Republicans Want AnotherTexas Governor for President

Barely days after announcing his candidacy for president, Texas Governor Rick Perry is already a big contender in the race for president. Although they are not showing it right now, his rivals must be terrified.

According to the newest Gallup poll, 29 percent of GOP voters want Perry as their party’s nominee for the presidential elections. The former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, has a 17 percent backing, Ron Paul has 13 percent, and Michelle Bachmann has the support of 10 percent of the voters.

This is not Perry’s sole polling triumph. In a PPP Perry poll, he received 33 percent, compared to Romney’s 20 percent and Bachmann’s 16 percent.

Michele Bachmann won the recent Ames straw poll, but Perry was not in the race at the time. Mitt Romney is still seen as a favorite. He still has the largest war chest, but Perry and Bachmann have made his road to the nomination very difficult.

Perry is perhaps the most colorful icon of the American conservative movement. He was a candidate in various elections 10 times and won all of them. He is seen as a tough politician, who has the ability to rebound after a tough loss or mistake and who is willing to take advantage of all his candidates’ weak points.

As a governor of a large state, he can cast himself as a man capable of handling a large government with a large bureaucracy. His predecessor in the governor’s mansion, George W. Bush, used this same argument.

Perry is a representative of the far right, deeply religious, and wary of all that is foreign. He advocates a radical reduction in the size and expenditures of government. He is in favor of cutting entitlements like welfare, reducing taxes, and limiting government involvement in the day-to-day life of the average citizen.

Perry’s problem is that his far right views, which might be helpful in securing the nomination, might be a liability when facing off against Barack Obama in the general election.

In the American system, the primaries attract people who are the most emotionally attached to the political process, who also represent the fringes of their parties. This creates a situation in which extremely partisan candidates achieve the best results.

In the general elections, however, the majority of the voters are independent or undecided. These people often switch allegiances in the search for the candidate they like the most. Radical candidates have a significant problem attracting this part of the electorate.

A victim of this system is Mitt Romney, whose views during the previous elections were decidedly more right wing. The party leadership and many voters within his party deemed him unelectable. Romney lost to John McCain. Romney, however, has learned his lesson, and this year, he is presenting a more moderate conservative side of himself.

For similar reasons, another candidate with slim chances of victory is Ron Paul, who, among other things, advocates for a total disbanding of the central bank. Paul has an impressive following and is very popular among the younger voters. The majority of the party leadership and TV pundits see him as unelectable, due to his radical beliefs. This is why no one is giving him a chance in the primaries.