Oh, Gov. Rick Perry, how many splendid blunders your campaign has wrought. With The Perry Trap heading into a New Year, pre-Iowa Caucus hiatus, we thought we would play a little game of true or false about his campaign crashes.
Here’s the rules. We name five issues, and you have to guess whether it is true or false that Perry misspoke, mangled or was factually deficit in a campaign statement on that matter. Ready? Here we go.
One: His own platform
Two: Voting age
Three: The date of the 2012 elections
Four: The number of Supreme Court justices
Five: The lawsuit overturning Texas’ primary anti-gay statute
Think you know the answers? Well, let’s go!
One: True. Ah, the “oops!” moment. Perry had announced that he would dissolve three federal agencies: Commerce, Education and Energy. When asked to name those three at the Nov. 9 CNBC debate, Perry got the first two and then stumbled. “The third agency of government I would do away with, the Education, Commerce. And let’s see. I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops.” Probably wasn’t helped his fellow candidates suggesting it was the EPA.
Two and Three: Both true! While visiting Saint Anselm’s College in New Hampshire on Nov. 11, Perry said, “Those who are going to be over 21 on November 12th, I ask for your support Those who won’t be, just work hard. Because you’re … counting on us.” The voting age in the US is 18, and the election is actually on Nov. 6.
Four: True and it gets worse. In a meeting with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register, Perry railed against “eight unelected and, frankly, unaccountable judges.” One wonders which of the nine justices he thinks is just peachy. However, he was at least prepared to admit to his ignorance on their names. While blanking on the name of Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, he also knew that it was “not Montemayor” either. Which is a start.
Five: True again. While out stumping in Iowa yesterday, Perry blanked on the terms of Lawrence vs. Texas – the case which overturned Texas’ anti-sodomy law and in turn similar laws in 13 other states. “I wish I could tell you that I know every Supreme Court case but I don’t,” he told reporters. “I’m not going to even try to go through every Supreme Court case,” he added, before rambling on about the deficit. However in 2002, when SCOTUS voted 5-4 that the anti-sodomy law was unconstitutional, Perry told the Associated Press that he though the old law was “appropriate.”
So, which was your favorite (even if it didn’t make our list)?
This article appears in December 30 • 2011.
