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.
Excellent post. Not only is Perry the only real small government conservative in the race but his lifesyle represents the antithesis of the manicured beltway insider.
The thought of this Texan as Romney’s hack is laughable on its face. Only in bizarro world.
Thanks! An SS graphic is worth a thousand posts! :)
Problem us... it's not up to the voters to recognize that Perry is the real deal. It's up to Perry (or any other candidate) to convince the voter that he's the real deal. If the candidate fails to convince his own party who on earth would he convince general American voters in the election.
Could you please come up with a more insignificant nit to pick so that your humiliation for grasping at straws and ephemera will be complete?
On what is your implied knowledge of a proper salute based? To answer, use graphics if you wish.
Anyone that spends taxpayer money like a drunken sailor is not a conservative, in my opinion.
Which counts Santorum out. (and Mittens, too - though, for more than just that reason alone)
"This gets my vote as "best post of the month"!"
I second that!
This is good too. Romney Hears Perry is still in [you can skip the ad]
Santorum is the 2012 version of Huckabee. A big-government, big-spending, social conservative.
And he’ll go down for the same reasons Huckabee did.
And, how do these comments help to create positive incentives that cause the majority of conservative voters, at the national level, to, finally, rally around, support, and vote as a majority for, just, one of the remaining ‘12 GOP POTUS candidates? Perry has, already, said that everybody against state tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas doesn’t “have a heart”, despite changing what he said on the issue later, and Perry has had several embarrassing debate performances. The border between Texas and Mexico remains profoundly porous, and this fact goes beyond the entire political durations of, both, Perry and Obama. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, also, have their own problems with “big government conservatism” on a variety of issues. Amnesty for illegal immigrants will destroy the U.S. as a country, possibly forever! All of the remaining candidates for ‘12 POTUS stink, for a variety of reasons! Nobody left, out of all of the major candidates for ‘12 POTUS, is really embracing “small government conservatism”, and I include big L Libertarian, Ron Paul, on this, on many social issues (Plus, Ron Paul on foreign issues is way too isolationist and way too scary!). Small government conservatism is so desperately needed, for the long-term future of the U.S. as a country, but nobody is left standing that’s truly for fully enacting small government conservatism on all of the issues! This lack of having a small government conservative candidate for ‘12 POTUS is helping to make it possible for President Barack Obama to end up getting another term, by disappointing too many conservative voters, and this must not happen!
You’re right. I wouldn’t vote for either. If those were the last two choices I had, I’d be looking for the most inexpensive, remote piece of land I could find. It would certainly mean the nation no longer gives a damn.
Probably. Stay tuned.
Simple D&C protocols I learned over 20 years ago in basic. Without headgear, your fingertips go to the corner of your eyebrow. You're not supposed to look like you're shading your eyes, or looking off into the distance.
Dude, you are either clueless or a mushy moderate, either way badly in need of a history lesson.
IA
Huck 34%+ ..DEMOLISHING Willard & Fred among Evangelicals AND among Conservative Iowans!!! (Check the exit polls, my friend)
Willard 25%
Thompson 15%
SC
McCain 33%
Huck 30%
Thompson 15% ..Splintered off just enough of Huck’s vote among Evangelicals and True Conservatives to hand his pal, LIBERAL John the nom.
Will Perry sucking off 5% of the conservative vote from Newt or Santorum simply hand LIBERAL Willard the nom this time?
It’s not possible from the photo to know whether Perry is looking off into the distance, or making direct eye contact with an individual. His fingertips are a little off and over(camera angle?), granted, but his hand is flat, straight, and the thumb is tucked.
It’s a superior salute, compared to that limp and floppy fish Kerry is holding up.
That’s cute! “Scarlett O’Hara quilt, huh? I like that!
By looking off in the distance, I mean as someone would if they’re using their hand to shade and focus.
BUMP!
The number of engines is irrelevant. With the exeption of the F-16 and some trainers, all the AF aircraft in service are multi-engine.
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