Rick Perry's Iowa Ad: My Thoughts

Governor of Texas and Presidential candidate Rick Perry was one of the few serious contenders in the Republican presidential field who currently holds political office, and the only one who currently serves as governor of a state. The political pundits were spouting off about he was planning to campaign on the Texas miracle of job creation (of course, I'd say if you put a bunch of oil in my backyard I'd be able to create jobs too, but I digress). He seemed to be the candidate who could bridge the Republican Establishment and the Tea Party/grassroots in Republican politics. Of the three candidates the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama was watching before the primary really kicked off, one of them was Rick Perry.

Perry, whose high point in the polls as "Not Romney" essentially was the day before he officially entered the race, has been plagued by problems on the campaign trail. His overall debate performance has been horrible, his gaffes (especially for someone who has been in elected office for most of his adult life) numerous, and his ability to do "retail politics" almost non-existent. This is in stark contrast to what has reportedly been his history in Texas, where everyone and their mother SWEARS he's actually a really good campaigner.

So what does the "jobs" candidate put out in his first big ad push as some likely caucus attendees are starting to pay attention? Well it's about dem gays and school prayer!

Are these the issues Iowa Republicans really care about? Will this ad help motivate someone to go to a school gym or a church basement and attend a caucus for a couple of hours while they may still be nursing a New Years' hangover on January 3, 2012?

Well, maybe.

Iowa is one of the few states that has legalized same-sex marriage. In Varnum v. Brien, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that essentially the state has no business restricting marriage licenses to same-sex couples but recognizing and issuing them to opposite-sex couples. That 2009 decision was unanimous. In the following 2010 retention election, all three justices who were on the ballot were dismissed by voters due to active campaigning from religious organizations such as the National Organization for Marriage. Republicans in the state legislative branch have introduced constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage (and essentially overturn the court decision), but it has been blocked by Democrats who have, since 2009, controlled at least one house of the state legislature.

And if the GOP voters care about that, they may also have the misconception that prayer has been "banned" from schools.

I know every liberal pundit in the world has been going "lol most disliked YouTube video ever", but in the age of the Internet, we need to remember that these political ads are being made for the early states, not for the entire nation. Also, YouTube users are idiots.

And right now, this ad (I couldn't find the other where he's wearing the same jacket) "re-introduces" Rick Perry. It's folksy. It has some good background music. It's just him. If he can run this for a week, then put something with some bite in it before Christmas that REALLY lays it into Romney/Gingrich, then air something positive (maybe about his jobs or economic plan?) between Christmas and January 3, I think he has a shot of at least keeping his campaign alive long enough to go for a win in South Carolina. Especially if Newtmentum ends of self-destructing.