Rick Perry & The Earthquake That Rocked DC

Texas Governor Rick Perry has clearly caused significant rumblings amongst the Washington elite. Both the Democrat and Republican establishments are flummoxed by the Governor’s ascendency. Neither party fully grasps the popular appeal of this anti-establishment candidate.


Mr. Perry’s attacks on the loose-money policies of the Federal Reserve are cracking the fault lines of Wall Street. His hostility toward the federal government’s accumulation of power is a threat to DC officialdom. The Governor’s convictions concerning tort-reform, the 10th Amendment, federal deregulation and the dominance of the U.S. dollar are the bedrock of establishment nightmares; the ground is shaking beneath them, the clouds are looming overhead.

So is Rick Perry to blame for the earthquake that recently rocked DC? Did his staunch conservatism, Texas swagger and pride of country roil the Potomac River and rattle the eastern seaboard?

Political parties are, by nature, disciplined and coordinated entities. They choose candidates based on fundraising capabilities, electability and, most importantly, the candidate’s willingness to tow the party line. These establishments are disinclined to favor strong individualists; they fear what they can’t control. Rick Perry is such a figure, unpredictable from the viewpoint of his own party, a “Cowboy” in the eyes of his enemies. He represents the real America, the fierce individualism, self-sufficiency and thirst for competition that’s buried beneath the entitlement-state.

Consider the threat that Perry poses to the powerful DC lobbies. It should come as no surprise that the politically connected and highly influential trial-lawyers’ lobby is attacking Mr. Perry. After all, in his decade as Governor of Texas, Perry has championed numerous laws reforming the state’s legal system, limiting erroneous lawsuits and taming the litigating beast. Consequently, these reforms have spawned an influx of business startups and drastically lowered the cost of living in Texas; the power of the plaintiff has been minimized and the lobby is plotting revenge.

Wall Street speculators, among the largest donors of the Democrat Party, are likewise thirsty for blood. Governor Perry has created controversy by challenging the motives of the Federal Reserve and its loose-money/weak dollar policies. Though a strong U.S. currency would surely serve to boost the nation’s economy, it would likewise have a negative effect on the speculators. Free market capitalism, when not manipulated, cannot grant favors to politically connected industries. Hence, the broad-based attacks on the Governor’s focused message.

The old-establishment is feeling the pre-shock of Perry’s federalist convictions. In the Governor’s own words: “I’ll work hard to try to make DC as inconsequential in your life as I can.” From Karl Rove to Howard Dean, these words signal an existential threat to politics-as-usual in Washington, a crack in the fault-lines of the establishment.

Fortunately, the earthquake that rocked DC on August 23rd resulted in minimal damage, yet November, 2012 may very well produce some real and devastating aftershocks. The American people should significantly benefit relative to the intensity of the shock.