Rick having a bad time of it, and his star is shining... which is it?

It is funny how divided our country is today. Republicans view someone one way. Democrats view it the other way.

Liberal Democrat Jim Dunnam, who is the de facto Speaker of the House right now, thinks Rick is having a bad time of it lately (link). The Daily Howler says that if Rick is pissing off liberals, he must be doing something right (link)...

Re-electing Perry: Could a Democrat win the Texas state house next year? We have no idea. On the Republican side, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will challenge incumbent governor Rick Perry. Last night, Chris Matthews got busy re-electing Rick. On Fox, Geraldo may have been even worse.

Matthews was re-electing Rick in the standard manner—by aiming repeated insults at Texans from his Yankee lair.

A bit of background: Perry has been mouthing off a bit this week—though not as much as Matthews conjured. On Tax Day, Perry was asked about secession—and he gave an overly-flogged, if suggestive, reply. (It has begun producing reaction in Texas.) But Matthews was especially vapid last night when it came to the question of “sovereignty.” In the process, he may have been busy re-electing Rick.

It was a classic performance. Perry had been involved in some matter involving “sovereignty,” the perpetually uninformed host seemed to know.

[SNIP]

Last night, Perry got what he may have wanted—a string of Yankees lecturing Texans about their obvious lack of sanity. A certain kind of southern pol has won elections this way forever. Matthews was highly uninformed last night (Geraldo may have been even worse). And who knows? As he thundered and flailed and pronounced, the typically under-informed cable host may have been re-electing Rick.

Too perfect: On Hardball. Roger Simon sent Perry the perfect Care package. “Maybe if we could keep Austin and a few other places and give them the rest,” the Yankee scribe wistfully mused. What a perfect bit of messaging! We’d have to guess that Governor Rick is hoping all Real Texans watched!

Yeah, I am not so sure how many Texans watch MSNBC, the most liberal station out there right now. One columnist adds (link)...

It just could be that Texas Governor Rick Perry could become the Republican Party's real-life real-time star.

If so, it won't be because of mob hysteria that flushed Obama onto Pennsylvania Avenue. It will be because Perry's brain works in logic time. That has made connection with the thinking citizens of America.

It's about time.

Rick has emerged as a huge character in national politics, both good and bad. I think it says something about the discipline of Rick and his team that he is not booked to next month on Leno and Letterman and those kinds of shows... because goodness knows they'd have him on if he wanted to go on their shows right now.

In our polarized political world, a bunch of bad press from the liberal media can be a mark of distinction for a Republican running in a primary in a still deeply red state. It can also make talk radio guys and other conservative media outlets rally around you. For example, Rick's peeps sent me audio of Sean Hannity saying he is supporting Rick over Kay. On the other hand, Rasmussen's poll numbers show that only 31% believe Texas has the right to secede and only 18% would actually vote to secede (link). As a 6th generation Texan, I can say that among other 6th generation Texans those numbers would be much, much higher.