I can attest to that. I started paying attention to Perry back in May. At that time I wanted Palin to get in the race, but I was interested in the fact that Palin had campaigned for Perry.
I saw them as an interesting pair, particularly their mutual interest and experience in promoting our domestic energy resources.
When I started noticing self-proclaimed Palin supporters here on Free Republic bashing Perry and acting really vile about it, I realized something was seriously out of whack.
The more I learned about Perry, his flaws and all, the more I realized the self-described Palin folks were fearful. They saw a candidate in Perry that would make a Palin candidacy unnecessary, even redundant.
It was then that I started entertaining the idea of a Palin-Perry or Perry-Palin ticket. What better way to utilize our strongest conservatives? At first I liked Palin in the lead role, but I've gotten to the point now that I consider Perry to be more deserving of the nomination. Palin is hurting herself with the endless speculation her non-candidacy generates. She's beginning to seem like the self-consumed teenage girl who can't decide which boy to go to the prom with.
I still like Palin and see her as a current and future asset to the conservative cause, but I'm ready to support an announced candidate. The uncertainty of the reality of an eventual Palin campaign and the Perry bashing by a weird cult of self-described Palin supporters here on FR has got me looking at Palin as maybe a VP pick or Cabinet appointee for a Perry administration.
So as far as I'm concerned, your observation has much merit.
I see it like this: There's a certain element of posters here who believe Sarah Palin is entitled to the Republican nomination by virtue of being Sarah Palin. She can sit on the fence as long as she likes, it doesn't matter because as soon as she throws her hat into the ring the nomination is hers for the taking and nobody better stand in her way.
To these people, Rick Perry is a threat because he's picking up support from those who would've traditionally been in Palin's camp except not only have they gotten tired of waiting, they've started to question if Palin can actually beat Obama. They've demonstrated both a lack of patience and faith that has angered and unnerved this element of Palin supporters. Hence the childish backlash and the ridiculous hyperbole that's increasingly being posted here against Perry. Governor Perry was a solid conservative prior to entering the race. Now all of the sudden, he's as much as lefty as they come, as bad as Obama. Really?
As of now, I'm in the Perry camp. Is he the most conservative candidate? No, but I believe he is the most conservative candidate that can beat Obama. The second part of this statement is very important to me. But make no mistake, if Sarah Palin earns her party's nomination, I will support her enthusiastically.