WASHINGTON -- Rick Perry's flat tax proposal may have been unveiled to the public on Tuesday, but it also appears the plan was until very recently new to him as well, judging by his recent remarks on tax policy and the economy.
Remember Perry's energy plan? It was all he could talk about at the Oct. 11 debate at Dartmouth University. No matter where the conversation headed, Perry did nothing that night but bring it back -- no matter how awkwardly -- to his plan for increasing domestic production of oil.
"Clearly, opening up a lot of the areas of our domestic energy area, that's the real key," Perry said when asked what his plan to jumpstart the economy would be based on.
Perry used the word "energy" 10 times during that debate. But on Tuesday, in announcing his tax reform plan, he used it once, when mentioning that he would reduce spending at the Department of Energy. The energy plan that Perry mentioned at every turn two weeks ago was not included at all in his remarks.
That's not the only sign that Perry has just recently become acquainted with his plan. Two days before the debate, he was pressed for specifics by a voter in Iowa about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan.
"How would you plan on simplifying our tax code?" said the voter in Orange City, Iowa, who declined to give his name to The Huffington Post afterward. "We don't need an IRS."
Perry's answer meandered to and fro, touching on Cain's ability to get voters' attention, and whether there should be a consumption tax, or a "fair tax."
"I certainly see some very thoughtful direction in that," Perry said of the fair tax. "Is there a hybrid that we could go to?"
But Perry eventually settled on a bland answer about the need for reducing overall rates and regulations.
"But the issue is, we're just over-taxing. There's a model in the state of Texas for reducing the taxes, whether it's the corporate tax rate, whether it's the personal tax rate," Perry said.
"To find the actual number, I'm not going to sit here today and say it's a 6, 12 and 8," he said, throwing out potential tax brackets. "What I will tell ya is, I have overseen a state for the last 10 years, lowering that tax burden, lowering that regulatory climate, creating an environment in Texas that created a million jobs while 2.5 million were lost in this country. I don't just talk about, here's an idea. I've got a record and the experience to deliver to the White House and to do it for America."
Of course, Perry on Tuesday proposed a flat, 20 percent rate, with deductions that would exempt most low-income Americans, and several other caveats.
The import of all this is that much of Perry's success in selling the flat tax plan will depend on his ability to go out and make the case in public, on TV and on the campaign trail to voters. If he is a quick learner, he should be able to do it. But if he is hazy on the details, or has not thought through all the implications of his plan, he could be easily tripped up when pressed for answers.
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