GOP candidates' debate Monday will have a Tea Party flavor

Miami Herald ^ | September 11, 2011 | David Lightman

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[snip]

This year, Republican presidential candidates are aggressively courting the movement's eager-to-work followers and trying to tap into their influential social and fundraising networks.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, the founder of the House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus, and other diehard conservatives are already activists' favorites. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman are not; they're perceived as too moderate and compromising.

But in his economic blueprint, released last week, Romney lauded the movement, saying, "The rise of the tea party is a classic instance of the self-correcting forces of American democracy in action."

He still has a fight ahead. Tea party activists are particularly adamant that the 2010 federal health care law be repealed, and the Massachusetts near-universal health care plan that Romney signed into law is considered its model.

"Romney has good ideas and can articulate them well. But he doesn't have credibility," said David Woodard, a Clemson University political scientist and also a Republican consultant and author of "The New Southern Politics."

Perry, on the other hand, who overtook Romney in most national polls of Republican voters last month, is regarded warmly by tea partiers.

"He's not a perfect candidate. Bachmann is better. But I think Perry may have a better chance of winning," said Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation.

[snip]

But activists' approaches vary widely. Some want to see candidates get tougher. "Republicans need to be having a cage fight to see who can best eliminate all the government waste," said Phillips. "What have we heard so far from these Republicans? Crickets."

[snip]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Any radicalization is not welcome.

And that’s just one of the many reasons to get the WH out of progressive hands (and the Senate along with the House — and a stronger SC balance and more conservatives in state office and as governors). We need to nominate a strong conservative candidate willing to speak the truth, who will rally the nation and take it to D.C.

That nominee is Gov. Rick Perry.

[Just mythoughts]

He never should have answered the SS question as being a “Ponze Scheme”. It was not a very bright move, and as they like to say a a lot about Palin... “not very Presidential”. Palin ‘schooled’ him on how to respond to that.

I sure hope someone asks Perry IF he has figured out that a mandate is a tax without representation. Conservatives are not deceived by masking an executive order as a mandate as NOT being a TAX.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

.......One who knows how to use a veto pen....

The Vetoes of Rick Perry As Texas governor, he broke records and earned conservative support -- In Texas, they called it the “Father’s Day Massacre.”...........

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Maybe she’ll “school” Bachmann next, or Romney, or Cain, or Newt.....

[EQAndyBuzz]

Perry should just change that ad and go after Romney’s health plan. Instead of the American flag theme for Romney, change the “O” to look like Obama’s logo.

Then tag it with, RomneyCare, ObamCare. Same plan same taxes. Same Washington.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

And since Gov. Rick Perry is already facing down the EPA and the Dept of Ed and the trial lawyers — he’s got the inside track.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I can’t wait for the response from the Perry camp.

Mitt’s probably all wee-weed up thinking about when it will hit.

[alicewonders]

I’ve been pretty busy this past week, but something I don’t remember seeing are any new poll numbers after the last debate. There are people saying that Perry made a big mistake by calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” - have his poll numbers gone down? Up? Stayed the same?

I liked that Perry didn’t back down about this, to me, that is an encouraging sign of the type of core strength he has when the heat is on.

Has anyone seen a recent poll?

[casinva]

Who are these "Paultards" anyway, and how does he keep finding people who just completely give up their lives to do every little thing he tell them to do?

[Trteamer]

I predict this debate will suck. CNN? The Tea Party? LOL! No one group represents the Tea Party, it’s like a herd of cats with no leaders, just a common theme.

I predict the whole debate and the questions presented by CNN will make the Tea Party look like a bunch of extreemists and nuts. I also hope the candidates don’t attack each other to try to gain points just because they were asked a loaded question. Newt did a good job last time of putting the press in it’s place. I hope the candidates don’t pile on Perry because of Social Security being a Ponzi scheme. We all know it is....so maybe they will talk solutions, Cain did....

[mnehring]

Who are these "Paultards" anyway, and how does he keep finding people who just completely give up their lives to do every little thing he tell them to do?

Mostly college kids looking for 'someone from the government who is here to help' _{legalize weed}.

[C210N]

Republicans need to be having a cage fight to see who can best eliminate all the government waste...

Conservatives know the premise of that statement is in left field. If you want to eliminate, say, 20% of government waste... you would make a good start by eliminating 20% of government. By definition, government IS waste. Unless its doing what its supposed to do, such as national defense.

[TexasFreeper2009]

There hasn’t been a poll of the race since the 1st of September, I am dying to know where the race stands at the moment, and how and if the debate affected everyones numbers.

[Lazlo in PA]

If you would like to see one of these supporters up close, here is a thread from a couple days ago. Link at thread has interesting video of one of these dopes.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2775061/posts

[alicewonders]

Something tells me that the (absence of) poll numbers are going in Perry's direction - if Romney or Huntsman's numbers had gone up - they would be showing it all the time. It's strange that there aren't any updated numbers.

[casinva]

Oooooooohhhhhhhh.... got it!

Hey, I wonder what “joints” he finds those guys in? LOL

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I bet the campaigns are doing constant internal polling. I did see this:

Those familiar with candidate:

Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin, who still have not ruled out entering the race, are also well-liked by Republicans (74% and 69% favorable ratings, respectively), but also do not generate the same degree of strong intense feeling as Perry and Cain. Giuliani's current Positive Intensity Score is 15 and Palin's is 13.

Perry Remains Best-Positioned Candidate

Perry's combination of high name recognition and a high Positive Intensity Score help make him the best-positioned candidate for the Republican nomination at this point, underscored by his lead in Republican nomination preferences. Cain's enthusiastic support is offset by his low name recognition, and other well-known candidates like Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Ron Paul, do not generate the same level of intense feeling as Perry.

Source

Perry has room to grow within his name recognition numbers.

[cc2k]

Wonderful. I wasn't aware of Perry's veto record in Texas.

That's half the battle. Now, about those specific words. …

Here I am less impressed. Perry's argument on Social Security is that it's a Ponzi Scheme and that it's unsustainable. That's part of the problem. Now, if we take James Madison at his word (after all, he did write the "general welfare" clause), where in the enumerated powers delegated to the federal Congress did grant Congress the authority to set up any retirement program, let alone one that is structured as a Ponzi scheme.

Why isn't Perry asking that question in public as well? If he's going to take on "entitlements," thats one thing that needs to be brough out.

This country has lost our way. One thing that TEA Partiers know is that the Constitution still matters. To the "Ruling class," the Constitution is an impediment to "progress."

It's not just Obama and the Democrats that believe this. The establishment, "ruling class" Republicans have no respect for constitutional limitations either. Where in the enumerated powers delegated to the federal Congress did grant Congress the authority to set up a "prescription drug insurance program." When that was being discussed, I asked my (alegedly conservative) Republican Congress Critter that question, and got no real answer, just stammering and "Chewbacca defense."

We'll see if issues like this come up in the debate Monday. I hope someone will ask questions like this. I look forward to hearing the answers.

In general, Repulicans (establishment, ruling class Republicans) pay lip service to "limited government," but they believe in some amorphous, undefined limits, and when they get control (witness 2001 through 2006), they expand those limits to suit their whims. Campaign Finance reform and prescription drug "benefits" are two obvious examples.

This country needs to return to our Constitutional roots. If any candidate wants to lead in that direction, I'd be behind them 100%. But I don't hear that from very many Republicans.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Newt and Cain are good levelers and antidotes to the msm attack questions — but CNN? after MSNBC? Oh well.... Next week Fox and they’ll probably try to be extra tough so they won’t be accused of being “soft” (fair).

[Coldwater Creek]

Let’s not let the TRUTH be told.