"Clearly, heartless Americans will not vote for a great guy like me."
"That is why I intend to sign an Executive Order to finance govt-issue heart transplants."
Posted on 09/26/2011 6:25:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Orlando, Fla. — Florida voters may have closed the door on a Presidency 5 straw-poll victory for Rick Perry, but they haven’t shut the window on the possibility of voting for him in the primary.
Perry’s poor debate performance — particularly his accusation that those who disagreed with him on providing in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants lacked a “heart” — upset delegates and almost certainly caused his devastating 20-points-plus loss to Herman Cain in the straw poll. But many Florida Republicans remain open to the idea of ultimately voting for Perry in the primary.
Florida retiree Judy O’Donnell says she’s “sticking” with Perry because she values his gubernatorial experience and his attitude. “I think Perry’s a fighter,” O’Donnell says. “And I want a fighter in there. I don’t want Casper Milquetoast.” Kearsten Angel, a Florida attorney, says she’s disappointed in Perry’s debate performances, but hasn’t give up on him yet. “I hope my initial gut feelings about him are correct,” she says. “He’s got a little bit of a learning curve.”
Many are also quick to point out that as the frontrunner from the time he entered, Perry has faced an enormously tough situation. “Given the fact that eight other candidates tried to beat him up, I thought he didn’t get any permanent scars,” remarks Walt Travinski, a business owner. O’Donnell points out that Perry faces an experience deficit. “I’m sticking with Perry,” she says. “I think that he’s not used to the big stage yet. Someone like Romney has had that experience a couple of times.” Angel notes that as governor of a state adjoining Mexico, Perry had to confront the issues surrounding immigration more than most governors.
Rosemary Mills, a delegate who attended Perry’s breakfast the morning of the straw poll but voted for Cain, is willing to give Perry the benefit of the doubt on his immigration statements. “I really wish that Perry would find a way to communicate that to the people so that we would understand what his [immigration] position is better. I’m open to hearing more,” Mills says, but adds that “the education of illegal immigrants concerns us, not because we have bad hearts, but because we think of our own children, too, and grandchildren and what opportunities they’ll have.”
“I’m sure that it came across differently than the way he feels,” agrees Barbara Stephens, another delegate.
Maria Oddo, a volunteer for Perry, shows that Perry — like Sarah Palin and Ron Paul — has the potential to attract an especially dedicated base. “He is being persecuted right now. Like Jesus,” she remarks, although she notes that she didn’t agree with his immigration position. “[I] work as hard for him as I did for Marco Rubio,” she says. “I believed in Marco, even though, when he started, he wasn’t winning either. But he was honest with us, the same way as Perry is.”
For many in senior-citizen-packed Florida, Perry’s immigration statements were far more worrisome than his description of Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.”
“Two or three years ago, if you had walked in here and say do something with Social Security and Medicare, the seniors would go, ‘absolutely not.’” Travinski says. But things have changed. “After two years of hearing day after day how bad it is, they are all recognizing we’ve got to do something. We’ve all got grandkids,” he remarks.
For Perry, winning a second act among Florida voters would require a revamped pitch — including easing off the fireworks between him and Romney during debates, which irked many of the voters that I spoke to. He would also face an uphill challenge winning back the support of those who dislike both his immigration policy and his dismissive rhetoric concerning those who disagree with him.
Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union and former chair of the Florida GOP, notes that Perry could use upcoming debates to help redeem himself. “There are twelve, 15 rounds of debates,” he says, noting that Perry could use those debates “to hone his message and maybe rethink things.”
“He’s got to be defining himself as he goes forward,” Cardenas adds. “Romney’s had five years to do that. People have a better understanding of what he’s all about. Rick Perry has got to do in two months what Romney’s done in five years, and that’s make sure people understand well what he’s all about.
Cardenas also thinks that Perry needs to cool down his rhetoric, saying that while senior citizens are open to Social Security reform, any usage of the term “Ponzi scheme” should be a “non-starter” — and few are interested in making Social Security run by the states.
“Calling it a ‘Ponzi scheme’ doesn’t sit well even with movement conservatives,” Cardenas observes. “Calling for changes, I think conservatives are all for it. When Herman Cain speaks about the Chilean model, you don’t see anyone jumping up in fear, right?”
Delegate Barbara Stephens has a specific idea about how Perry could revitalize his candidacy.
“A Perry/Cain combination would be dynamite,” she gushes.
— Katrina Trinko is an NRO reporter.
My wife and I were delegates at P-5 to us Perry crashed and burned at the debate, he seemed like some arrogant child.
We skipped his breakfast and ended up throwing our support for Herman Cain, he spoke from the heart!!!
"Clearly, heartless Americans will not vote for a great guy like me."
"That is why I intend to sign an Executive Order to finance govt-issue heart transplants."
What about my crowd...”Honkies for Herman” or “Crackers for Cain”? Good man!
Turn out the lights and fold up the tent.....the Perry Circus is over.
Great post....I thought that crap about Cain needing “experience” was an stupid statement the minute it was posted.
I don’t want to look at this guy anymore...he’s a LIBERAL!
this is a great article, right on the mark.
I'm getting the impression that Perry believes all he had to do is squint his eyes, smile and sound sincere and he could bullsh^t his way through the debates. Might work in Texas.
My own son was writing computer programs for missiles at age 27...including testing them in Alabama. Then there was his stint to install and teach "computer technology" in several countries....including Bahrain.
So now you are saying that Perry is using higher education, which is against the law, as some sort of back door amnesty program. He needs to get in the debates and say that, nothing like shooting yourself in the foot with a shotgun. Makes for good TV.
It makes sense if you're a bleeding heart liberal, like Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts.
It does not make sense if you are a conservative.
Yes, he did. He's just about lost me with his inarticulateness under fire. I want a president who can think on his feet and I haven't seen that from him yet.
Herman Cain is the only other candidate who enthuses me at the moment, but I'm not ready to give him my full support -- yet. There's plenty of time, though, and he can win my vote. Perry could still get it back, too, if he stops talking about Texas and comes up with a coherent illegal immigration policy.
If you remember GW Bush in his early years wasn’t a good debater. Ann Richards said of Bush that he’d take four so issues, develop a solid responses and wear you out with them. Perry needs to do the same if he thinks and wants to continue.
LOL, well, what does that tell ya?
At least she got a free breakfast.
there is no candidate in the GOP who advocates rounding up, confining and deporting the tens of millions of illegals here now
NONE
Scratch Sarah Palin’s immigration policy and you’ll basically find registration of “guest workers”, pathway to eventual legalization, and citizenship pathways for their children - along with border controls
Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Santorum, Hunstman- none gonna send back anyone who is here. Best you will see is border control and internal regisstration but with a path to citizenship
All of which is about the same as Perry
Another Texas PROGRESSIVE who thinks it's just fine
to steal from Americans and give the money to criminals !
How lucky we were to have Bush and his Team on 9-11.
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