IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.
IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
Posted on 11/30/2011 9:11:54 AM PST by shield
. . . from a couple of months ago somehow escaped my notice (and perhaps not coincidentally,Jennifer Rubin’s) until today. It’s the highest, most unreserved praise for a politician I’ve ever read from the formidable mind of Ferguson in which he extols Rick Perry’s accomplishments in reforming the Texas higher education system. No other candidate in the field comes close to being as effective in taking on an entrenched establishment in the interest of taxpayers.
Perry’s admirers praise his sure-footedness—his ability to sense cultural trends before others do and turn them to his political advantage. He was the first national politician to ally himself to the Tea Party movement in 2009, a move that’s just now paying off. He caught the mounting anxiety among middle-income parents about college costs early on. Most American parents now say that a college degree will be essential for their children’s future success; at the same time, according to a new Pew Foundation poll, only 22 percent of Americans believe that most people can afford to send their kids to college. And 57 percent describe the quality of American higher education as “only fair” or “poor.” To address this anxiety Perry’s opponents offer more government subsidies, which in turn provide an incentive for schools to raise their prices—an attempt to douse the fire with gasoline. Perry’s ideas are cheaper, more comprehensive, more imaginative, and more likely to work.
It is simply mystifying that conservative voters are even countenancing the notion of sending Newt Gingrich — one of the primary architects of the status quo in DC today — to uproot the system that’s strangling the nation to death. And the idea that a political Slinky like Mitt Romney is going to do anything to upset the powers that be is laughable given his penchant for compromise.
Perry stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by the two current front-runners. As Ferguson points out, he has demonstrated an innate sense of what issues he can seize on in order to successfully institute badly needed reforms and he takes decisive action. Where he doesn’t succeed completely, he manages to make dramatic improvements that create momentum for further successful reforms down the road. Unlike Romney, Perry acknowledges the elephant in the room. And unlike Gingrich, he knows that you have to eat the elephant one bite at a time.
The challenges facing this country — fiscal and cultural — are going to require the kind of unapologetic leadership Mitt Romney has never shown the stomach for, and a steady, measured approach that the erratic and mercurial Gingrich is temperamentally incapable of applying. And while Romney and Gingrich may be better at articulating polished soundbites and meticulously crafted applause lines, Rick Perry can actually point to accomplishments as a man of deeds rather than words.
Now that Herman Cain seems to have finally dealt the coup de grâce to his own campaign, there’s still hope that the GOP primary electorate will give Rick Perry a second look as he steadily regains his footing. There’s still a month before the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses, and the complexion of the race can change dramatically in a very short period of time. Rick Perry has a great deal to point to in the way of accomplishment and has improved remarkably in his debate performances.
And maybe now that Cain has demonstrated beyond any doubt that it takes more than glibness and skillful presentation to be a successful presidential candidate, GOP primary voters will be able to place Rick Perry’s early struggles into their proper perspective and examine his undeniably successful stewardship over the state that managed to create millions of jobs and balance its budgets even as the nation as a whole remained locked in a spiral of debt and unemployment.
IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.
IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
I like Rick Perry, and I think he would make a good president. With that said, we need to keep our eyes on the real goal and that is getting rid of President Obama. Our president is flushing our country down the toilet with every resource he has at his command. The Republicans need to find someone they can agree on and concentrate on getting rid of Barack Obama. If President Obama gets reelected, after another four years, there won’t be a country to save.
Tell me about it. Newt is one of the biggest Progressives around yet so many here at FR blow off other candidates with far more Conservative records for him. Usually based solely on Newts debate performance.
It likely has something to do with THIS!
Most intelligent conservatives take time to look at people's record and base their choice of who can stop this sinking ship called America. NO one running except RICK PERRY can and actually will do that.
I believe there is little mystery to the Newt rise, since no one is comfortable with the debate setting for Rick Perry to voice his positions. Anywhere else, especially one on one in personal appearances and in his quite superior ads, Perry can shine, but that seems to me to be an
incredibly low key and somewhat plodding way to get the message out. Voters want to become acquainted and these are engaging times, where we are horrified at the idea of a break down of our candidate in a debate against Obama.
Newt will be mastered by no one on any stage. The debates have made Newt just as they have deeply damaged Perry.
Cain has not the depth to compete on policy, international affairs, etc., and there is no sign he is doing any of the homework required of a serious contender, because he has no deeper grasp of the issues today than on his first day. He is distracted by the obvious (accusation juggling) and has no team drilling him on details of much of anything, since nein, nein, nein. It is time for mastery. The primaries are at the door. After January, it will be Romney, Newt and Perry. The others will be probably done, but for the death rattle, free to go on to other things.
P ad P. Perry for President and Palin for Vice President.
Its because people want "someone who can beat Obama in a debate."
That has to be the most shallow statement. Sadly, its the driving force behind our fleeting support, which darts around like a flock of chickens following a grasshopper. The flock gobbles up the grasshopper and darts over to the next most popular one, dumb as a box of rocks.
I really like Mr. Perry’s ties. Sharp.
Perry/West Ticket...would be the dream ticket. Both of those men are real fighters. Palin isn’t interested in running...she’s been there done that...and it is a no thank you.
Like it or not; that is a factor. This is not 1904. Televised debates are done; and they influence voters.
I still find Perry's fumbling around to be odd. He has to fairly articulate to get elected and successfully govern one of the largest states.
Perry dresses well...You can bet that sweet wife of his, Anita, helps pick his ties along with his suits.
Miss Anita is a very pretty woman. :)
Dr. Jack Wheeler knows Rick Perry pretty well...and he says Perry will eat Obama up in debates. Obama is not a good debater at all. Without his teleprompter he proves to us all he is an uneducated fool. That is affirmative action for you.
>> Newt is one of the biggest Progressives around <<
With all due respect, I don’t think that’s really the fundamental problem. Newt’s not all that “progressive” — just a highly unstable, upredictable and undisciplined individual.
Most noticeably, he seems unable to resist the urge to spout some “big idea” that has recently captured his fancy, whether the idea is progressive, conservative, libertarian, pseudo-scientific, or whatever.
Moreover, if the above weren’t bad enough, Newt reportedly has an abrasive, narcissistic personality that has alienated many who’ve worked closely with him, and his reputation as SOTH is that he was a terrible manager. Remember the attempted coup by the young conservative Congressmen back in 1997?
Bottom Line:
In spite of Newt’s obvious brilliance and his fantastic debating skill, I think he’s a walking-talking IED that’s going to explode in a “terminal disaster” at some critical moment. Let’s just pray that the explosion will occur long before he has chance to become the GOP nominee.
Reforms like these would have been unthinkable 10 years ago, before Perry picked up his stick and started poking the system until it had to respond. It’s been a remarkable display of political entrepreneurship: Create an issue, define it on your terms, cultivate public support, and your opponents, who never saw it coming, will have to go along, even if only partway—at first.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.