Demagogue

Texas Governor Rick Perry is attempting to fight off a possible challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson and is doing so by releasing a videotape showing .... get this ... Hutchinson and Sen. Hillary Clinton being friendly at some museum opening.

The horror!

Now, I understand that there are few people more hated by Republicans than Bill and Hillary Clinton and I understand that Perry is trying to damage Hutchinson by linking her to them.

But check this out

Perry said campaigns routinely film the speeches of their opponents, or potential ones. He also told reporters that the video his campaign got suggests that Hutchison is guilty -- of being too close to Hillary -- by association.

"Videos speak for themselves. We all go places and do things with people that are reflective of who we support," Perry said. "The fact of the matter is, we're pretty much who we hang with."

Sullivan, the Hutchison campaign chief, accused Perry of unparalleled chutzpah. He noted that Perry, a former Democrat, served as a co-chairman of Al Gore's 1988 presidential campaign.

Apparently Perry thinks that paling around with Hillary Clinton at a work function is worse than co-chairing the campaign for the man who went on to serve as Bill Clinton's vice president.

I think it is clear that the key to finding success within the Republican Party is to have no understanding of irony.