Rick Perry's "Fed Up" is simply a treasure trove of oppo research

Democrats and Republicans agree: There’s little upside for Perry in a book that’s chock full of incendiary statements about everything from entitlement programs to the Department of Homeland Security, to the Supreme Court.

Ty Matsdorf, communications director for the Democratic research group American Bridge, said the book shows Perry “laying out what any sane or rational candidate wouldn’t even dream of saying.”…

But that only scratches the surface of what’s inside Perry’s book, which is essentially a 185-page manifesto in favor of states’ rights and a dramatically scaled-back federal government. The strong ideological bent of the book isn’t necessarily the problem—it’s the sharp language and its exquisite suitability for attack ads that makes it so potentially dangerous to his candidacy, especially in a general election…

Then there’s the section on Social Security, which strategists in both parties believe could be lethal in a primary or November election. In a riff that lasts several pages, Perry calls Social Security the “best example” of New Deal-era programs that “violently toss[ed] aside any respect for our founding principles of federalism and limited government.”