No Big Tent in Texas

David Carney is a political consultant for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Carney made a comment that illustrates how the GOP is not serious about being a Big Tent Party.

Carney said he agreed the Republican Party needed to attract new voters. But, he added, "that doesn't mean you take your principles and throw them out the door and become a whorehouse and let anybody in who wants to come in, regardless."

Female Republicans are angered by Carney's statement. Former Republican National Committee member Denise McNamara and other conservative women want Perry to apologize and denounce Carney.

"As businesswomen, community leaders and mothers, it is always concerning and disheartening when we see people resort to behavior aimed at belittling women. Therefore, you cannot imagine how appalling it was to see your campaign's chief strategist liken our Senior Senator's primary campaign to 'opening the doors of a whorehouse,'" they wrote in a letter to Perry on Tuesday.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is running against Perry in the primary. The Hutchison campaign has used the Carney quote against Perry. The Governor is doing his best to distance himself from Carney. (That does not include firing Carney.) Perry appeals to the far-right elements of the Republican Party. Hutchison wants the party to steer away from social issues. What could hurt Perry is far-right candidates do bad in high turn out elections. Hutchison has unofficially recruited Karl Rove as a campaign advisor.

Hutchison's political team believes its campaign would benefit from a higher turnout and is targeting center-right voters, including suburban women and economic conservatives.

"What Hutchison is saying is that what most of us are looking for is a party that has core fiscal principles – Republican principles that include people who may or may not agree on the social issues," said Rich Galen, a GOP political consultant and one-time Hutchison adviser.

It will be interesting to see if Perry attempts to use his office to suppress voter turnout.