Posted on 01/22/2012 4:07:26 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
GREENVILLE, S.C. — After Texas Gov. Rick Perry bowed out of the presidential race last week, his senior campaign leaders in South Carolina set to work closing down the three campaign offices, collecting yard signs and dismantling staff.
But their most important assignment from Perry, said state campaign chairman Katon Dawson, was to go to work immediately to help former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in his battle to upset former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the state’s critical first-in-the South primary.
Perry’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse the former speaker helped contribute to Gingrich’s decisive victory in the Palmetto State, although the exact degree was still being determined as results continued to come in Saturday.
Gingrich called Perry after his victory and later told supporters that Perry was “very generous” in extending his endorsement.
“His passion is implementing the 10th Amendment,” Gingrich said of his former adversary-turned-supporter. “We’re going to work with him to return power to the states to local governments and get it out of Washington, D.C.”
All but one of the 22 state officials who endorsed Perry early in his campaign transferred their loyalty to Gingrich after Perry pulled out of his race and bestowed his remaining South Carolina political capital on Gingrich. Dawson, a former state GOP chairman, and other political heavyweights formerly aligned with Perry worked their contacts to help marshal support for Gingrich.
In a statement after the primary, Perry congratulated Gingrich on his “big win” in South Carolina and described him as the “conservative standard-bearer” in the Florida primary and beyond.
“Newt Gingrich is the conservative change agent we need to contrast, debate and defeat President Obama in November,” said Perry.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bostonherald.com ...
I really hope Perry is VP.
That was a very classy thing for Perry to do. I wish him well in all his endeavors.
I think Perry’s a lot like Gingrich. They both realize that zero (or his handlers) has taken the political game to a new level and if they don’t do something even their necks are on the line. Literally. The left has lost control of themselves.
Or President Gingrich could appoint him as head of the EPA.
BTW, current delegate count is 33-25 Romney. If Newt wins Florida’s 9, suddenly he vaults into 1st place, 34-33.
Then Big Media needs to change their underwear.
Rick Perry had strong evangelical and military supporters. I’m sure they went to Gingrich, and I have no doubt that those who were already in Gingrich’s camp became more enthusiastic supporters of Newt’s with Gov. Perry’s backing.
btw — I’ve alerted the mod to correct the source as “Boston Herald.
The K-Street to Wall Street racket needs to crumble.
Gingrich addressed re-tooling government and returning power to the states. This is straight out of Perry's playbook.
My take on this is that the Boston Globe is trying to get around the fact that Newt won by givin Perry the credit for it.
Their interest is in making Newt look like he wouldn’t have won without the endorsement.
That’s really cool of Perry. Much respect for him.
I like how Newt is starting to bring together all the big conservative ideas under a single banner. Perry’s main theme has been states rights, and Newt has brought him to the team. I also notice that Newt has been talking about sound money a lot lately too, which is Ron Paul’s big theme.
Bump!
I hope all those on FR who derided Perry will come to see what a hard working, wonderful American Patriot he is.
Perry has class, without a doubt.
The media seem to want to pick the candidate...Ya think??
No wonder Obama is going to church.
I see a very bright future for Rick in the Gingrich Administration. I would love to see him as our Secretary of Defense, or Dept of Homeland Security (Border Fence, troop guards, etc,)
If nothing else, the debate would be entertaining. Difficult to know who would say something dumber between him and Biden.
Romney’s been well-entrenched there, but I think Newt’s momentum will blow them out of their trenches. So at least for now, whatever lead Romney has had will diminish quite a bit. Then it’s back to slogging it out.
I think it's best to set our expectations very low in Florida. The advance voting/absentee ballot is huge in Florida and a week and a half ago Romney was the annointed one.
I'm sure Newt has a diary with all his picks already....
But we need to listen to Newt...We need BOTH houses and the White House to get anything done. It means getting the vote out!!! We need a landslide!!
CORRECTION: Florida has 50 delegates, not 6, even with the 50% penalty the RNC imposed on the state. And, they are awarded winner-take-all, so if Newt wins Florida, he picks up 50 delegates, not 6.
Few here derided the good Governor. They simply pointed out why they did not think he could win. Most did not run him down in a personal way, (Some did of course) but most still respected his record and did not take that away from him. It was Rick's public image that hurt him most. Nobody can deny that fact. It's why he could not get himself out of the single digits, in spite of several stellar debate performances. He sure did try very hard, and is a hard working and tremendous man. I hold the highest respect for him and always will.
Perry's calling has yet to happen, so with his association with Newt, the future for all of us will be bright indeed. Especially with men like Rick in the Gingrich Administration and other Washington outsiders, which in turn, will turn the Washington Elite RINO’s out on the street for good.
This trend will continue now, the GOPE have lost their death grip and they have great fear that they are powerless to stop it. We need to unite and help Newt, Rick and company make that happen!
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