Reason Foundation - Experts (Reason Foundation) Rick Perry’s
Superficial Extremism <p>Texas Gov. Rick Perry often talks like
he&rsquo;s ready to refight the Alamo&mdash;this time against
Washington. He rails about the stimulus and the expansion of
federal power while flirting with the idea of devolving control
of entitlements to the states.</p> <p>So when Perry officially
announced he was throwing in his 40-gallon hat for next
year&rsquo;s Republican presidential nomination, critics were
quick to warn of his extremist, radical small-government views.
But Perry&rsquo;s suit-and-tie-Republican record doesn&rsquo;t
match up to his pistol-packing, Texas-sized rhetoric.</p>
<p>Many of the warnings concern Perry&rsquo;s allegedly extreme
federalism. After reading the governor&rsquo;s book, <a
href=""><em>Fed Up: Our Fight to Save America From
Washington</em>,</a> <em>The Washington Post</em>&rsquo;s Ezra
Klein <a href=""> described</a> the governor&rsquo;s federalism
as &ldquo;radical in scope,&rdquo; but &ldquo;no