Does Rick Perry have a platform?

When Perry is under fire over some aspect of his Texas record, he can’t pivot to signature plans for jobs or foreign policy because, as of this writing, he doesn’t have any. A spin through Perry’s website underscores the problem. Under “Jobs,” we find five paragraphs that never get beyond conservative boilerplate. The most detailed sentence refers to “low taxes, reasonable regulations, a predictable civil litigation system and an educated workforce.”

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Moving along, there are six paragraphs on fiscal responsibility, hitting on similarly broad themes (tax cuts, spending cuts, balanced budgets); three generic paragraphs on foreign policy (he believes in American exceptionalism and defending our borders); and two paragraphs on health care (he would repeal Obamacare and create more jobs)…

In a fix like this, having just jumped into a major political race, many candidates would be able fall back on books they’ve written about their lives, their ideas, and their beliefs. The opposite is true of Perry and his 2010 book, Fed Up! Turning over Social Security and Medicare to the states, questioning the constitutionality of the income tax and direct election of senators—winning platform? More like huge target. Perry needs something to talk about besides the book—for instance, how he’d change entitlements and export his jobs success in Texas to other states.

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