Posted on 01/07/2012 1:40:13 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
After his embarrassing result in Iowa, Rick Perry seemed to get the message the polls have been sending him for months: Republican voters just aren’t that into him. On caucus night, said he’d go back to Texas and figure out what comes next.
But within hours, Perry was sprinting into South Carolina, to make at least one more stand.
Given that the TPM Poll Average shows Perry pulling just 4.8% support in the state, a clear question arises: What on earth is he thinking?
The answer is, team Perry really thinks they can make it happen in South Carolina. The campaign says it really is all-in in the Palmetto State.
“At the end of the day, Gov. Perry is the only Washington outsider in this race, and the only candidate proposing real, substantive conservative reforms that will overhaul Washington, get America working again, and reintroduce fiscal sanity,” spokesperson Liz Mair told me. “Those are key attributes that South Carolina voters care about, especially fiscal, social and Tea Party conservatives who make up a sizable chunk of the electorate in the Palmetto State.”
Perry, of course, has made government reform a huge part of his agenda. He wants a part time Congress, he wants to cut lawmakers’ salaries, he wants to eliminate departments. It’s the kind of thing that supporters say could really resonate in South Carolina.
Mitt Romney’s new surrogate, Sen. John McCain, has been making that case out a line against Rick Santorum in South Carolina, where he points out that unlike the state’s senators, Santorum was pretty friendly to earmarks.
“I think it’s wrong for America and so does Sen. DeMint and so does Sen. Lindsey Graham who have been staunch fighters against earmark and pork barrel spending,” McCain told the South Carolina crowd. “And I know you’re proud of that.”
Indeed, South Carolina Republicans have a long history of backing the kind of candidates who want to turn their government upside down. Gov. Mark Sanford (R), who was popular before he took that Appalachian Trail trip, once brought live piglets down to the state house to protest what he said was the porky ways of state lawmakers.
But if Perry really thinks he can ride this wave in South Carolina, that tactic hasn’t yet been evidenced yet. His first ad in the state is a retread of a bio spot [Values] from November that doesn’t even mention his government reform plan.
But it does mention something else Perry backers say plays well in South Carolina: his military background and Christianity. Unlike New Hampshire, where Molly Ball showed how hard it can be for a values candidate to make a connection, South Carolina is a land where mixing in some ol’ time religion into your stump speech is very much appreciated in a lot of places. In addition, the state is home to a lot of veterans and active-duty military. Perry is a vet himself, and can speak their language, too.
The combo went down very well for Perry in South Carolina in months past. In August, I spent a couple days following Perry around the state. He was so famous back then a guy literally stopped on his way to pick up his wife who was going into labor to have her talk to Perry on a cell phone.
So, Perry’s dialing up South Carolina voters again. And he’s betting the house that they’ll still enthusiastically pick up the call.
Well I don’t agree with bashing Perry either. Nobody should be bashing Rick, Rick, or Newt. This is what they want us to do. I guess when Romney gets the nomination because WE (yes me too) acted like idiots during this primary season, we will regret being nasty toward the other candidates. Why not say, “Perry is my candidate because.....” instead of saying “Santorum is weak and is going no where?” It does not make sense at all.
This gets my vote as "best post of the month"!
Of course. Romney isn’t dumb, he knows that if the conservative vote is split in SC and he wins a narrow plurality like McInsane, he’s the nominee. I bet he had something to do with Perry miraculously deciding to stay in.
BO and MO look absolutely in pain when placing their hands over their hearts for the pledge to the flag. Perry looks confident and proud, as does the other man to the far left.
Rick Perry was a C-130 pilot. Idiots cannot be rated multi-engine. Period.
So sick of this “Bush is an idiot” and “Perry is an idiot” because they talk funny.
One important fact/detail is that this was legislation passed almost unanimously by the Texas legislature in 2001 by a vote of 177 - 4. Thus it was the will of the people of Texas via their elected body. And another fact/detail that some seem to forget is ... “State’s Rights”.
The point wasn’t lost, as my first sentence in response demonstrates. Perry isn’t going to be around to get my vote in the OH primary.
Thanks for your reply.
I have tried to put forward positive reasons why I prefer Perry of the candidates before us. With a different slate, he might not be my favorite, but that’s not what we are faced with. There are others on these fora, one comes to mind preeminently who are better armed with facts and figures - and reference links - than I am. So what I find myself doing is trying to set the record straight and going after the gratuitous bashes, most of whom don’t even bother to state who they are for except in their taglines. Mostly they like to go on about how stupid Perry supporters are, or how stupid Perry is, or that we are excusers of criminality - just like Perry is. And none of it is done with any subtlety or understanding of the reality of life in Texas. And it is often done using language of uncompromising viciousness.
It kind of irks me and sets me off. But I do not think I have ever gone to Santorum thread and gratuitously dumped on Santorum, or even done so on a Pro-Romeny thread (but that’s probably because there aren’t any).
Anyway, to repeat, thanks for your post.
Arpaio has just announced that he will be heading up the Perry campaign in AZ.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2829760/posts
Neither Arpaio nor Perry would be sticking their necks out by supporting each other if they didn't have something up their sleeves, IMO.
I do _not_ believe that it is coincidental that Arpaio has also announced that his “shocking” eligibility findings by is posse will be made public in early February.
Absolutely. The media, talking heads, and GOP Establishment have been running the show for a while. I do have to admit that when they’re on the same page, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
But let’s make up our own minds. Let’s look at their records and not just listen to their latest talking points. Obama promised the world but what did he actually do? So it is with these guys, how many walk the walk and not just talk the talk?
Correct. I think the reason this primary season has been a roller coaster is because the voters saw they actually could influence the election with their vote. Cain was the first solid evidence of that and the people have been flexing their muscle since. I say go for it, pick who you want for President, polls and pundits be damned!
In talking with some "moderate" Pubs over Christmas they were shocked when I pointed out there are a lot of Pro-Life Christians who will not vote for Romney in the general election. The answer I got was "if he's the nominee who else would they vote for?". You would have thought their heads would explode when I said, "we just won't vote for POTUS".
I don't see how Romney wins the general election. He is so similar to obama, conservatives will not be fired up. One indicator of this is the turnout in IA. Pubs did not turn out for the caucuses in greater numbers than 08. If voters don't quickly recognize that Perry is the real deal we will end up with a inside the beltway candidate. I will vote for Santorum or Gingrich if Perry is not on the ballot, but I really want the outsider with experience as a Gov.
It's probably the first thing about Perry that caught my attention. He has those values we see in a lot of people in "fly over country". What I mean is God, family, country. Right now it's not looking good but then again we haven't had a red state vote yet.
I’m not a Perry fan and I still like your post.
Let me try to make this simple for you. The “children” are going to benefit from their parents’ criminal act. That is an “impeccable fact” and that is “logic”.
You’ve been a Perry rooter from the git go so spare me your song and dance. Like all fanatics you refuse to see the holes in your hero’s armor.
Absolutely! Romney is not running a campaign, it is a propaganda machine.
We are being told by politicians from both sides, the MSM, and those too blind to see that Romney will be the nominee.
Some people on the street being interviewed do not even know who is running yet! Others have swallowed the kool-aid and murmur, "well I guess Romney will be our nominee."
There was one caucus held. That did not turn out as expected. So what makes any one think that this is even close to being over. This is a marathon.
The new threat is that if we have a true competition, we are giving it to Romney. If Romney is not elected, we will have Obama.
It is all propaganda. We vote--then there is a winner! That is what America is all about.
Great post!
Thanks.
Like the man said:
“You don’t build a reputation on what you say you’re going to do.”
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