Rick Perry's “Fed Up!” For Dummies

With debates looming, Rick Perry’s ‘Fed Up!’ becomes required reading



9/2/11

By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Copyright 2011

Labor Day approaches, and if you want to understand Republican dialogue this month – we have three presidential debates in the next 20 days – then your weekend reading assignment is obvious.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s “Fed Up!” has suddenly become a required text.

From the NYT’s The Caucus this morning:

In “Fed Up!” Mr. Perry unleashes a passionate, conservative critique against the size, scope and power of the federal government that leads him to condemn Social Security as “a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal” and climate change as “all one contrived phony mess.” He also assails the federal income tax and contends that senators should still be selected by legislators instead of voters.

Since he announced his bid for the Republican nomination, Mr. Perry has defended the ideas in his book while allowing aides to distance his campaign from it. His spokesman has called it a “look back, not a path forward,” but when a reporter in Iowa asked him whether he stands by his statements, Mr. Perry claimed not to have “backed off anything in my book.”

Also this morning, Politico.com looks at the book as a treasure trove for Perry’s GOP opponents – particularly Mitt Romney:

Though it’s Perry’s name on the cover of “Fed Up!”, it’s actually not clear which sections of the book Perry composed himself. There are five people listed in the acknowledgments section as contributors, including a former U.S. attorney who is said to have “devoted himself full time to the completion of the original manuscript.” Also listed is Dave Carney, Perry’s senior political strategist.

The liberal Texas Tribune this week posted “Fed Up!” For Dummies, a quick review for those to busy or too cheap to send $16 to Amazon.com. It notes that, ironically, the forward was penned by Newt Gingrich:

Gingrich really likes Rick Perry, his book and his leadership in Texas. Many Californians, Gingrich says, became fed up with their state’s “socialist policies” and moved to Texas “where on average, they are safer, freer and more prosperous.” (Californians, no emails please. Remember, we did not fact-check the book.)

“His position as governor of Texas gives him a tremendous platform for helping us change course and return to sound conservative fiscal policies,” Gingrich writes, clearly not thinking Perry would become a rival for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination (we’ll be watching the upcoming Sept. 7 GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to see if Gingrich has changed his mind).

© 2011 Atlanta Journal Constitution: ajc.com

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