The crowd went wild when Governor Rick Perry walked onto Jimmy Kimmel’s stage in Austin,Texas. Mostly there was a lot of loud booing and some cheers. The boo’s were loud enough for Jimmy to ask Perry what he could have done to make them dislike him so intensely. Perry chose to credit his unpopularity to Austin’s popular credo of being weird. The city proudly claims “Keep Austin Weird” as their motto – which makes it very appealing to this northerner. I’m not sure Perry sees weird as a plus, but he hasn’t lost his gift for language, noting “Austin is the blueberry in the tomato soup of the state.”
Perry, who has held his position as Governor longer than anyone, is considering legalizing marijuana in January. Is it me, or has it become popular for conservatives to lighten up on pot? Perhaps they’ve taken a page from Libertarians, and hoping to grab the attention of ‘one issue’ voters? It reeks of a last ditch attempt by Republicans to hold on, while staying firm on cutting food stamps and opposing health care.
We’ve long speculated what Perry was on during the debate. We can scratch pot off of the list. He’s a non-smoker and obviously no fan, as he reveals when talking about the aroma drifting from Snoop Dog’s dressing room. Segue to Willie Nelson. While Perry likes Nelson very much, he knows the ” quintessential Austin resident” has never voted for him….”But ya gotta love Willie.” I guess ya do, or the crowd would storm the stage.
In a second interview, Perry was asked if he would consider running for president again. He didn’t say no, but he wouldn’t say yes in an unfriendly crowd. He did leave the question wide open, saying “America is a great place for second chances.” He wouldn’t – would he?