Mavericks: Rick Perry, Meet Tom Coburn
Two Southwestern stars of the GOP, the Governor of Texas and the Senator from Oklahoma, are riding off in opposite ideological directions.
Rick Perry, who keeps falling off his horse in the Republican debates, has now mounted a bucking bull by proposing a radical and, in some respects, clearly unconstitutional tearing down of the federal government, which includes making Congress work part-time with half pay and ending lifetime tenure of federal judges. (Lots of luck with those!)
The Perry plan would give him less to remember in answering questions publicly but is not likely to pull him out of the pits of the nomination polls, where he now resides. It could, however, provide a good stepping-off point for someone like John Huntsman Jr., if he decides to distance himself from Tea Party nuttiness.
At the same time, Oklahoma’s Tom Coburn affirms his maverick conservatism by issuing a report titled “Subsidies of the Rich and Famous” to illustrate how, “under the current tax code, the federal government is giving billions of dollars to individuals with an Annual Gross Income (AGI) of at least $1 million, subsidizing their lavish lifestyles with the taxes of the less fortunate.”
Dr. Coburn’s indictment even outdoes what his sometime friend Barack Obama has been saying for months:
MORE.
6 Responses to “Mavericks: Rick Perry, Meet Tom Coburn”
I hope Tom has his own security detail. The GOP is about to tear his head off.
They are likely to try that, aren’t they? Of course, at this point, the Tea Party members might actually come to his rescue, since they did seem to dislike such cushy treatment of millionaires. Alternately, OWS people might protect him, since they’ve been evicted and have little else to do anyways.
This story broke a couple of days ago:
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/193579-gop-wobbles-on-no-new-taxes-vow
While the Tea Party is against raising taxes I believe they are much more open to closing loopholes. While Paul Ryan’s budget was flawed in other ways, it did include closing loopholes IIRC. Of course the Tea Party has also been opposed to corporate bailouts which have benefited millionaires.
Giving tax money to those whom don’t need it somehow seems to set better with Tea Party Republicans than giving tax money to those whom do need it. At least Senator Coburn is bringing this into the public eye. Must have gotten his fill of Tea Party stupidity.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Rick Perry has been labeled “one of the stupid” in his attempt to, placate the Tea Party. The rest of the candidates should observe and heed.
I like what I’ve seen of TC, so far. I hope he doesn’t hang out with RP too long.
Perry’s style is what resonates so well with Texans who support him, that good-ol’-boy approach with swagger and in-your-face bad grammar, English corrections being the realm of those Eastern elite ivy-league people.
Perhaps the best description I’ve heard about Perry has been “GWB without any reservations.”
He’s got plenty of rich friend supporters, so I won’t be surprised to see lots of 30 second stuff that’s folksy and anti-establishment, even though he’s the longest-running establishment in the history of Texas.
But I hope people realize, on a national level, what a disaster he might be.