gracchusdixit

First, there was all that talk of seceding from the union.  Then came a fervent assertion that “moral relativism” is the cause of all the country’s problems.  Next came the insinuation that the chairman of the Federal Reserve was somehow guilty of treason.  And now, there are assertions that global warming  doesn’t exist and raising the country’s debt limit isn’t necessary.  All this in a breathtakingly short period of time from the new unofficial front-runner for the Republican nomination, Governor Rick Perry of Texas.

There are only three possible explanations for this sort of nonsense.  Rick Perry is stupid.  Rick Perry is corrupt.  Or Rick Perry is crazy.  If there’s a third option, it’s hard to imagine what it might be.

Let’s start with “stupid.”  There is plenty to be said for this possibility, since Rick Perry seems to have remarkably little knowledge of things that are, to say the least, rather important for a public leader to know.  The Constitution, for instance.

Perry recently labeled the printing of money by the Federal Reserve Bank as “treasonous where I come from,” and he personalized the accusation by leveling it directly at the Bank’s chairman.  The last time I looked, the Constitution said nothing to equate “printing money” (which happens to be one of the jobs of a central bank) with “treason”. Perry’s talk of secession is another matter.  Since the United States of America aren’t about to dissolve themselves willingly or peacefully, secession could only be brought about by an act of war against the nation.  That, of course, is precisely how Article III of the Constitution defines “treason.”  And that is why we fought the Civil War.  For a sitting governor of the state of Texas to talk about seceding from the union 150 years later is “treasonous where I come from.”  It also qualifies as profoundly stupid.

Now let’s consider the possibility that Rick Perry is corrupt.  Of course, there are two kinds of corruption—illegal and immoral—and it’s often hard to disentangle the two.  Illegal corruption involves an overt bargain:  you pay me and I’ll pay you back with a favor.  That sometimes passes in ordinary life.  But in public life, it’s a crime.  Immoral corruption involves a more subtle bargain:  you support me because I favor policies that benefit you.  There is no way of knowing (yet) whether Perry is guilty of the first brand of corruption, but he is certainly guilty of the second.

To mention merely one example:  In the last eight years, the infamous Koch brothers, whose money comes from oil and gas, have contributed two million dollars to political campaigns and candidates.  That’s the “official” number, of course.  It’s impossible to know how many much they’ve passed under the table.  In any case, nearly all of this money has gone to Republicans, and nearly half of it has been spent in Texas.  The largest portion of their spending in Texas has—wonder of wonders—benefitted Rick Perry.   And how have the Koch brothers been repaid?  With Perry’s assertion that global warming is a fraud perpetuated by scientists who have “manipulated the data.”  If voters buy this fiction, the Koch brothers will get even richer than they already are.

Then, there is the very real possibility that Rick Perry is simply crazy.  Certainly, his claims that we are “adrift in a sea of moral relativism” and that prayer is the only way we can get back to solid ground have all the earmarks of lunacy.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not mocking prayer or those who choose to pray or even those who choose to think that their god is the only god.  That’s their business.  But this is a democracy with a vast and diverse population whose beliefs don’t fit into any one spiritual niche.  It is also a democracy with a Constitution that specifically separates church and state.  To think that such a democracy can be governed from the pulpit is just plain nuts.

Finally, there is the possibility that Rick Perry is a different kind of crazy—crazy like a fox.  Maybe he knows that his ignorance doesn’t matter, because so many of his fellow citizens are even more ignorant than he is.  Maybe he knows that corruption doesn’t matter in a country where money and the markets are the governing morality.   Maybe he knows that fundamentalist Christians are ready to put their faith in hopeful prayer rather than practical policies.  Maybe, like a sly fox, Rick Perry has reason to think that he can get away with anything.

If Rick Perry is this kind of crazy, then we would be crazy to elect him.