Posted on 10/24/2011 5:42:27 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s presidential forum unofficially marked a critical time for candidates in Iowa to start sealing the deal with Iowa’s ample number of social conservatives. It’s hard to say that some candidates won, while others lost. For the most part, all the candidates did well. Some just stood out more than others.
For an event that attracted scores of media and six presidential candidates, the most important people in the room were the activists who sat through the five-hour event. The Super Bowl takes less time if you don’t count parking, but even that event allows those in attendance to stretch their legs at halftime. That wasn’t the case on Saturday night.
In talking to a number of people after the event, the winners event were Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann did well too, but the other three shined. Herman Cain on the other hand was a disappointment.
Ordering the top three is difficult. I was looking for more than just which candidate could strike a chord with the audience. I was considering what each candidate needed to get of the event politically, which is incredibly important with the caucuses less than three months away.
Here is how I rank it. If you disagree, the comment section is all yours.
1. Rick Perry
Texas Governor Rick Perry did exactly what he needed to do on Saturday night. Perry looked and sounded like the conservative candidate many were excited about when he entered the race back in August. Gone was the unpolished candidate who we have come to know in the debates, and in his place was a relaxed, confident candidate who commanded the stage. Facing a roomful of more than 1000 social conservatives, the question that Perry needed to address was whether or not he was one of them. He gave the audience plenty of reasons to believe that they have a lot in common.
Perry did two things in his speech that were incredibly important. He touted his long list of pro-life, pro-family accomplishments as governor, but maybe more importantly, he shared his own personal testimony. As Perry bared his soul to the audience, the room fell silent. It was at that point that Perry captivated those in the room.
Perry’s pro-life accomplishments, including defunding Planned Parenthood, passing a parental consent law, and requiring women in Texas who are seeking abortions to have a sonogram, are impressive, but it was his personal testimony on Saturday night that may change Perry’s fortunes in Iowa because it will help build trust with social conservatives across the state.
Unlike the rest of candidates, Perry didn’t shrink away for taking issue with Herman Cain’s recent flubbing on the issue of abortion. Perry didn’t mention Cain’s name, but everyone knew whom he was talking about when he said, “It is a liberal canard to say I am personally pro-life, but government should stay out of that decision. If that is your view, you are not pro-life.”
Perry was the clear winner on Saturday night because he accomplished everything he needed to do.
Promote his pro-life, pro-family record: CHECK
Convince the audience that you are an authentic social conservative: CHECK
Make a personal connection with the people in the room: CHECK
Capitalize on your opponent’s recent problems: CHECK
Define yourself instead of letting your opponents or the media do it: CHECK
I’d have a spring in my step today if I was the Perry campaign in Iowa. Again, this was the candidate that many were expecting when he entered the race.
2. Newt Gingrich.......Continues
If it’s about action, then please do read some of the South Texas news, where you’ll find him trying to do the job the feds refuse to do. I live in the next door state to the north, and used to live in South Texas. We follow the news rather closely, as we still have friends there. What you are saying is exactly opposite of what I know to be true.
I just hate to be the one to burst your little dream bubble....but, alas no, Perry's poll numbers are still sinking into oblivion.
I, for one, cannot wait to see what desperation moves he'll use next. All of Perry's Texas election cons are pretty much kaput---might have to resort to the Madoff Playbook to dredge up a few more tried and true ruses.
Good for him.
Then, he should tout THAT. With specificity,
since he tends to avoid saying anything with
precision in the debates so far.
Boy! You are getting desperate Liz.
Perry must be pulling back up in the polls.
Yes he went from 2 percent to 2 percent +1 when Steve Forbes endorsed him. You are delusional if you think Perry is doing fantastic in the polls. He is sixth a lot of the time. You can support a loser but really should be supporting a winner in Cain!!!!
Thanks much for posting that.
Perry can buy alot of lipstick to smear on his pig of a record, but it's still a pig and squealing louder every day.
But Perry enthusiastically endorsed his business partner, Giuliani, who did all that.
In politics, (as everywhere else) one is known by the company one keeps.
Would any businessman worth his salt, go into business with Bernie Madoff? Course not.
And why? B/c everyone would automatically assume he was also a crook.
He devoted most of his speech to the topic of segregation. There is no problem with that if he had he tied it in with an issue like abortion. Had he done that, it would have been a powerful moment. Instead, he made a bus analogy, saying that he remembers signs on that instructed African Americans to sit in the back of the bus, and now he owns a bus with his face plastered on it*****
This is one of the things that troubles me about Cain. It seems his idea of Christianity revolves more around the concept of some sort of social gospel. The church he attends certainly doesn’t sound as radical as 0zer0’s, but it does seem to focus on racial empowerment as a spiritual principle and Cain at times reflects that thinking in his statements and proposals.
At this point all the candidates have issues, but the only two I could see supporting are Perry and/or Santorum.
bumping this most important thread.
lol. With posters thinking they need spin like that, I know Gov. Perry will be surging back to take the lead.
It seems that you, the writer of this article, Huckabee, most of the Pro-Life people in Iowa have all identified Herman Cain's statement as being pro-abortion, so I guess you are right then, Perry must have been talking about Cain.
read my tagline.
In a word, “social justice” (well 2).
Perry said, “if you don’t want to allow children brought to this country illegally — through no fault of their own — to pay instate tuition, you don’t have a heart. [paraphrased but has the “heart” part]
However, saying he used the word “heartless,” is in vogue -- just like RINO.
He has apologized for saying it. He didn’t say, “if anyone misunderstood....” He said it was inappropriate.
[Perry: “I was probably a bit over-passionate by using that word and it was inappropriate,” Perry admitted. “In Texas in 2001 we had 181 members of the legislature – only four voted against this piece of legislation – because it wasn’t about immigration it was about education.”]
Oct 6, 2011 Interviewing Rick Perry On Illegal Immigration [10 Questions]
You Perry haters are certainly masters at rationalizing away any issue which suits your fancy.
Perry forced it on Texans---he gave parents only the right to OPT OUT. He should have given parents the right to OPT IN.
Perry himself has said the Gardisil EO was a "mistake"----one of his many stupid decisions he's been forced to retract and walk-back.
He didn’t say “Have a heart”, did he?
He said I don’t have a heart, because I don’t agree with his policy of in state tutition for the children of illegal aliens.
Big difference.
I don’t care if he apologized, because he meant what he said, and I did not misunderstand him.
You just don’t get it, do you? (sarc) You are lying—everyone with a brain knows Perry is for open borders. Sorry for the sarcasm but this is getting old trying to combat the lies with the truth.
Assuming your guy is Cain, Cain endorsed Romney last time and has said he'd be glad to be his VP. Romney is repeatedly praising Cain and Cain isn't attacking Romney, so what's up with that?
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