By DOUGLAS MACKINNON
Posted 06:40 PM ET
From now until the election in November 2012, Gov. Rick Perry may come to be known as "Governor Provocative-Language or Gov. PL" for short by Americans desperate for some actual leadership for a change.
Certain Republican candidates continue to put their fingers in the air to gauge the political winds and then give insulting non-answer answers that disgust a growing segment of voters. But Perry decided to take the Texas steer by its famous horns and speak directly and honestly to anyone who actually cared to listen.
During the debate that aired Wednesday night, moderators Brian Williams of NBC and John Harris of Politico let loose with a prepared question designed to put Perry on the spot and paint him in a corner as "too conservative" for the country.
Surprise! Their rhetorical trap backfired.
The liberal moderators basically challenged Gov. Perry to defend his accurate charge that Social Security in its current form is a "Ponzi scheme." In reality, they were hoping Perry would cower before them and back off his characterization of the failing program.
He did not.
Instead, with fire in his eyes after Mitt Romney tried to pile on by offering a transparent kiss-up to senior citizens, Perry said: "You cannot keep the status quo in place and not call it anything other than a Ponzi scheme. ... That's provocative language — maybe it's time to have some provocative language in this country."
It wasn't exactly "the shot heard 'round the world," but it will be a statement heard, pondered and deeply appreciated by conservative and independent voters who recognize that the "status-quo" and its many defenders in politics is what has gotten us in so much trouble in the first place.
In the post-debate analysis by the liberal mainstream media — with virtually all the far-left commentators curiously singing the praises of Mitt Romney — it is interesting to note that the Washington Post felt Perry "badly fumbled" on climate change. Really?
First, all who pay attention to this "Holy Grail of the Liberal-elite" subject understand that it was originally called "global warming" by the far left and mainstream media. But after being embarrassed time and again with temperatures that were not rising as alarmingly as predicted or were in fact falling , the far left decided to cover their bets and save face by defaulting to the name "climate change." This is similar to what they did when they decided to call themselves "progressives" instead of "liberals."
No matter what the far left calls itself or how much they scream and insult about the subject, Gov. Perry is right to say the "science" on "climate change" is far from settled.
In fact, much of the "science" is driven purely by a liberal agenda. Perry also rightfully noted that the "solutions" to "climate change" as put forth by the Obama White House and its media enablers would cripple the economy of our nation and wipe out millions of American jobs.
"Gov. PL" stood tall and straight and put the welfare of the American worker before the easy and dishonest answer expected by the moderators. So, while the compromised Washington Post may think Perry fumbled the question, Americans rightfully fearful for their economic security will pass the word that someone in the political process finally threw caution to the wind and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
As our nation and the world around us continue to spiral out of control, there has never been a better time for "provocative language." Rick Perry knows that and has the confidence to speak his mind.
Lash yourself to the mast and hold on. It's going to be a wild ride from here until election day.
• MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the forthcoming memoir "Rolling Pennies In The Dark."
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