Pin-a-Tail-on-Perry Debate

A Tea Party remake of “The Rocky Horror Show” could become as much a cult classic as the original that ended with space aliens leaving behind "crawling on the planet's face, tiny insects called the human race, lost in time, and lost in space--and meaning."

Last night’s performance was a howl with other actors taking turns whacking at the mad scientist’s creation, Rocky Horror, the Frankenstein Adonis who threatens their well-being.

Rick Perry played the robotic lead to perfection, never losing his composure, even as he took umbrage at Michele Bachmann’s suggestion that he had been making "innocent little 12-year-old girls have a government injection by an executive order" in return for pharmaceutical company campaign contributions.

The Texas governor said he was wounded by the suggestion that he could be bought for $5000, without disclosing what the going price might be.

Mild-mannered Jon Huntsman bounded on to accuse Perry of being “almost treasonous” for suggesting that the border with Mexico could never secured, and Rick Santorum charged the Texan for pandering to Latino voters by letting illegal immigrant children attend college at in-state tuition rates. Santorum may have been joking, but with his perpetual clueless smile, who could tell?

Mitt Romney, of course, led the chorus in denouncing the Ponzi scheme aria on Social Security, even as Ron Paul complained that his state taxes had gone up under Perry.

As the almost nightly debates go on, TV viewers may lose interest in these orgiastic doings, but that’s not too likely with a Tea Party audience yelling approval when Dr. Paul was asked if he would let an uninsured young man die if he came down with a life-threatening disease.

In cult performances, there are always small gems that go unnoticed. My favorite was Newt Gingrich’s Senior Moment, attacking the President for saying he could not guarantee Social Security payments, apparently forgetting that the statement was in response to Tea Party threats to push the government into default during the debt ceiling crisis.

Like the original Rocky Horror Show, future performances could well be staged in spooky dark theaters after midnight. But that might scare Wolf Blitzer and the rest of us half to death.

Update: Meanwhile, Sarah Palin is airing out her witch’s costume with a post-debate blast at all the candidates, especially Perry for “crony capitalism.” That would make the cast complete.