Free Republic

Gov. Rick Perry began his 42-city bus tour on a rather populist note Wednesday, saying a diagram of the country’s problems would be a straight line between Washington, D.C. and Wall Street. Perry has been struggling in the polls for months but hopes a tour of Iowa’s small towns in the three weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 can lift him back to the front of the pack. “I hope some of you are taking a second look,” Perry said. Perry is trying to sell himself as the true Washington outsider in the Republican race, and...

It’s now a three-way race before voting begins for the Republican presidential nomination. as either Newt Gringrich, Mitt Romney, or Rick Perry will be the GOP standard-bearer to challenge President Obama. The same pundits that have confidently miscalled the GOP race all along are now declaring it’s a two-way race between former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Governor Mitt Romney. They’re wrong. Either man might be the nominee, but not necessarily. Romney is the former frontrunner. He’s educated, polished, and has tremendous private-sector success and some high-level public experience. He even has a picturesque family. But a majority of Republican...

GREENVILLE, S.C. – In the geographic heart of the Republican Party, the contest for the allegiance of Southern conservatives in the 2012 race is as wide open as ever. Of all the prizes still up for grabs in the GOP presidential primary, few are as desirable as the support of the South. Republican presidential nominations have traditionally been forged here – in South Carolina, especially – and any successful challenger to Mitt Romney would likely have to dominate among heavily conservative, evangelical Southern voters. Yet the only candidate this cycle who seemed to have a shot at locking down the...

December 13, 2011Perry's new TV ad slams 'political correctness' in Washington By Alicia M. Cohn Rick Perry hits political correctness in a new TV ad set to begin airing in Iowa and national cable on Tuesday. "Washington is the capital of political correctness, where double-speak reigns and the truth is frowned upon," Perry says to the camera in the new ad. The Texas governor continues to position himself as a "Washington outsider" looking to change things in the D.C. establishment. "You and I know it's true, but not politically correct," he says, hitting foreign aid — he has said he...

When Rick Perry jumped into the race, many of us expected his skill at retail politicking to swamp the field in Iowa and perhaps run away with the nomination. Instead, a series of debate blunders and a lack of engagement in Iowa produced a stalled campaign struggling in the second tier. Perry admits that a back surgery in July took a bigger toll on his campaign than previously acknowledged, but that’s no excuse for the errors: ______________________________________________________ Q: How is your back? A: My back is great. I’m back running again for the last six weeks. I think part of...

Supreme Court to settle election district scuffle in Texas as a map signed by Rick Perry is accused of diluting minority voting power Texas’ March primary will likely be delayed after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday blocked the use of state legislative and congressional district maps that were drawn by federal judges. The court issued a brief order late Friday that applies to electoral maps drawn by federal judges in San Antonio for the Texas Legislature and Congress that would have ensured minorities made up the majority in three additional Texas congressional districts. The justices said they will hear...

Gov. Rick Perry's entire statement about the "loss" of our drone [1:20] Bonus: Perry: Washington DC is the problem [1:16]

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Campaigning in South Carolina on Thursday, both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry visited a hotel ballroom to seek the support of a crucial coalition here, as well as in Iowa: Evangelical pastors. They were both featured speakers at the Pastors Policy Briefing, a gathering of roughly 400 church leaders hosted by the South Carolina Renewal Project, a branch of an under-the-radar evangelical group that holds similar events in other major primary states. Gingrich and Perry– one recently thrust into the glare of public favor, the other trying to get back in it – gave speeches that demonstrated...

Rick Perry' held one public event in Iowa today - a jampacked coffee house appearance in fairly liberal-tilting Ames - and slammed Mitt Romney over thie $10,000 bet to reporters, while keeping his focus on his anti-Washington, anti-establishment message with the crowd. Perry spoke for about 15 minutes and took no questions at the event, which was marred at the end by protestors who shouted over his speech about his anti-DADT ad bemoaning the notion of fays in the military. He was swarmed by autograph-seekers and didn't do a formal Q and A with reporters, but a few caught up...

Rick Perry on Fox News Sunday Right Scoop December 11, 2011 Rick Perry did a good job this morning in his interview on Fox News Sunday, not overdoing it in attacking Romney over the “$10,000 bet” from last night’s debate. He was also asked to defend his recent ad where he said he would end Obama’s attack on religion and also highlighted a comparison where gays can serve openly in the military but children can’t pray in schools. FULL VIDEO at link below....

Perry Slams Obama Over Downed Drone: "This President Is The Problem" December 10th, 2011 "The idea this president now, with Iran getting one of our predator drones in their possession, and he had opportunities -- he had two choices. Actually, he had three. He chose the worse. And those two opportunities he had was to either retrieve that drone or to destroy it. And he did the worst of the three. And he did absolutely nothing. And the Russians and the Chinese will have our highly technical equipment now. This president is the problem, not something Newt Gingrich said." VIDEO...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday there are eight Supreme Court justices, not nine,......

.....“I’m not ashamed to talk about my faith,” he says in the first spot. “Some liberals say that faith is a sign of weakness. Well, they’re wrong.” In the second ad, titled “Strong,” Perry bravely comes out as a follower of Christ. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian,” he says, before vowing that “as President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion.” ......But most flagrant is Perry’s reference to “Obama’s war on religion” without evidence or explanation. He leaves the strong impression that it is Obama’s administration–instead of Supreme Court decisions from the 1960s–that took school-sanctioned prayer and...

.......Republicans in Congress also bristle at Perry’s unwillingness to distinguish in his public critiques between Republicans and Democrats. “I’m leaning Perry,” said tea party freshman Rep. Blake Farenthold of Corpus Christi, who heard the governor at both the Capitol Hill Club and a meeting to discuss health care. “He did great.” But asked whether he agrees with chopping congressional pay and time on the job, Farenthold’s smile fell, and he kept on walking. Carter, among others who openly support Perry, is willing to agree to disagree on that particular proposal. “He could do a good job if he could get...

Texas topper declines invitation to real-estate-mogul-hosted Dec. 27 NewsMax debate.

....In Iowa, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to launch his first negative TV ad against other GOP candidates, Washington Wire has learned. It will target Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for supporting a mandate that individuals carry health insurance. Such a requirement is part of the Massachusetts health care law that Mr. Romney signed as governor. Mr. Gingrich has previously supported a mandate, though he has since backed off of it. The move comes as Messrs. Romney and Gingrich, who lead in national and state polls, are trading barbs over their conservative bona fides. It also represents an acknowledgement...

Perry hits Gingrich and Romney on health-care mandates in TV ad (video) Rachel Weiner December 8, 2011 While former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney take aim at each other, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is hoping to get in on the action with an ad that targets both rivals for supporting individual health-care mandates. Trying to claw his way back into the top-tier of the GOP presidential race with only three weeeks to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, Perry ties his rivals to President Obama in the new ad and “the big government liberals.” “We dont...

TRANSCRIPT: Remarks By Rick Perry At Republican Jewish Coalition Forum Wednesday December 7,2011 Thank you Cheryl. It is an honor to be with you today and to share my thoughts on faith, foreign policy and the free State of Israel. It is great to see so many friends with the Republican Jewish Coalition…including two vital supporters, Dr. Jeffrey Feingold and Kirk Blalock. As we gather today, I am struck by the coincidence that two of the American citizens being unlawfully detained abroad today are Jewish: Alan Gross in Cuba, and Warren Weinstein by al Qaida in Pakistan. In both cases...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom some pundits had written off as the GOP's nominee, may find a second coming in Iowa, if new poll data holds up. As Mitt Romney's campaign has suffered a startling decline in recent weeks, only to see Newt Gingrich eclipse the former Massachusetts governor's front-runner status, the battle for the Iowa caucuses set for Jan. 3 has become a wide-open race. New survey data prepared for the Perry campaign and shared by a source close within the campaign shows that the Texas governor may be poised to do much better in next month’s Iowa caucuses...

MCC Releases Results of 2012 Presidential Candidate Survey Conservative Candidates Perry, Bachmann, Santorum Provide Solid Answers Romney, Gingrich, Huntsman Fail to Answer Six Questions on Military/Social Issues Ron Paul Voted for Gays in the Military December 6, 2011 - The Military Culture Coalition has released responses to the MCC 2012 Presidential Candidate Survey, which asked six questions about military social issues such as gays in the military, enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the military, religious liberty for chaplains, and subjecting women to direct ground combat and Selective Service registration. (See News Release here.)Center for Military Readiness...