The State of Lone Star

Okay, at least I have an excuse: Last week was an awfully busy one. I started teaching PE and having kids coming to the computer lab, not at the same time however. Oh, and my son moved out of the house to go to college. That might explain how I callously skipped over the watershed event of Rick Perry dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Some might suggest that I have my priorities squarely fixed and that I should not feel bad about making my own job and family the focus of my life. Others might disagree. Rick Perry, for one. Sorry about that, Rick.

So 2012's also-ran has decided to take the same route again in 2016. Or 2015, since that is the year we are currently enduring. Former Texas governor Rick "Four Eyes" Perry didn't even make it to the primaries this time. Maybe wearing glasses gave him the vision to see that the path ahead was rocky and inhospitable. Or maybe he just got tired of being one of more than a dozen hopefuls in an already crowded casting call. It takes courage to be the first clown out of the car. Or maybe he just forgot where he was parked. 

Whatever the reason, we won't have Rick Perry to kick around anymore. Well, we can continue to kick him, but it won't be in order to get him to drop out of the race. That also means that Rick will probably feel free to take a couple wild swings on his way out: "The conservative movement has always been about principles, not personalities," Perry said, before making a not-too-veiled swipe at Donald Trump, the GOP's current front-runner. "Our nominee should embody those principles. He, or she, must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity."

Whether Governor Perry truly embodies the ideals of conservatism or no longer up to an electorate to decide. The Conservative Review gave him generally passing marks back in April, Their conclusion:  "Voters seem to see Perry the same way girls look at the 'nice guy' who's not nerdy enough to be the next Bill Gates, jock enough to be the next star quarterback, or cool enough to be the lead singer. They don't mind him being around, but whenever he tries to push for a commitment they just want to be friends." A friend with seventeen million dollars in a Super PAC. Maybe that not-so-nerdy quasi-jock will have to settle for being the guy who tells everyone that the rich guy is trouble, and maybe when he gives all that money back, he can still influence somebody. Somewhere. So long, Governor Rick. We'll see y'all down the trail.