Free Republic

A reenergized Rick Perry ventured to Washington today, telling a group of about 50 K Street insiders that he is stepping up his game after taking an "ass kickin'" this fall, according to the National Journal's Chris Frates. Perry, who is struggling to regain momentum after his campaign's initial "love fest," kept himself in the game with this week, reporting strong fundraising numbers and putting up an improved performance during Tuesday's debate. But his fundraising has reportedly taken a hit, and the Texas Governor still has a tough slog ahead as he tries to claw his way back to the...

Romney has had a big boost from the Republican establishment, which decided a while back he's the serious candidate with a chance of beating President Obama. The establishment also decided that upending Texas Gov. Rick Perry's chances is the best way to ensure a Romney victory, since none of the other candidates in the race are very serious and the establishment utterly failed in coaxing NJ Gov. Chris Christie into the race. Cain and Romney are also buddies. Cain endorsed Romney last time around and Romney finds various ways to praise Cain, even going so far as telling a NH...

"I'm very confident that after all the distractions that the media will try to create, or however they get created, people care about having a job, having the dignity of a job, getting this country back working," the Republican presidential candidate said on Friday during an interview Downtown with the Tribune-Review. Perry said he's accustomed to running campaigns from behind. His record of leadership and job creation while leading Texas since 2000 appeals to voters, he said. In late 2009, polls showed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison with a double-digit lead over Perry in the gubernatorial primary race. He decisively...

From the study: Perry has been singled out for criticism 39 times - about twice the combined total of Herman Cain (9), Jon Huntsman (5), Ron Paul (4), Rick Santorum (1), Michele Bachmann (1), and Newt Gingrich (0) and 10 more than Mitt Romney (29).

A group called State Tea Party Express paid for the ad below, which has been running on FOX, linking Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who's running for president. Walker was embroiled in a budget controversy over state-workers’ collective-bargaining rights -- and saw a standoff in which all of the state’s Democratic senators fled Wisconsin.

Alex reported on a fundraiser Rick Perry planned with a coal barron in Wheeling, West Virgina Thursday night, and apparently it was a successful event, raking in over $1 million for his campaign.

Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas) has pointed to job growth in Texas during the current economic downturn as one of his main accomplishments. But analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data collected by the Census Bureau show that immigrants (legal and illegal) have been the primary beneficiaries of this growth since 2007, not native-born workers.

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In its brief but controversial life, the Texas Residential Construction Commission won far more detractors than admirers. Former Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn called it "a builder protection agency" that created additional roadblocks for homeowners living with shoddy construction. To Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, the agency served only "to shield home builders from being responsible" for defective work. The Texas Sunset Commission concluded the agency did "more harm than good." The TRCC, however, had at least one friend who mattered: Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who has given Gov. Rick Perry more than $2.5 million during his tenure in office. An advocate...

I have decided to post this as my own article, because everyone in the media (and blogosphere) is so focused with the "horse-race" aspect of this campaign, and the "gotcha" sound bites, that a critical moment with insightful importance during last night's debate has been shockingly overlooked (and/or ignored). It is critical, because it relates directly to the national security and foreign policy thinking and requisite aptitude of a top-tier candidate for President of the United States. The critical moment occurs when the questioner, in turning to Perry, diverts the debate towards a "national security" issue. At this point, I...

According to KVUE-TV, the state of Texas, under Gov. Rick Perry, cut state funding for the volunteer fire departments that protect most of the state from wildfires. Firefighters have actually been dipping into their own pockets to fight fires. Volunteer departments that were already facing financial strain had their funding cut from $30 million to $7 million. There are 879 volunteer fire departments in Texas; 114 are paid fire departments, while 187 departments are a combination of volunteer and paid. At a press conference Monday, Perry promised to seek federal disaster relief and said that FEMA would be in the...

Sarah Palin's speech in Iowa was a political work of art. I mean this as a compliment in the sense of pure political analysis. I certainly don't agree with much of what Palin would do if elected. However, her populist attack on crony capitalism is a direct hit for the kind of politics that would work in 2012 against Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, as well as against Barack Obama and both parties in Washington. I have previously suggested that Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann should launch an attack against Rick Perry's "pay for play" special interest giveways in Texas....

(CNN) - Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will not attend the Palmetto Freedom Forum of GOP candidates Monday night, sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint, and will instead return to Texas to deal with the wildfires in the state, DeMint's office told CNN.