He's dead JimMitt. (self-inflicted)
Posted on 10/21/2011 10:02:21 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
In a new web site, in a controversial ad that was launched and then quickly pulled from sight, and in Tuesday’s now infamous debate touching episode, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is handling rival Rick Perry as if the Texas governor’s poll numbers were not at a paltry single-digit. With mounting evidence, he is, in short, treating Perry like Perry has Herman Cain’s numbers.
[snip]
If Romney can fatally weaken Perry now, it would allow him to dominate in the early primaries. Strategically, a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses would be followed by an anticipated victory in the New Hampshire primary, resulting in strong momentum as the voting shifts to South Carolina and Florida.
“You’ve got the guy down a bit, you don’t want to let him up off the mat,” said Chris Lehane, a Democratic consultant. “A mistake for a lot of campaigns is the front-runner doesn’t engage, and when they do, it’s too late. Particularly when Perry has the resources to go up in the air with negative ads, I think it’s smart for the Romney campaign. I think the Romney people are making the educated bet, probably the right bet, that there’s no one else in the field that can rise up and can be a sustainable long-term challenger.”
A source close to the Romney camp said, “One of these two guys is going to be president. You learned a long time ago in this business that when you’re getting attacked, you better answer.”
That Romney could be vulnerable to Perry’s millions, or the millions raised by his super PAC, lends a peremptory, inoculative quality to his elevated pressure on Perry. “If you’re Romney and you’re looking around the field you’ve got there … the only one who’s proved he can raise any money is Perry,” said Andrew Smith, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire. “He has to make sure that Perry isn’t able to consolidate his position as a front-runner in polls, because he’s certainly a front-runner in fundraising.”
The stepped-up offensive comes at a curious time, with Perry at his lowest point in the polls since he entered the race in mid-August. Romney is trading the above-the-fray persona he has cultivated at the risk of elevating Perry, putting him on the same plane as the front-runner. A NBC News/Marist poll of likely South Carolina primary voters published last week had Perry at 9 percent, just three points higher than former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is not a serious contender for the nomination.
The flare-up during Tuesday’s debate in Las Vegas stemmed largely from Perry confronting Romney over his hiring of a lawn care company that employed illegal immigrants, prompting Romney to recycle his criticism of a Texas law that Perry signed granting tuition discounts for the children of illegal immigrants. But Romney went beyond policy, taunting Perry by pointing out he had already had “a tough couple debates,” and reaching out to touch his shoulder — a personal space invasion that’s a no-no during debates.
Romney also irritably appraised Perry’s debating style as discourteous: “You have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking. And I suggest that if you want to become president of the United States, you have got to let both people speak.”
[snip]
Perry Communications Director Ray Sullivan called Romney’s aggression “not a new phenomenon,” but said “this week’s high-profile activities” were proof of Romney’s nervousness about Perry.
“The Romney camp and Governor Romney himself know that Rick Perry is the most likely candidate to be the conservative standard-bearer, given his record,” Sullivan said. “They’re threatened by Governor Perry’s strong record as well as fiscal and social conservatism, and they realize that we have the campaign organization and financial resources to win. Despite all of the efforts to belittle and dismiss, the Romney people know that Rick Perry is a very serious and credible threat to their now six-year-long presidential campaign.”
[snip]
I’m not particularly a Perry fan (although his book was amazing), but pretty much anyone who Romney hates, I like.
Romney is a foul little turd.
Romney may be a moderate/liberal but he is not a fool.
He’s decided that Cain is either on board with him or not a danger.
He’s trying to take out the only viable threat ...
In that, he’s joining a lot of other malcontents on Free Republic who may well be insuring a Romney nomination.
OK, you are the sickest person on the planet! =P
You are living in some reason-free world of denial.
If Perry goes, Romney gets the nomination. Period.
Romney has the network and the money.
The only one who has a chance of stopping him, is Perry.
“What I find interesting is, the people attacking Perry are helping Romney win the nomination.”
Well sure if you suffer under the mistaken idea that there are only two candidates in this race. If there were, Perry would be in really big trouble because ONE of those candidates (a lying liberal sack of crap) can actually SPEAK like a normal human being while on live television debating ideas.
The other one is Rick Perry.
He's dead JimMitt. (self-inflicted)
I really mean almost all, or maybe half.
If I loved Mr. Cain with the same obsession you do, I would still be appalled and turned off by his supporters here.
You are not doing your candidate any favors.
and Romney can take a lot of the blame for that...then again, I think he got hammered last time by the media and McCain and Huckabee the jerk....
Perry is very much alive. He has cash, and he has organization. He could easily win Iowa and South Carolina.
Newt is the one second tier candidate that I think is still viable, but I could see an insurgent candidate stealing Iowa and riding that wave. Santorum or Bachmann, maybe.
Huntsman is putting everything on New Hampshire. Not sure where he goes from there, especially now that he’s boycotted Nevada
You're right. But it is wise to never interrupt a RINO fight.
Since La Raza Pick is so good about shooting himself in the foot, it would be wise not to get in the way of that either.
You're right. But it is wise to never interrupt a RINO fight.
Since La Raza Rick is so good about shooting himself in the foot, it would be wise not to get in the way of that either.
IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.
IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.
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I heard someone on Fox last night advance the idea that Perry is suicide bombing Romney like Gephardt did to Howard Dean in 2004. Perry is willing to spend all of his money to destroy Romney and neither are going to win it. This seems to be a possibility.
Perry has $17 million 9so far0 to burn vs. Cain's less than $2 million. Cain has no ground game in any state. Perry does, and has a deep-pocketed billionaire behind him (Bob Perry, who loves his illegal alien workers). Mittens is right to worry. I think Perry is finished, but hope is he able to spend another $40 million softening up Mittens for the eventual nominee.
Since La Raza Pick is so good about shooting himself in the foot, it would be wise not to get in the way of that either.
Not even to hand him another speed loader?
—If Perry goes, Romney gets the nomination. Period.
Romney has the network and the money.
The only one who has a chance of stopping him, is Perry.—
In normal times I would strongly agree with you. These are not normal times. We are in the beginning days of WDII. We also have an internet that can, sometimes, trump money and network. I’m not saying it will, but that it can.
I would be forever grateful to Perry for that.
I'm convinced Romney thinks he can beat Cain in a 1-on-1 battle, but he's not sure he can beat Perry in a 1-on-1 battle. That's why he goes after Perry.
I'm convinced Cain can beat Romney in a 1-on-1.
Time will tell who is right.
Strange that eh?
Money still talks, but just nowhere near as loud as it once did.Baloney. You are dreaming. A well run campaign, just like a well-run business, can run a very good marketing and sales campaign on the internet and get much better bang-for-the-buck, no doubt. But you have to remember more money means more bang. Cain (nor any Pub) will be able to come anywhere close to the $1Billion the One will raise, but he better get to $250Million or he is toast. After the primaries in March when their funds are depleted, they will need to raise between $80Million and $100Million per quarter to compete.
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