While I agree that Perry gave an in-artful impolitic answer to this particular question at the debate, and that it has cost him dearly, he NEVER said what you are claiming.
First of all, he was referring to the State of Texas, and NOBODY gets "free instate tuition". If you lived in Texas you would know that. In Texas all taxpayers who fund Texas education through their sales taxes are treated equally - almost. The children of illegals have several additional hurdles before they can qualify to be treated like the children of other taxpayers.
And this is a law that was passed by the the Texas legislature on behalf of the voters of Texas by an overwhelming vote, and has never been unpopular in Texas - if it had been, those legislators who voted for the bill would not have been re-elected over and over again since then.
You may be right that Rick Perry is going nowhere. But I have looked long and hard at these candidates, and Rick Perry is the one outstanding example of a true small government conservative who speaks from the heart and is a proven doer, not a talker. So, who is the loser if Perry does go nowhere? We are the losers. Sad.
I Do not live in Texas which is why I stated that my first real exposure to the guy (other than reading about him winning elections) was an offhanded remark stating that conservatives are heartless. i may have paraphrased but you get the idea. add to that the fact that in the middle of a debate he forgot a major point which his opponents tried to actually help him with and he cuts a very unimpressive figure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPND738X634&feature=related
by the way here is the video of Perry getting booed
he starts out well then says pretty much what i claimed - “if you dohnt want to educate these kids you have no heart”