An excellent piece, explaining just about all the reasons people might have not to support Rick Perry for President.
Such important items as: He couldn’t remember his 3rd point during a debate. He gave an overly-empassioned speech in New Hampshire. He didn’t wow people in the debates.
If you are a conservative who thinks the most important things in the 2012 election are covered in that list, you should not support Rick Perry.
If you think the most important thing for 2012 is that we elect an experienced executive who is a solid conservative, who has a record of conservative achievement, and who understands the idea of a limited executive government that stays out of our business, then you might not take this advice.
If you want a proven pro-life leader, a staunch and unwavering defender of 2nd amendment rights, a man who has done more to secure the borders of our country than any other candidate, a budget-balancer who will do everything in his power to end Obamacare, roll back the onerous regulations that are stifling our country, hold the line on spending, reform the tax code, and finally tackle the entitlement nightmare, you should certainly ignore this article.
If you are looking for a slick debater who knows how to say exactly what you want to here, whether they believe it or not, you may consider another candidate like Newt or Mitt. If you want a guy who doesn’t ever make a mistake, I guess Rick Santorum either hasn’t recently, or nobody is covering him so we just don’t know (let’s ignore the whole Toomey thing, it was so long ago).
If you want a guy who is the consensus to win the nomination, if you like the establishment picks for our party, you can sit back and let Newt or Mitt take the nomination. If you like how government operates and want more of it, if you like the idea of a bigger government that will solve problems differently than the liberals but won’t let people solve their own problems, you probably shouldn’t consider Rick Perry.
And if you are dreadfully concerned most about winning elections, and not about WHO it is that you elect, by all means you should not give Perry another look right now — wait for his poll numbers to put him up first, and then join the crowd.
But seriously — if you believe you should pick the next President based on whether they ever forgot what they were going to say, it might be better if you did not vote.
I don’t care if Rick Perry is not the slickest debater, or does not have “quick recall of specific facts.” I opposed him because of his immigration stance, but I like most of what he says. I like that he grew up on a farm and knows what work is. I like that he served as a pilot; clearly he is not “dumb,” and a President seldom has to act on short notice. If my favorite, Michele Bachmann, can’t win, Perry will probably be my backup.