Posted on 09/08/2011 6:10:29 PM PDT by PSYCHO-FREEP
Polls have shown that Perry and Romney are well ahead of any of the others in the race. But it took Wednesdays debate preceded by questions about Perrys staying power and preparation for a national race, and about Romneys ability to respond to a serious Republican rival to demonstrate that both candidates are ready to battle it out for the foreseeable future.
The other candidates will have to muscle their way into the conversation, and several tried. But visually, the organizers from NBC and Politico set the stage in a way that emphasized the narrowing of the Republican race in the last few weeks. Perry and Romney stood next to one another at the center of the stage, with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Romneys right and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) on Perrys left.
The focus throughout the evening was on Perry, who was still untested as a national candidate. One of the most revealing moments came when he was asked about his belief, expressed in his 2010 book, Fed Up!, that Social Security was a failure and a giant Ponzi scheme.
Rather than back away or soften his comments, as some candidates might have done, the Texas governor didnt flinch over his conclusions, even when it was pointed out that former vice president Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, former White House senior adviser in the George W. Bush administration, had criticized him for such language. He dismissed Rove, who was also an adviser to Perry earlier in his career, and said he disagreed with Cheney.
I dont care what anyone says, he responded, arguing that the system is in such shaky financial shape that young workers cannot count on its benefits. We know that, the American people know that, but, more importantly, those 25- and 30-year-olds know
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
We can only WISH the George W. Bush would have had such spunk and tenacity to fight back against all the lies and misinformation that came out against him.
This is a whole new breed of cat and I like what I see!
LOL, yes, we all know he believed in global warming before he opposed it, and last night he had to flip and see which side he was still on. And do not whine at me, Rush said about the same thing.
MSNBC, Politico, and The Washington Post all like Rick Perry. They also like Mitt Romney, but they’re unsure of his chances, so they are leaning toward Perry.
What does that say?
Oh, my! Not aggressiveness.
The old ladies (McCain, et al) will be tsk-tsking.
His position on SS might be able to work, but only if he gets the details out immediately and tells the American people exactly what he means by a Ponzi Scheme, and spells out exactly what his plans are to fix it.
With cattle or journalists, sometimes you just need to lean into your swing when you hit them between their eyes.
They like Romney because he is liberal on many issues.
They like Perry because they think he is stupid and is so right wing, the Independents will abandon him in the general election. Of course, they were pretty sure the same thing would happen to Reagan as well.
I'm not equating Perry with Reagan at all. The Gipper is in a class by himself, but I do think Perry's style of politics may resonate with Independents similar to the way Reagan's did.
Every man and woman that has contributed to SS over the past 65 years, as I have, wonders if it will be there for their 30-40 year old children, and more specifically their grandchildren. Of course it won't - unless the GOP takes an ax to the blood-suckers that don't deserve a penny of it (a majority of them leftist-commie supporters.)
(Didn't think so, since it's all bad and you said so in particular, which means we all stand corrected and superseded by your interpretation.)
I like Perry mostly cuz he's a republican. He'll do. But, it is also obvious that he is the candidate the left wing media wants us to run against Obie because they believe they can beat him. Honestly, how does that strike you?
He did good, but a long way off from potentially legendary yet.
Perry is going to have to lay out a plan for Social Security. Can't let Romney get away with saying he wants to abolish it for very long. I do agree Social Security (and others entitlements) are doomed on the path they are on, but he can't just say SS is a ponzi scheme and leave it at that. The American public is nowhere near ready to accept ending these programs yet.
I also agree with Perry that Global Warming is a load of crap, but he will have to explain to people a little better why he feels that way. Wish he'd have just cited folks like Anthony Watts.
I am not saying Perry should back off anything, and I do like the fact that he isn't running away from his book - but he will need to explain his plans in more detail or he will become too easy to caricature as someone so outside of the mainstream they can't be taken seriously.
That's hilarious! Did you actually get out of your basement and watch the debates? Especially after Rachael Maddow, Brian Williams and every Liberal commentator across the nation went after Perry like a pack of Piranha to a 3 legged cow?
Not to mention how Perry ripped Romney and Paul new ventilation portals?
You might get with the program at least a little before you make yourself look like Larry the Cable Guy.
The story the public is coming away with is that he is aggressive, a fighter, unlike the current president. Most people didn’t see the debate, but the pictures are worth thousands of words. All the pictures of him with his finger in Paul’s face are creating an image that “fed up” Americans are seizing on. He’s mad, he’s bad, and he’s going to fix this mess so get out of the way. That is the picture taken from the debates, regardless of what was said, or not said. I love it. Anyone that thinks those images with Perry and Paul weren’t preplanned by Perry...well, they’re nuts. He knows his strengths and how to present them. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
If Perry hits Obama and Holder on FAST & FURIOUS, I’ll know he’s for real.
Yeah. Perry is definitely a populist and has that “magic” that reaches people. I think the Reagan Democrats are going to love him.
That, in and of itself is a massive gain and victory for him. Since he has largely sat out of the race until now and only entered 3 weeks ago.
Perry is nobodies puppet. That you can be assured of.
LOL! I picture the opening music for the movie “JAWS”.
Here come Rick Perry, REAL change is coming this time......Get ready to rumble!
You got that right!:)
.......................................................................................
WILLIAMS: Governor Perry, a question about Texas. Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times. [Applause] Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?
PERRY: No, sir. Ive never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of whichwhen someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if thats required.
But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, youre involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed.
[Applause]
WILLIAMS: What do you make of the dynamic that just happened here? The mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause.
PERRY: I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of cases, supportive of capital punishment. When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizensand its a state-by-state issue, but in the state of Texas, our citizens have made that decision, and they made it clear, and they dont want you to commit those crimes against our citizens. And if you do, you will face the ultimate justice.
Back again to spread morew bold faced lies , Ron paul nutter !
So do you hate Israel like Ron John Paul ?
Do you support Code Pink and 9-11 was America’s fault like your man Ron??
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