NH paper: Rick Perry came in like a wrecking ball

A New Hampshire newspaper is calling Texas Gov. Rick Perry the “Miley Cyrus of the Republican party.”

In an editorial published this week in the Concord Monitor, the recently indicted governor is compared to the risque, 21-year-old tabloid fixture.

{mosads}The paper writes that at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, the ex-Disney Channel star-turned-pop princess bad girl “used tongue and twerking to further chip away at her Hannah Montana past.” But at this year’s MTV awards show, held on Sunday, Cyrus went in a different direction, having a homeless teen accept one of the music network’s Moonman trophies on her behalf.

“Cyrus may be sincere, but the move feels like a calculated effort toward image rehabilitation — a bid to be taken more seriously,” the paper writes.

“The governor of Texas can relate,” the Monitor says of Perry, writing that the former White House hopeful is continuing to “work on his own personal transformation from 2012 primary punchline to legitimate contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.”

The opinion piece contends that “New Hampshire voters are unlikely to fall for gimmickry,” such as Perry’s new look including black-rimmed glasses.

“It’s true that charm and charisma go a long way in retail politics, but when crunch time arrives, there’s not a black suit or pair of glasses in existence that can shield a candidate from tough questions on immigration, the economy, foreign policy, personal integrity, etc.”