It would appear that Rick Perry has to do something to get back in the race for the Republican nomination, and while a flat tax is generally popular among Tea Party types, it would seem that there would be a number of people with issues with the idea (the poor, who likely would end up losing the benefits of some level of minimum non-taxable income, and the rich, who generally enjoy the benefits of loopholes and exemptions). But then again, who needs details or for the idea to actually makes sense?

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said Wednesday that he would propose a flat tax next week as part of a tax overhaul program, signaling a new effort to separate himself from Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican field.

Mr. Perry signaled his intent in a speech to Republicans on Wednesday morning after Tuesday night’s brawl of a Republican debate. He has in the past suggested support for some form of a flat tax, but has backed off from endorsing one. Mr. Perry recently recruited as an adviser Steve Forbes, who ran for president in 1996 on a pledge of implementing a single flat tax on income, without any deductions.

Mr. Perry did not offer details of how his plan would work. He said he wanted to scrap “the three million words of the current tax code and start with something simple: a flat tax.”

“I want to make the tax code so simple that even Timothy Geithner can file his taxes on time,” the governor said.