Free Republic

CORPUS CHRISTI — Gov. Rick Perry is under attack for trying to prevent a cancer whose yearly death toll exceeds this nation’s 9/11 losses by more than a thousand. On this issue, we are compelled to defend him — an unfamiliar role — and to wonder whether the master politician hand-picked his attackers. We speak, of course, of the other Republican presidential candidates and their assault on Perry’s 2007 executive order that all sixth-grade girls be vaccinated against HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer and genital warts. The order was soon overturned in a hail of criticism...

[BIG Snip] Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party and a Perry supporter, thinks an Austin-Boston connection represents a potentially powerful ticket for his party, but he maintains the roles should be reversed. "Perry's going to be strong in the primaries," he said last week. "Romney may fall short, and he could be number two. Gov. Perry has a very strong record as governor of Texas that will play strong across the country. I think he'll beat Romney in the primaries." Romney falling short is a possibility, political scientist Jillson says, noting that Republicans usually nominate the person...