I've never been a front runner for anything, but, man, it sure doesn't look like much fun. Actually, it looks brutal.
Just ask Rick Perry, who, only a few weeks into the contest finds himself still clinging to that title, which apparently also includes a big red target conveniently located on his back. This despite the best efforts of his fellow candidates, who seemed to have forgotten about each and piled on the Texas governor like an angry mob.
This week's Tea Party debate offered no exception, and even though it hardly seemed fair, it did offer a little insight.
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While Romney – and even the moderators – revisited Perry's hard-line stance on Social Security, I think the biggest chink in the governor's armor will actually turn out to be his HPV vaccine executive order, mandating a health procedure for young girls not even legally old enough to be at risk to begin with.
Believe me, I wish it had been Romney to bring this up, but this issue is bigger than it appears. For starters, it flies in the face of the Tea Party stance against big government. Can we paint any scarier specter of Big Brother than forcing little girls onto gurney to get a shot before they can even drive?
What makes this worse, though, is that this state-level health care mandate (cuz, yeah, that's what it is) never endure a single vote. Perry – whose intentions were good, no doubt – issued a proclamation from on high. Sorry, but even Obama hasn't skirted the Democratic process so blatantly.
(And, actually, as far as health reform is concerned, Kathleen Sebellius appears to wield a lot more power, anyway.)
This hurts Perry's credibility when it comes to assaulting PPACA, and it hurts his chances with the wider electorate who already bear a healthy amount of distrust for politicians making decisions without them.
Less relevant to us – but worth mentioning – is that Perry's decision to force young girls into health care flies in the face of those on the right among whom his popularity remains highest: the moral and Christian conservatives.
Abstinence might work for some, but I doubt the governor's opponents – or the mainstream media – will abstain from revisiting this topic in a couple of weeks.
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