The Rick Perry Endorsement of Ted Cruz
Rick Perry is one of my favorite political leaders to come out of Texas. He’s done a lot for our state and I think he could have done so much for us as a President. He was my number one choice for the short time he was running last go around and he was my number two guy this go around, while he was still in. Being from Texas and campaigning for Rubio, I always have to remind people that I love our Texas conservatives. Ted Cruz and Rick Perry are both great guys but all things being equal, I really think Rubio is a better option at this time for our country and the conservative cause. I was an advocate for Cruz when he ran for the Senate and I would vote for him again, in a heartbeat, to be my Senator. I really think it’s a role where he can shine, where he can stick it to the establishment and make a difference. If he’s the eventual nominee I would have no problems voting for Cruz but I do think he’ll have a much harder time getting elected and if he is elected getting his agenda passed and making progress for the conservative movement.
Now that that’s out of the way, hearing Perry on the radio this morning with his endorsement for Cruz reminded me once again why us Texans love him so much. It might not come across in some interviews or on a debate stage, but Perry is a real likable guy with passion and he’s has true conservative values. He’s also a great leader and executive with plenty of practice governing Texas for 12 years, being the longest sitting governor of the state. His last election, against Democrat Bill White, was still won in a landslide victory proving his popularity in the state. So a Ted Cruz endorsement from Perry is a really good deal especially here in Texas, but we’ll get back to that.
It’s probably not that big of a surprise for people outside of Texas that the Governor of the state would come out and endorse the Senator of this state running for President. But if you know both of these guys, you’ll know that they haven’t ever really been close and Perry has never really taken a true stance on Cruz and his politics. Rick Perry even said it himself, on the Mark Davis Show, this morning that he’s never really spent time with Cruz before these past few weeks when Cruz reached out to Perry for a one-on-one meeting.
I would generally suspect that Perry would stay out of the endorsement business, even after meeting with Cruz, except for one important wildcard; Donald Trump. It’s no secret that Perry isn’t a Trump fan and the two definitely went back and forth while Perry was still campaigning. Of course, this accrued to Perry losing support and pretty quickly dropping out of the race but the disagreements still stand. Much like other conservative leaders throughout the party, Rick Perry found it hard to sit back and take the narrative that Trump was a viable conservative choice. Now that Cruz and Trump seem to be neck and neck in the early states and in some national polls, Perry sees a chance to help Cruz blast past Trump to finally take him out. Of course it’s my opinion that if the race was down to Cruz and Rubio, Perry would have probably stayed out of it and let the primary system play out.
So what does this really do for Cruz and how can it help him jump over the Trump hurdle? Like I mentioned before, Perry is a very charismatic person and is very likable when you get him in more intimate settings. This is something that Cruz acknowledges as one of his weaker points and having a messenger out there like Perry with his personality and record is probably one of the best things that could happen for the Cruz campaign.
In the end, I still think that Rubio is the guy that can win the general election and do the most for the conservative cause. There’s no doubting that if you’re a conservative, you’re probably mostly split between Rubio and Cruz and although Rubio has gotten a ton of support from fellow Senators, Congressmen, and Governors throughout the country this Perry endorsement is a huge deal for Cruz and not just in Texas.
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