I've been surprised at how poorly Perry is doing, again. So much for the expert campaigner we kept hearing about.
Many Texas people keep insisting he's a wily master campaigner. I'm ready to chalk it up to their general obsession with how superior their state is.
Not a native Texan here. Yes, Texas is superior to most states I have lived in (seven) and traveled through (all east of the Mississippi and 1/3 west of it).
Perry thumped every opponent that he went against in Texas. Not sure if that counts as "master campaigner," but it is empirical evidence that he can win in one of the largest states in the union. Repeatedly. He would have won if he had run for Texas gov last time, I would speculate.
Politically, I classify him as a semi-squishy conservative. His greatest action while governing was
inaction. IOW, he was much less intrusive than most and left folk to do their own thing. Thus, he reaped the rewards when folk did their own thing and made Texas the beacon of economic development in America. He also appointed generally conservative folk when he had the opportunity.
That is the reality of his campaigning and governance, as objectively as I can state it. Extremists will differ, elevating their hobby horse and Perry's unwillingness to ride it into the ground.
As for his current lack of polling success, I see several causes:
1. Cruz, the other Texan, is currently in office and can grandstand as a legicritter instead of having to govern like an executive.
2. Too many *let's not go there* spoil the broth. Too many other contenders split the polling.
3. GOP base that wants to give establishment GOP the big finger have a more flamboyant candidate in Trump.
