Campaign Stuff: Perry Flubs Lawrence V. Texas Question; Santorum Peaks; Perry Attacks Santorum

Perry flubs a question about Lawrence v. Texas. The question was how his support for limited government could be squared with his (putative) support for anti-gay-sodomy laws, as Texas once had, but which were struck down in Lawrence v. Texas.

He didn't recall the case.

A voter at a meet and greet asked him to defend his criticism of limited government in the case.

“I wish I could tell you I knew every Supreme Court case. I don’t, I’m not even going to try to go through every Supreme Court case, that would be — I’m not a lawyer,” Perry said at the Blue Strawberry Coffee Shop here. “We can sit here and you know play I gotcha questions on what about this Supreme Court case or whatever, but let me tell you, you know and I know that the problem in this country is spending in Washington, D.C., it’s not some Supreme Court case.”

In 2003, the Supreme Court deemed Texas’ anti-sodomy law to be unconstitutional in a 6-3 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, and the case nullified anti-sodomy laws in 13 other states at the same time. Perry, a strong opponent of gay marriage and the ability of homosexuals to serve openly in the military, served as governor when this case was decided.

Asked by Ken Herman, a columnist with the Austin American Statesman, for clarification on whether he knew what the case concerned, Perry responded, “I’m not taking the bar exam…I don’t know what a lot of legal cases involve.”
When told that the Supreme Court case struck down the Texas sodomy law, Perry said, “My position on traditional marriage is clear and I don’t know need a law. I don’t need a federal law case to explain it to me.”

Everyone acts like they knew this stuff after they hear the answer themselves. If anyone's thinking "Duh, everyone knows that;" well, when prompted, you do. Personally I get this case confused with the one that came before it -- the one that actually upheld such anti-sodomy laws. Was that Bolling v. Texas? I forget.

Did you? Did you remember that just five or six years before a Scalia opinion upheld these laws? Can you name it?

Or was Lawrence v. Texas the one that upheld the laws and then the Kennedy-authored one came later?

Bolling v. Colorado? I don't know. There was then an opinion upholding so-called "special rights" for gays.

I know the holdings, and I've read these opinions, but I've always been a bit spotty on the case names.

But he's dumb so whatever.

This is the Jeopardy Effect. When I play Jeopardy (on TV, I mean), I "know" 80% of the answers... after I hear them. After I hear them, I say, "Of course, duh, I knew that."

But how many do I know before I hear them, and actually call out? About 60%. There's a 20% gap here. But a lot of people seem to credit themselves for "knowing" that 20% of answer they didn't really "know," until they were reminded.

After everyone heard Charlie Gibson's version of the Bush Doctrine (which was wrong, by the way), everyone "knew" that too.

I guess I was alone in the country in actually not really being able to recall the actual Bush Doctrine. I guess that's because I'm stupid. Or, that I'm actually smart and don't need to always tell myself "I knew that, now that I'm reminded of it!!!" I can just sort of admit, "I forgot that. But now that you mention it, yes, now I remember. Whereas before I did not."

But we all "know" things. It's important to us to always feel like we "know" things. Even when we don't. We make up stories about our own perfect recall.

Santorum leaps into third, according to Rasumussen, but it's the holiday season, and polling is difficult. In that poll Romney and Ron Paul are in a dead heat. Apparently the Republican Party is still deciding whether or not "racism" is a bad thing or not.

But in Real Clear Politics Poll of All Polls, Perry has a slight advantage in most ground gained.

But Santorum must be rising some, because Perry has released an ad knocking him on his Compassionate Conservatism big-spending ways:

Update: I first said I "knew" 90% of Jeopardy answers but only actually answered 70%. I think that was a bit of a Jeopardy effect right there. 80%/60%
is probably more accurate.

posted by Ace at 03:58 PM

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