"I live so far out in the country, everyone had their own tomcat" What does that mean?

[Hamlette]

From Perry's speech that is all over the news today.

Anyone know what he meant?

[Blue_In_AK]

1. I think he was referring to female cats in heat.

They lived so far out in the country that male tom cats on neighboring farms wouldn't have known there was a receptive female in the vicinity. They had to have their own tom cats to impregnate their female cats in heat?

Hell, I don't know. That's the only thing I could think of.

[Warpy]

26. That's about it. Barn cats are a necessity for most folks

since they keep rodents at bay. Some are social animals, some are not, but more of them are needed to replace the ones lost to accident, fights or disease.

My own elderly kitty is a Maine coon cat, proudly descended from a long line of New England barn cats.

[seabeyond]

33. what? saying he is ultimate in macho manly? nt

[Journeyman]

2. I suspect because Tomcats impregnate every female in heat they can find in their territory. . .

what Perry implies is that he lived in a part of the land that was so isolated, each farm needed its own "stud" cat to take care of their land and couldn't depend on stray cats wandering in from their neighbors land.

At least, that's how I'd interpret that. Without context and given that the narrator is an idiot, there's no way I can be certain, but I believe this will fit his intent.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Rural tomcats tend to roam around from farm to farm

spreading their DNA, as it were. If your farm is too far away from other farms, you'd be outside roving tomcat territory and you'd have to get your own.

I thought the comment was actually kind of funny. The rest of the speech was just... weird.

[Greybnk48]

37. Yep, this is what it means.

And I found it funny too. But he's nuts, or was drunk or stoned, or all three.

[MrsBrady]

4. he's saying

that they were really really really living in the middle of nowhere.

and using the tom cat analogy just means the cat would be theirs and not go to another farm (because there would be no others if you are that far out)

[FirstLight]

5. I thought it was referring to a type of caterpillar/bulldozer

like a bobcat...? something to grade roads with?

[JohnnyRingo]

36. I think you're right.

It's called a "Bobcat" and it's a very popular model of a bulldozer/frontloader. Unlike a Caterpillar D9, It's quite small and affordable to many rural homeowners who want to do landscaping work.

I just think Perry misspoke because it's more something he's heard than something he'd actually use. He was trying to sound like a member of the working class and failed.

[Cronus Protagonist]

6. I believe it's a snowmobile and/or ATX thing

We wouldn't know because we're city slickers.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Snowmobiles? In Texas?

Nope, it's about actual cats. Farms need cats to control rodents, and tomcats wander from farm to farm, looking for love. If your farm is too isolated, though, you just have to have your own tomcat in order to get more cats.

[Cronus Protagonist]

15. Maybe it's that safety boot

...fer clearing brush...

http://www.walktall.co.uk/rockfall-tomcat-texas-rigger-workboots-safety-boots

[Blue_In_AK]

They don't have snowmachines in Texas,

at least not when I lived down there.

[NYC_SKP]

7. He's on drugs.

Pay him no mind...

[glinda]

11. Without a doubt on drugs.

[lonestarnot]

14. Drugs, stroke, off his beam, out of costume, trick or fucking treat.

:rofl: And he fell in love with a syrup bottle. Derranged, rearranged, nutfuckery.

[jtuck004]

9. Looking for "meaning" in a Rick Perry speech...

:rofl:

Responses 8 and 9 probably come the closest, but I'm not sure we can really know what it is like to look
at the world from the point of view of an alien...especially if we don't know what ship dropped him on this planet.

[Behind the Aegis]

10. It is the equivalent of....

....100 miles past where Jesus lost his sandals....
....bum-fucked Egypt....
....the Styx (though most would spell it "sticks.")...
...the boondocks...

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. Must be country folk code, he's trying to connect with potential voters.

[Rex]

13. Nothing.

[Gman]

16. It's a Texas thing

If you don't live here or never been out in the country here you wouldn't understand. Considering how small NH is, I don't see how anyone could relate. Humor is based in familiarity. I'm sure he had many of those people in NH scratching their heads.

[Earth_First]

18. Soooo...rather than explain it

you'd much rather go on about how much more superior you are to understand it?

I mean, afterall he is from "NH" :eyes:

[seabeyond]

34. i live in the panhandle. i thought he was referring to fuckin animals. lol

i was totally confused.

[dogman]

17. Maybe it was tied to the breaking Cain story.

Cain's distraction was disclosed by the operative of another campaign.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. I think you are reading too much into it.

It was just a silly quip, an attempt to show what a "country" sort of guy he is. He lived so far out in the country that the local tomcats couldn't find the place. That's it.

[dogman]

21. Most likely, couldn't help it.

My tongue was in my cheek as I typed. If you saw the less clipped version of the event, you might have noticed his spoof on Cain. He thoroughly amused himself with his impersonation of Cain. Also, it is likely some campaign did leak the story.

[JenniferJuniper]

19. As I understand it, a "tomcat" is either

a male cat or a sexually promiscuous man.

I don't get the reference either way, but the dude was lit to the gills, so I'm not sure he knew what the hell he was going on about either.

[JVS]

22. Could he be joking that instead of just having guns, they had military aircraft?

[KitSileya]

48. That's the tomcat I thought of too!

At first I thought he meant that they lived so far away they needed an aircraft that could break the sound barrier to visit the neighbor, but the F14 was a naval aircraft, so....

Oh, yes, I am my father's daughter. alright. When I was a teenager, I watched Top Gun and slow-mo'ed thru the flight scenes, not the volleyball game.

[opihimoimoi]

23. I Read it as ::: With no wimmen around...we had to f**k tomcats..

[undeterred]

28. Great minds think alike.

Trashy though they may be.

[seabeyond]

35. lol llol. that is what i thought he was saying

as i said on a post above. glad i was not the only one curious.

[pipoman]

24. A male cat, "tomcat", can smell and will travel miles for a female cat

in heat. If you live on a farm, as I do, and you need your own tomcat, you are a long way from anyone else. Out here there are feral cats roaming around for years without ever being touched by a human..or rarely even seen..We've had 4 female cats all pregnant at once without ever seeing a male cat.

[MisterP]

25. it means brandy and nitrous oxide, that's what it means

[undeterred]

27. Republican men in Texas have sex with tomcats.

And if you have your own you don't have to pay one for the evening.

:hide:

[Hardrada]

29. I never thought of any tricks on Halloween because the Cain

and Perry episodes have been too much of a treat. Even better than Michelle B. and that corndog.

[jberryhill]

30. A tomcat has a large territory

[slackmaster]

31. It means your neighbors are so far away it's inconvenient to borrow a tomcat when you need one

So everyone has their own.

[lynne]

32. Means he has no neighbors for miles. Tomcat's roam all over the place -

- and will show up in different spots, different houses, while roaming. Some will even adopt second and third families in their roaming. To have your own tomcat - and not have another tomcat visit your property - means that people are living miles away from each other.

[GeorgeGist]

38. Short answer ...

It means Perry is a LOSER. Like the majority of Republicans.

[MilesColtrane]

39. It's another way of saying, "Save a pretzel for the gas jets".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhDhDRvHaGs

[Bladian]

40. Looot of hateful comments in here.

Having sex with tomcats? Seriously people? I know that the Republicans say some awful stuff about Democrats, I get it. But to say they participate in bestiality? That seems miles below the belt, especially when we're supposed to be better than them.

Now people are going to accuse me of being a freeper in disguise. Have at it, folks.

[seabeyond]

42. um... you might want to check up on repug or two that states ALL young guys do it with farm animals

i remember one man from Georgia? talking about a tom cat is all about it's mating habit. the man left people confused. you may want to blame everyone on this thread, but reality is.... if you are going to throw shit out there then you had better damn well clarify instead of leaving everyone to figure it out.

[Bladian]

44. Leaving everyone to figure out WHAT?

There's nothing to figure out in my post. Where the hell is this hostility coming from? Jesus. I put out my viewpoint and I get torn apart, just like I figured I would.

[seabeyond]

45. the man left people confused

i was talking about perry. when i said "you" i was not referring to YOU.

when perry says a saying that is unclear, then he should clarify so people dont have to figure it out

jesus.... maybe you ought not be so sensitive. and if that is torn apart, and you figured you would get it... then maybe that is why you misread my post.

[Johonny]

46. I'm sorry you can not and should not ever make snarky jokes

about stupid things politicians say. If this rule was followed then people like Jon Stewart might of had successful TV shows instead those shows always fail. Snarky humor on the DU I'm shocked.

[MilesColtrane]

43. Looot of reasons to despise Rick Perry too.

[ileus]

41. I can only dream of being lucky enough to live that far out.

[Supply Side Jesus]

47. prehaps he meant "Bobcat"

a small tractor

[Taverner]

49. This is a Tomcat:

This is a Bobcat:



Shit, I'm a suburban California metrosexual and even I KNOW the difference....

[seabeyond]

51. lmfao... you are funny. nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

50. It means a stopgap for when the possum runs out and guests are coming to dinner

[MicaelS]

52. It means he was living in "the sticks", "the boonies", "in the middle of bumfuck Egypt"

These are are slang terms in Texas, meaning he was living in an extreme rural area where the closet neighbors were MILES away.

The population density of some Texas counties is very low, even today. Here's a link to a year 2000 PDF of Texas population density. Notice how many counties, especially in W. Texas have a pop density of .01 to 10 people PER SQUARE MILE.

http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/view_online.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgis.ttu.edu%2Farch%2FPDFs%2FPopulationDensity.pdf

[Speck Tater]

53. It means he doesn't know how to talk to ordinary people without a translator. nt