Presidential Campaign”. The Huffington Post. 11 September 2015.

The Donald Trump Show (Strangers in Cars)

There is plenty about this morning’s report from Niall Stanage of The Hill worth considering:

Republican insiders are reconciling themselves to the idea that Donald Trump won’t be exiting the stage anytime soon — and their main concern now is limiting his damage to their party.

The GOP establishment is almost universally hostile to Trump, who has soared in the 2016 polls on the back of his celebrity, his outspoken statements on immigration and trade deals, and media coverage of his antics.

Many party strategists believe Trump did himself serious damage with his recent remarks denigrating Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) experiences while a prisoner of war in Hanoi, Vietnam — but there is not yet conclusive polling evidence available.

Meanwhile, Trump has made clear that he has no serious intention of reining in his rhetoric — or curbing his propensity to tweak the nose of anyone who displeases him. On Tuesday, shortly after fellow White House contender Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had referred to the businessman as a “jackass,” Trump read out Graham’s cellphone number on live television during a campaign event in the senator’s home state.

During that appearance, Trump also called Graham “a stiff” and an “idiot,” and took shots at another critic and 2016 hopeful, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, saying he’d begun wearing glasses to make himself look smarter.

Among Washington Republicans, the hope is that voters will tire of such comments and that Trump will have to push his boat out into ever-murkier waters to continue to command attention.

Well, okay, sort of. There really is nothing to compare to the reality television spectacle of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy. Over at msnbc, last night, Steve Kornacki helmed TRMS, and pretty much made the point in the eighteen minute A-block by reminding us that Gov. John Kasich of Ohio also declared his presidential candidacy yesterday. And there certainly remains a question of whether Donald Trump’s spectacularly bizarre performance in South Carolina was specifically intended to obscure the arrival of the sixteenth major Republican presidential candidate.

The Republican Condition

This is your Republican 2016 presidential contest:

Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Perry and Donald Trump traded barbs yesterday, with the former governor arguing, “What Mr. Trump is offering is not conservatism, it is Trump-ism – a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense.” The former reality-show host responded that Perry “should be forced to take an IQ test before being allowed to enter the GOP debate.”

(Benen)

It is easy enough to admit astonishment at a two-bit slappy-fight in which we find ourselves sympathizing with the former Governor of Texas, but if we’re scoring this strictly according to reality, yes, the Indicted Clown definitely has the advantage here. And while the Donald Clown―redundancy can be problematic some days―might think he can tap a popular memory of Governor Oops’s infamy, that only works if you can reasonably convince everybody that you are smarter than Rick Perry.

And, well, you know―

Trump is also apparently feuding with John McCain, following the senator’s critical comments this week. Trump called for McCain to be defeated in a primary, adding that the senator is a “dummy” because he graduated “last in his class” at the Naval Academy.

―this is Donald Trump we’re talking about, here.

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Benen, Steve. “Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 7.17.15”. msnbc. 17 July 2015.

The Rick Perry Show (Bedknobs and Bailouts)

So here’s a conundrum; Mark Hensch is a talented enough writer to land a job at The Hill, yet his article this morning, under the headline, “Perry: Americans want ‘fairness’ for Wall Street”, makes exactly no sense. Perhaps Mr. Hensch … er … um … right. You know―

Former Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) said on Sunday that Americans are hungry for a government that treats them the same as big Wall Street firms.

“Americans want to see fairness in that,” Perry told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”

“What is wrong is Washington bailing out companies that make bad decisions,” he added, citing the federal bailout of firms during the 2008 financial crisis.

“In today’s world, a lot of Americans are out there saying, ‘What are these people on Wall Street getting rich for?’” Perry, a GOP presidential candidate, asked.

Perry cited his rural upbringing and humble background as proof he is relatable to the citizens he meets on the campaign trail.

“Americans are ready for a great success story,” he said. “We have a social compact with one generation to the next.”

―this is Rick Perry, after all.

To wit, is the Republican presidential candidate actually suggesting a (cough!) “government takeover” of personal debt?

Sure, we can go with, “Probably not”, but still, just what in the world is going on? And, you know, we can always blame Mr. Hensch, because in reviewing headline and content we find that cuffs and collar don’t match. But still, I’m not certain that’s the problem.

Because, in the end, this is still Rick Perry we’re talking about.

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Hensch, Mark. “Perry: Americans want ‘fairness’ for Wall Street”. The Hill. 21 June 2015.

The Rick Perry Show (Useless Coward)

To: Rick Perry

re: Mother Emanuel

Mass murder is not an “accident”, sir.

“This is the MO of this administration, any time there is an accident like this―the president is clear, he doesn’t like for Americans to have guns and so he uses every opportunity, this being another one, to basically go parrot that message.”

(qtd. in Tashman)

Rev. Clementa Pinckney.

Tywanza Sanders.

Cynthia Hurd.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton.

Rev. Depayne Middleton Doctor.

Ethel Lance.

Susie Jackson.

Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr.

Myra Thompson.

They have names, Mr. Perry.

This was not an accident.

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Tashman, Brian. “Rick Perry: Charleston Shooting An ‘Accident’ Due To Drug Use, Manipulated By Obama To Ban Guns”. Right Wing Watch. 19 June 2015.

Saliba, Emmanuelle, Erik Ortiz, and M. Alex Johnson. “Charleston Church Shooting: Tributes Paid to ‘Kind-Hearted’ Victims”. NBC News. 19 June 2015.

The Rick Perry Show (Who’s Next?)

Ladies and gentlemen, The Rick Perry Show:

Touting his military background and his upbringing in rural America, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Thursday that he’ll make a second bid for the White House.

Perry stood at a podium in front of a C-130 prop plane emblazoned with the words “Perry for President” and told the crowd at a hangar in this Dallas suburb that it’s time for an American “reset.”

“We have the power to make things new again. To project American strength again, to get our economy going again. And that is why today I am running for the presidency of the United States of America,” the longest-serving governor in Texas history said to loud applause.

Perry was accompanied by several military veterans, including Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL made famous in the movie “Lone Survivor.” Taya Kyle, widow of Chris Kyle, the subject of the film “American Sniper” was also in attendance.

(Hunt and Frumin)

In honor of Governor Oops returning to the Republican Ringling, Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress notes some of the stranger beliefs Mr. Perry has expressed about the U.S. Constitution he hopes to preserve, protect, and defend.

And Simon Maloy responds to those notes with appropriately theatrical horror.

The Texas Oopsie Indicted Clown just jumped in the car.

Who’s next? Jeb? And then Bobby?

I get the argument about diversity, how more candidates is better. But isn’t there something missing from that formulation? Don’t they have to be good candidates? I mean, you know―at least a couple of them?

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Image note: Top ― Former Governor of Texas Rick Perry adjusts his tie as he listens to his introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, January 24, 2015. (Jim Young/Reuters)

Hunt, Kasie and Aliyah Frumin. “Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry announces 2016 presidential bid”. msnbc. 4 June 2015.

Millhiser, Ian. “9 Completely Bonkers Things The Newest GOP Presidential Candidate Believes About The Constitution”. ThinkProgress. 4 June 2015.

Maloy, Simon. “oh god I didn’t realize Perry is an anti-17th amendment crank”. Twitter.com. 4 June 2015.

Benen, Steve. “Flubbing the details on Perry’s indictment”. msnbc. 25 August 2014.