Rick Perry returns to Texas as damaged goods. Humiliated & humbled

The Return of the Native: Rick Perry as Damaged Goods in Texas

The governor comes back to rule his state after a humiliating and humbling campaign. Already, the locals see him as hobbled in a local political scene where he was once the master.

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Texas Republicans, however, were discreet. No public word has been issued by the old guard. But the news that Perry was dropping out of the 2012 presidential race elicited gleeful responses from the state’s Democrats, to say the least. Former agriculture commissioner Jim Hightower, who was trounced by Perry in his first statewide bid 22 years ago, told the Los Angeles Times, “He’s embarrassed us enough. When he got started, I warned people not to underestimate Perry – he’s a lot stupider than he looks.”


Many Texans must feel that the governor is returning as damaged goods, with lots of self-inflicted political wounds that he will have to heal fast to be able to effectively govern the state. Last fall, as Perry entered the race and shot up in the polls, Texas Monthly magazine’s veteran political editor advised out-of-state reporters to take Perry seriously, given his wily and successful political history as the longest-serving governor in Texas history. But Paul Burka and other longtime Texas political observers watched in puzzlement as wily gave way to Wile E. Coyote. Perry’s campaign diminished into a poof of smoke with each gaffe or stiff answer. Jillson, who also had advised reporters and pundits to recognize Perry’s political skills, was horrified when he described NATO ally Turkey as a state led by Islamic terrorists. The governor exhibited, Jillson said, an “inability to focus” and “an unwillingness to spend time and effort” on the important foreign and domestic issues in the presidential race.

Today, Texans standing in grocery-store checkout lanes are confronted with the latest cover of Texas Monthly magazine, which names the governor the recipient of the annual Bum Steer award, given to those the magazine believes have been “responsible for the biggest screw-up, gaffe, fumble, stumble, train wreck, or humiliation of the past twelve months.” It depicts a goofy cartoon of Perry, sucking his finger in puzzlement with a Post-it note stuck to his forehead and a list written in ink on his hand, spoofing his failure in a debate to remember which three federal agencies he would eliminate. The caption reads, “Here’s something you won’t forget: You’re our ‘um’ steer of the year.”

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