Finaly, Perry's choice of words come straight from the Texas Handbook of Politics. It works wonders at home and worked wonders for W in both elections. And if it wasn't for W, it might make a fantastic contrast to Obama. But because of the spectre of The False Texan Conservative of Elections Past, it will be a killer for him.
I tend to agree that this is a serious negative for him. After all the work the Republican base has done over the past 3 years re-branding itself as the Tea Party in order to distance itself from George W. Bush, to turn around and nominate a guy whose mannerisms and speech patterns immediately evoke visceral associations with Bush is risky. The fact that Perry attained his office by virtue of being Bush's lieutenant governor when W. departed for the White House probably won't help dispel the mental association.
When I'm tempted to give the average voter more credit, I think of how many folks can no longer distinguish Tina Fey's Sarah Palin from the actual Palin (granted, the distinctions between the two weren't as pronounced or exaggerated as some other spoofs, like Chevy Chase's Ford falls, which is alarming in and of itself).
Would be an interesting experiment, though.
You have a very biased and jaded opinion of the GOP.
The Tea Party is an outsider when it comes to the GOP.
Besides....Republicans aren't like Democrats, Liberals, or Progressives. They don't have to change their stripes to become palatable to the public. They don't have to appear to be moderates to get their foot in the door. All they have to do is be themselves. The only weapons the left has against them is false stereotypes and smear tactics and making sure that the public is misinformed.