If you've watched even a few minutes of the GOP presidential debates so far, first of all, my condolences. You could probably have spent your time in many more productive, rewarding, and uplifting ways, and now, you'll never get it back. Secondly, I imagine that at least some of you shared my exasperation at the inane, witless questions posed by the moderators (the inane, witless responses by the candidates are also troubling, but that's been covered by plenty of diarists here).
Part of the problem stems from the reasons why a question is asked. Each question could -theoretically - serve multiple purposes, including:
Shedding light on the candidate's positions on a particular issue
Contrasting the candidate's past actions to their stated positions during the campaign
Providing insights into the candidate's character
Testing the candidate's ability to think on their feet and control their emotions
Embarrassing the candidate through "gotcha!" journalism tactics
Creating sound-bites for future campaign commercials for or against the candidate
Giving the blood-thirsty audience members reasons to boo or cheer
Carrying out the wishes of media moguls to favor "their" candidate
Proving that the moderator is endlessly witty and clever and well informed
Sadly, many of the questions asked reveal very little of use to the voters, who are desperately seeking anyone, anyone, other than the dreaded Mitt as their choice to reclaim the White House for the GOP and continue along with the wholesale dismantling of our American way of life.
With this in mind, I have compiled some questions that will never be asked of Rick Perry, but might have yielded some sound-bite-worthy responses. Follow along below his wrinkled brow for more...
You’ve been an outspoken critic of Federal government intervention in the lives of Texans, and you have repeatedly extolled the virtues of cutting federal spending. Under your presidency, if a state suffered relentless natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, wildfires and turned to the Federal government for aid, how would you respond, given the likelihood that federal funds were nearly exhausted? Would it make a difference in your deliberations if that state had slashed its own response budgets?
During the course of your upcoming campaign, if one of your major donors was found to be employing large numbers of illegal immigrants in their Texas based operations, what actions would you take? Would you return their donations? Would you prosecute them?
You recently remarked that you were “insulted” at the idea that you could be “bought” for a mere $5,000. Given the “pay-to-play” reputation that Texas has had under your tenure, what assurances can you provide to the American people that you will grant access to all of your constituents, not just those flashing large amounts of money?
If one of the hundreds of people executed during your tenure as governor was conclusively proven to have been innocent of the crime for which they were put to death, would you "lose sleep"? Would this person’s family be entitled to any state-paid damages? Would this turn of events prompt you to institute any additional review steps for death-row inmates?
Little is known about your business dealings and personal finances. Would you agree to open your records to the public if you are the GOP nominee, as you asked your most recent gubernatorial opponent, Bill White, to do before you would agree to debate him?
You recently underwent a controversial experimental adult stem-cell treatment during your back surgery in July of this year. If you believe that this treatment is so promising, why are you and its proponents working to establish Texas as the only state where this procedure could be performed? Do you believe that adult stem cell treatments will eliminate the need for embryonic stem cell research?
Under your presidency, if a state wished to secede from the United States, would you support that choice? If so, what would you consider to be the most difficult or problematic aspects of secession? If not, on what basis would you oppose their choice?
In May of this year, you took great pride in signing “emergency” legislation in Texas requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo a transvaginal sonogram and receive medical information regarding their fetus. When this law was challenged, you said:
"Every life lost to abortion is a tragedy and today's ruling is a great disappointment to all Texans who stand in defense of life. This important sonogram legislation ensures that every Texas woman seeking an abortion has all the facts about the life she is carrying, and understands the devastating impact of such a life-changing decision."
Shortly after the sonogram legislation passed, you vetoed a bill that would have banned texting while driving, an activity that you described as "reckless and irresponsible" ,because you saw this bill as "a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults."
Given the number of men, women, and children killed annually on Texas highways, why is your focus solely on protecting the unborn?