The Ebola Factor: Rick Perry’s popularity soars with his decisive approach

The Washington Times ^ | October 12, 2014 | Jennifer Harper

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Yes, the presence of a deadly disease in Texas has benefited a certain governor. What with intense and alarming media coverage of two Ebola cases in the Lone Star state, Gov. Rick Perry has risen to the opportunity and gotten decisive indeed. It has paid off. Republican attitudes toward Mr. Perry have “improved significantly,” says YouGov polling analyst Kathy Frankovic, who reports that Mr. Perry’s favorability ratings have quickly jumped 16 percentage points — rising from 51 percent in late September to 67 percent by late last week.

While President Obama has yet to appoint an Ebola “czar” to coordinate U.S. response to the disease, Mr. Perry has already launched the “Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response,” complete with an aggressive emergency plan and hands-on director Dr. Brett P. Giroir, who warns of an “interconnected world” and vows that Texas is “fully prepared for the worst-case scenario, no matter what form that may take.”

Mr. Perry’s bodacious moves could burnish his image as a 2016 presidential hopeful, and those promising polling numbers should remain stable for a while, and possibly even improve. He should ready another kind of battle plan, though. None of this has been lost on his critics.

“The only ‘spread of Ebola’ in the U.S. was caused by a private hospital in a red state,” tweeted MSNBC host Joy Reid on Sunday.

[oldbrowser]

Cruz/Perry ticket

[BereanBrain]

Perry.

He’s the Texas version of Romney, McCain.

He can’t win the general.

I am from Texas. There is a reason conservatives have had enough of Perry.

[GeronL]

lol

You know they can’t be from the same state

[GeronL]

at least I don’t think they can

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

What with intense and alarming media coverage of two Ebola cases in the Lone Star state, Gov. Rick Perry has risen to the opportunity and gotten decisive indeed

How to govern like an alpha male.

PING!

[GOPJ]

...Perry has already launched thecomplete with an aggressive emergency plan and hands-on director Dr. Brett P. Giroir, who warns of an “interconnected world” and vows that Texas is “fully prepared for the worst-case scenario, no matter what form that may take.”

Perry's moving in the right directions... good for him.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Unfortunately, you’re right. Prez and VP nominees must be from different states.

[Sequoyah101]

I’m here in Texas. What has he done that is so decisive?

[bgill]

If any more come down with it, his numbers will plummet. The only way to stay on top is to be in the CDC’s face.

[ansel12]

“Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response,” complete with an aggressive emergency plan and hands-on director Dr. Brett P. Giroir, who warns of an “interconnected world” and vows that Texas is “fully prepared for the worst-case scenario, no matter what form that may take.”

Fantastic, we need some serious attention paid to this aspect of national defense, some real serious attention, and some concrete changes made.

[South40]

Is this satire? Less than a week ago La Raza Rick made a fool of himself on the issue of Obola.

Perry Echoes Obama: No Travel Restrictions from Ebola Nations

[Resolute Conservative]

If he would take some decisive action and close the borders and implement more stringent preventive methods towards Ebola he could walk into the WH in 2016 a hero. I prefer Cruz but Cruz cannot command the state’s resources and stick it in Barry’s eye.

[Gamecock]

Like the harcut.

[Windflier]

"Gov. Rick Perry has risen to the opportunity and gotten decisive indeed."

Could'a fooled me. So Perry appointed a "task force". Whoopee-frikken-do.

As usual, Governor GoodHair is making moves that look good on the surface, but do nothing to solve the basic problem.

Knee-jerk R voters here are easily impressed. Texas conservatives, not so much.

[Balding_Eagle]

It’s outlined in the excerpt.

I will concede that the bar is extremely low, as the only comparison is the Obama Administration, but there it is, nonetheless.

[South40]

Knee-jerk R voters here are easily impressed. Texas conservatives, not so much.

Conservatives anywhere are not impressed. Nor should they be.

[re_nortex]

Texas is uniquely equipped, like no other state, to handle the Ebola outbreak. The medical innovations that came from here would fill pages, including the world's first heart transplant. Because the medical industry is largely in control of private companies, the profit motive of the free enterprise system works in Texas' favor. I can only imagine how poorly things would be handled in leftist cesspools like California or Taxachusetts.

Simply put, Conservatism is always good medicine and liberalism spawns disease.

[txhurl]

The irony most FReepers don’t get is Texans won’t be able to vote for Cruz in our primaries if Perry forces him out. We will write-in Cruz, who will amass more votes than Rick.

I think mittens is about to throw his support behind Perry.

[GotMojo]

Interesting to see the focus here more on Perry than Obama when during Katrina it was all Bush focus and nothing on that LA lady guv.....she got so little focus, I can’t even remember her name.......