Why do some fear the Texas candidate more than others?

[apples and oranges]

I feel that all the gop candidates would be equally devastating to this country, Not just Rick Perry. They are all equally ignorant and hateful.

[LiberaL Lamp Post]

1. I agree - but people remember what happened

the last time we elected a president from Texas.

[apples and oranges]

7. Bush would've been a nightmare no matter where he was from

His policies were bad because he is a republican, not because he was from texas.

[OneGrassRoot]

2. PTSD

We vividly recall the eight GWB years.

[FarCenter]

3. He's more likely to win

Good hair, plus all that oil, mining, and defense industry money in back of him.

[CanonRay]

4. Too many fresh memories of Dubya

[Ohio Joe]

5. Because he is just as bat shit crazy as any of them but...

Can appear sane for short periods, enough to convince people he is.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Because few good things come from Texas? LOL! Oh I don't know. I'd guess it's

because he's an idiot, but in that category the Republican Party has plenty of candidates. I'd be more likely to nominate Bachmann for the Most Idiotic Candidate.

[Scuba]

8. Dubya. Remember, Lyndon didn't have this problem. n/t

[Skink]

9. Because Obama is so much more effective when it comes to unraveling the New Deal.

Obamas coat tails this time will bring us even more conservatives at which point he can fufill his dream of being a transformational president.

[apples and oranges]

12. What point are you trying to convey here?

Are you honestly saying there wouldn't be a difference between an obama presidency and a teapublic presidency?

[Skink]

17. that the establishment knows when they have a winning hand.

They know the race in 2016 is wide open. Obamas giving them all they want.Why change horses now when a Democrat is doing all there dirty work.

[TrainToCry]

19. You've actually given up, haven't you?

[ananda]

10. Lol

Because women lost the right to choose in Texas... poor people, especially
children, lost access to good nutrition and healthcare... environmental
protections went down the drain... higher education was attacked in favor of
of cheap online "degrees," and prayer is used to deal with the worst drought
in Texas history?

[Motown_Johnny]

11. Fool us twice, shame on.... ummm.....errr.... we won't get fooled again!

[baldguy]

13. Because Texas money has an inordinate amount of influence in American politics.

And the stories of the Bush crime family not liking him don't really matter. They were only the recipients of that money and don't really control it.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

14. Charisma + Marketing.

I am speaking from experience. Whey Bush ran America was warned what a disaster he would become as a leader. We, Texas Democrats, grew hoarse from our roaring. Yet, for some reason, far too many Americans were taken in by the sales pitch and the "aw shucks" marketing.

Perry, could possibly, be able to sway Americans with a similar style and marketing. It's not really about who wins the GOP nomination. At least not so much to me. It's about who could win the nomination and snow the most Americans in the GE. That's the concern. Perry has more potential than some in that area.

[ladjf]

24. Your answer is very sad but also very true. nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

28. I freely admit to being gun shy.

Texas is a politically generated disaster which is only getting worse. Yet the Republicans seem to believe a misplaced idealism in regards to the state. That, coupled with the lack of accountability by the media, scares the hell out of me when it comes to Perry running. He's a political lightweight who is out of his league on a national level. That should matter. It should matter in a massive way. However, I've been here before and it had very little impact the last time.

I cannot impress enough how passionately I want Perry not to win this nomination, for the sake of our country and the rest of the world's long term well-being, but what I want and what happens in this world far too often are not the same.

[Ishoutandscream2]

30. Good post. Deserves a thread of its own

[leveymg]

15. He has better hair (except Mittens), but isn't Mormon.

He's a better packaged Bag of Chili Fixin's, and a Son of the South. Of course they'll love 'em. Just mix with a pound of burger, and pour off the grease.

[RB TexLa]

16. He's not a woman or a Mormon which means he can actually get the GOP nomination

he's the most likely Republican candidate.

[TrainToCry]

18. Because he reminds everyone so much of Bush.

[Shagbark Hickory]

20. ^ that.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

21. Perry hasn't got the brains or concience to stumble when telling even the biggest of lies.

Most of the others will clam up, choke, or clumsily change the subject when they get caught but Perry sails right on through. Like Hannity, he's too fucking stupid to be ashamed or cautious.

[Douglas Carpenter]

22. I'm reasonably confident that Mitt Romney will not intentionally blow up the world

IF Rick Perry does actually believe the kind of fundamentalism that he publicly identifies with - then he believes that Americans must and are in fact commanded by God to intentionally provoke a catastrophic world war against the Arab and Islamic world to insure that the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is destroyed and the Temple of David is rebuilt in order to usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ.

We can all only hope and pray that Rick Perry does not actually believe this craziness and that he is only a scam artist taking the hardline right-wing fundamentalist for a ride. But what if Perry is not a con artist? What if he actually believes the kind of fundamentalism that he publicly identifies with?

[jwirr]

27. This is my biggest reason for worrying about him. Just imagine a

crash while he is president and the kinds of disaster ideas he would implement when everyone was not looking. We would end up with at theocracy with the new religion one of pure hate.

[ladjf]

23. I don't give a damn where the candidate if from. But, Perry is

a political charlatan hiding in the cloak of a Dominionist, a religious position that he probably doesn't even fully understand. The problem is, America is dumb enough to be suckered in by any good snake oil salesman.

[mrmpa]

25. For me, it's the fear of his...............

bringing religion to the office. I don't mind having a man of faith as President, but I do mind having a man of religion being President.

[JohnnyLib2]

26. Bush electoral votes.

Perry's alarming stances.

[humankarenball]

29. My personal fear of this guy

Is that he's so completely vocal about how he wants to mix religion and government. Bush already made me FEEL like a second-class citizen ("I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.") for my atheism; Perry wants to actually make me one.