Something strange is happening in the 2012 campaign. Conservative pundits are increasingly accusing Rick Perry — that’s the Rick Perry who shoots coyotes with a laser-sighted .380 handgun on his morning jogs — of being a closet liberal.Perry’s always had some vulnerabilities from the right, but they’re pretty exceptional cases overall. The two big ones are (a): his moderate and pro-business streak on immigration, which included signing a law granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, and (b): his unsuccessful attempt to mandate HPV vaccinations for schoolchildren. But what’s really irking pundits on the right is the way he’s chosen to defend them.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=106564