# Might as well Pit Rick Perry. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 11, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392 "2011-08-11T23:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/81 "2011-08-19T18:53:05Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > When Carl Rove starts to worry about this guy you know you are neck deep in shit. Dr. Frankenstein (Rove) has created monsters, now he is seeing the fruit of his labors. It ain’t pretty. \Karl, not Carl\ ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/82 "2011-08-19T18:54:23Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I don’t dispute that Rick Perry is a doofus. However, in the interest of being fair (and boasting about my wife), I would like to point out that when I told my wife “Rick Perry got a C in gym!” she replied, sweetly, “I got a C in gym.” Oh. After somehow managing to get a C in undergrad PE, my wife went on to graduate, then kept right on going and graduated from a prestigous med school, completed a residency and a fellowship at highly regarded institutions, went into academic practice, and got pretty widely published in her field. In a few months, she will get her name in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. So… it is at least possible to get a C in PE and still be a pretty sharp cookie. > > Just to be fair. > > Rick Perry is not one of those people, but I thought I should mention this. > > ETA: I have no particular interest in being fair about all those other Cs and Ds. The guy is a boob. Men don’t get Cs . ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/83 "2011-08-19T19:43:01Z")
[Flashback: Rick Perry Supports Criminalizing Gay Sex](http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/08/flashback-rick-perry-supports-criminalizing-gay-sex) > [@](#): > > So what exactly has Perry done? Well, for one, he is (still) a supporter of the Texas “homosexual conduct” statute, an archaic law that made it a crime for two consenting, unrelated adults to have sex if they were of the same gender. The law was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the landmark 2002 case Lawrence v. Texas, but, despite repeated efforts, Texas has yet to formally repeal the statute. When Perry was asked about the Lawrence case in 2002, he defended the anti-sodomy statute: “I think our law is appropriate that we have on the books.” He wrote about the case in his 2011 book Fed Up, too, citing the Lawrence decision as the product of “nine oligarchs in robes” and an example of what’s wrong with our judicial system. And last spring, when Perry ran for his third full term as governor, he did so on a state GOP platform that exlicitly stated “we oppose the legalization of sodomy.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/84 "2011-08-19T19:54:59Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > Don’t you need to be fairly smart to be an Af pilot? That’s what I was thinking. I assume there is some sort of exam you have to pass, and assume it isn’t too easy, but his GPA doesn’t inspire much confidence. I keep hearing “he’s never lost an election” from the pundits. I guess there’s always a first time… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/85 "2011-08-19T20:26:28Z")
My Dad went to Air Force pilot training, he was a navigation instructor. Washed out, as most did in those days. Anyway, while he was desperately trying to break out of 1st Lt. (after four years as a 2nd Lt…not a good sign…) he was constantly taking classes to brush up on his math skills. Wasn’t for years later I knew enough to ask why, since was already a navigator, which requires a fuckload more math than piloting. “They want good math scores for pilot school.” “But you have demonstrated math skills, you’re a navigator, hell, you’re an instructor. Why would you need to show more math skills than you are ever going to use? What’s the point?” “The point is they want good math scores for pilot school.” I’m not really all that curious about the “ROTC” to officer question, I can buy that one. I’m just wondering how a guy who got a “D” in Trigonometry gets on the fast track to pilots school. Maybe it was the war, or maybe it was just the subtle nuances of the military mind. But more than that, I’m kinda curious why his service years don’t figure more prominently in his public resume. I mean, GeeDubya wouldn’t shut up about his, and his don’t stack up all that well. Now, I don’t really suspect some major scandal. I’m just thinking that the Air Force, in its wisdom, decided that young Lt. Perry was not quite career officer material. And I’m wondering why. Not much, really, given the mounds of documented fact that lead me to the firm conclusion that Gov Goodhair is not Presidential timber. Actually, he’s more like “I wake up screaming”. Just curious. In a suspicious sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/86 "2011-08-19T20:47:17Z")
Well, here’s [Wikipedia’s summary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Perry)of Perry’s aviation career. The accompanying picture shows him leaning against a jet. Sexier than a C-130–although flying cargo planes is useful work: > [@](#): > > Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the Air Force, completed pilot training, and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas, and went into business farming cotton with his father. He had a degree in Animal Sciences, but Veterinarian School is highly competitive & his grades sucked. So, was he looking at the USAF as an alternate career or just a way to pass his time? His only other job had been selling books door to door during the summer. Until he began his career in politics. A pro-Perry poster mentioned his “compelling” life story. I’m not compelled. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/87 "2011-08-19T20:57:54Z")
Down here deep in the heart of darkness, aka Texas, activists are debating unleashing a whisper campaign much like the one Rove launched against Ann Richards. Google Geoff Connor/Rick Perry. As much as I despise Perry and I do deeply despise the man, I can’t endorse using Rove’s tactics. We act like them, we become like them. The gay and lesbian community isn’t really happy about it either. However if my fellow citizens are stupid enough to elect him, I truly think I’ll sell off the farm and go live in a hut in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/88 "2011-08-19T21:15:56Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > However if my fellow citizens are stupid enough to elect him, I truly think I’ll sell off the farm and go live in a hut in Mexico. And you’ll make a killing if you work as a coyote, sneaking desperate unemployed gringos over the Fence into Coahuila. And that’s not even counting the human-sex-trafficking potential! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/89 "2011-08-19T21:29:13Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > He had a degree in Animal Sciences . . . “America needs vaccination, worming and neutering!” ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/90 "2011-08-19T22:15:59Z")
When Obama was elected, I didn’t think much about the people claiming he’d take away the guns. I certainly didn’t raid the stores for ammunition or anything like that. But when Perry formally announced his candidacy, I honestly started window shopping shotguns and home protection for the mess he’d inevitably make of this country. I realize that’s not a rational response, but Rick Perry and rationality go together like peanut butter and strychnine. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/91 "2011-08-19T23:25:33Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > My Dad went to Air Force pilot training, he was a navigation instructor. Washed out, as most did in those days. Anyway, while he was desperately trying to break out of 1st Lt. (after four years as a 2nd Lt…not a good sign…) he was constantly taking classes to brush up on his math skills. Wasn’t for years later I knew enough to ask why, since was already a navigator, which requires a fuckload more math than piloting. > > “They want good math scores for pilot school.” > > “But you have demonstrated math skills, you’re a navigator, hell, you’re an instructor. Why would you need to show more math skills than you are ever going to use? What’s the point?” > > “The point is they want good math scores for pilot school.” > > I’m not really all that curious about the “ROTC” to officer question, I can buy that one. I’m just wondering how a guy who got a “D” in Trigonometry gets on the fast track to pilots school. Maybe it was the war, or maybe it was just the subtle nuances of the military mind. > > But more than that, I’m kinda curious why his service years don’t figure more prominently in his public resume. I mean, GeeDubya wouldn’t shut up about his, and his don’t stack up all that well. Now, I don’t really suspect some major scandal. I’m just thinking that the Air Force, in its wisdom, decided that young Lt. Perry was not quite career officer material. > > And I’m wondering why. Not much, really, given the mounds of documented fact that lead me to the firm conclusion that Gov Goodhair is not Presidential timber. Actually, he’s more like “I wake up screaming”. Just curious. In a suspicious sort of way. You have a different memory than I do about W. I don’t remember him talking much, if at all, about his National Guard duty. “Wouldn’t shut up about it” isn’t even close to what I remember. As for Perry, he’s only been in it a week. And one of the more controversial things he’s said was in reference to his military service (and Obama’s lack of same). In short, I think you’re reaching. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/92 "2011-08-19T23:31:14Z")
I don’t remember Bush talking much about his National Guard experiences either…more other people (mostly on this message board) talking about them. If Perry is bragging about his trash hauler experience (as if that makes him better suited to be president than Obama), well…it goes along with his developing image. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/93 "2011-08-19T23:57:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > …In short, I think you’re reaching. You got me, **John**. Really, what was your first clue? Wasn’t this, was it? > [@](#): > > …Innuendo follows, based on a solid foundation of dark suspicion and mistrust, with a few scatterings of fact and second-hand observations. Be warned… Reckon I gotta get more subtle if I’m gonna fool a sharpie like you. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/94 "2011-08-20T00:25:23Z")
> **[Seven ways Rick Perry wants to change the Constitution](https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/seven-ways-rick-perry-wants-change-constitution-131634517.html)** > > Rick Perry has many ideas about how to change the American government's founding document. From ending lifetime tenure for federal judges to completely scrapping two whole amendments, the Constitution would see a major overhaul if the Texas governor... in brief: \*\*1. Abolish lifetime tenure for federal judges by amending Article III, Section I of the Constitution. 2. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote. \*\* Yeah – who needs that damned system of Checks and Balances, anyway? \*\*3. Scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment. \*\* Yeah. It’s not as if we _need_ that money. \*\*4. End the direct election of senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment. \*\* It’s Mob Rule! \*\*5. Require the federal government to balance its budget every year. 1. The federal Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman in all 50 states. 2. Abortion should be made illegal throughout the country. \*\* _That’ll_ show those Liberal Secular Humanists ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/95 "2011-08-20T00:49:45Z")
One of the peculiarities of Texas politics, maybe number 3,226, is that the Republican Party in Texas has three wings: a somewhat sane, secular, moderate wing, a right wing, and a wing just to the left of Kublai Khan. By some arcane maneuverings, the platform of the Republican Party of Texas was left to the devices of the batshit commandos. For years, a favorite hobby of us DFH was to peruse every new edition of the Texas Republican Party platform, and it never disappointed. It was a hoot. (Maybe not so much lately, haven’t thought about it in a while…) Gold standard! Dig up Earl Warren and execute him! Anyway, there’s about half a chance some of those positions are inferred from the platform. Doesn’t mean he wont adopt them, he still has to kiss their, ah, ring. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/96 "2011-08-20T04:55:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > [http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/seven-ways-rick-perry-wants-change-constitution-131634517.html](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/seven-ways-rick-perry-wants-change-constitution-131634517.html) > > in brief: > > \*\*1. Abolish lifetime tenure for federal judges by amending Article III, Section I of the Constitution. > 2. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote. > \*\* > \*\*3. Scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment. > \*\* > \*\*4. End the direct election of senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment. > \*\* > \*\*5. Require the federal government to balance its budget every year. > 6. The federal Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman in all 50 states. > 7. Abortion should be made illegal throughout the country. > \*\* Uh, what the f… I mean, what an… interesting… thought piece. Hey look! [Aliens are going to kill us because of global warming](http://reason.com/blog/2011/08/19/another-global-warming-menace/print)! ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/97 "2011-08-20T04:57:45Z")
Clearly, we need bigger and better weapons to head those alien bastards off at the pass. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/98 "2011-08-20T06:25:42Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > Uh, what the f… I mean, what an… interesting… thought piece. I’m trying to figure you out. The article on Perry didn’t have anything I thought was controversial or even all that unreasonable for a Texas politician to suggest. Marriage as defined between one man and one woman? Texas Republicans are definitely on board with that. You could win some Texas legislative seats with nothing more than this on your platform. It would not surprise me in the least if we had something like that as an amendment to the state constitution (and have you seen how many amendments we have in our state constitution?). Direct election of judges. We’ve got that for state judges in Texas, and it’s got support across the spectrum of Texas voters, Republican and Democrat. I’m ambivalent about it, but it’s been the case for a while. No income tax? Texas ain’t got no state income tax and apparently (according to Perry), we’re doing fine. In fact, it’s been one of his talking points that no state income tax is one of the things that makes Texas great. Balanced budget? Despite the economic downturn and accounting chicanery, this is one of the holy grails of the current Texas Legislature. Perry even pulled the political ploy of ‘claiming’ to want to deny the use of the rainy day fund (if the recession wasn’t a rainy day, I don’t know what was). Doesn’t matter that we’ve gutted education funding, we’ve balanced the budget (albeit still with a little bit of accounting sleight of hand). Of course, balancing the budget came at the cost of tens of thousands (and possible over 100,000) jobs, but we still balanced that SOB. Basically, none of these suggestions is actually off the wall for Texas and not at all for a Texas politician to suggest for the nation at large. Have you actually been paying attention to what Rick Perry has said or are you simply assuming that because you like him that he must actually be a reasonable candidate? I’m guessing you’re not actually from Texas. Or if you are, you haven’t been paying attention to state politics. It’s the kind of article that Texas Republicans would mostly agree with. So, I don’t get where your WTF comes from. It’s one thing to be partisan. It’s another to be so partisan that you disagree with even the partisan supporters of Governor Goodhair. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/99 "2011-08-20T15:45:42Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You got me, **John**. Really, what was your first clue? > > Wasn’t this, was it? > > Reckon I gotta get more subtle if I’m gonna fool a sharpie like you. Yeah, whatever. You claimed that Bush “wouldn’t shut up” about his military record. That was not based on “…Innuendo follows, based on a solid foundation of dark suspicion and mistrust, with a few scatterings of fact and second-hand observations. Be warned…”. So, not, that was no my first clue. My first clue was your re-framing history to fit your thesis, such as it was. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392/100 "2011-08-20T16:20:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Direct election of judges. We’ve got that for state judges in Texas, and it’s got support across the spectrum of Texas voters, Republican and Democrat. I’m ambivalent about it, but it’s been the case for a while. Please read more carefully. Even Perry is saying nothing about direct election of judges. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-as-well-pit-rick-perry/592392.md?page=6)