The Bush Mafia and Rick Perry have no love loss. Perry split from the Bush family back in 98, when he decided to go negative and win his election. Last year, the Bush family recruited Kay Bailey Hutchinson to run again Perry for governor. He defeated her and won re-election. Now Rick Perry is pointing out to people he’s no George W. Bush. He’s a fiscal and economic conservative. This has gotten Bush lackey, Karl Rove upset.
Karl Rove made it clear today that he’s none too happy about the way Rick Perry is treating his former boss, George W. Bush. Perry is aggressively distancing himself from Bush. Some tea party types Perry is seeking to woo think that Bush was a big spender. Perry’s making it clear he’s a different guy.
Rove was clearly steamed on Fox News this morning. He suggested Perry wouldn’t be where he is today if it weren’t for Bush: “Why he falls into this pattern of sounding like he’s being dismissive of the former president is not smart politics, either strategically or tactically.”
What Karl Rove needs to realize is that outside of band of hardcore loyalists, Bush is not a popular figure in politics. By making his differences with Bush known, Rick Perry is showing voters he’s not A Bush clone. Karl Rove needs to realize the era of Compassionate Conservatism is over. Economic and Fiscal Conservatism is what Republicans are looking for.
