Rick Perry says he'd "uproot, tear down, and rebuild" Washington

By Michael J.W. Stickings

CNN:

Casting Washington as a latter-day Roman Empire, bloated and "mired in ruin," Texas Gov. Rick Perry unveiled a drastic plan to overhaul the federal government Tuesday in a policy speech in Iowa.

"It is time to tear down the monuments to bureaucratic failure, and in their place build a smaller, more efficient federal government that puts the American people first," Perry said at a manufacturing facility in Bettendorf. "The Washington insiders won't address Beltway decay, they won't try a totally new way, because they like things as they are."

And he'd do this how? Though the sheer force of his intellect and powers of persuasion? He talks as if he knows how Washington works, but he really seems to have no clue whatsoever. As Steve Benen writes:

Perhaps Perry hasn't thought about all of this. Perhaps he has and he doesn't care. After all, as E.J. Dionne explained this week, we're talking about a GOP presidential candidate whose platform is based on "mindless opposition to government."

Either way, the fact that Perry thinks his "uproot and overhaul" plan is a good idea speaks volumes about his vacuous ideology.

Vacuous. And unconstitutional.

And utterly at odds with the requirements of modern governance. If you actually want America to remain strong, and able to address the myriad challenges it faces both domestic and foreign, a part-time Congress filled with inexperienced and unqualified legislators isn't exactly the best place to start.

But, then, it's hard to take any of this seriously. All he's really doing is throwing yet more red meat to the right-wing carnivores who make up the hardcore GOP base, his core constituency, and his only shot at the nomination.