Posted on 01/05/2012 2:36:38 PM PST by smoothsailing
January 5, 2012
Rebecca Kaplan
AUSTIN, Texas – It is rare for a politician to announce that he is reassessing his candidacy -- and then continue his campaign. But that’s just what Rick Perry decided after discussions with his family, two top aides, and a South Carolina team that saw a path forward for Perry to win the Republican nomination for president. Even some of Perry’s senior advisers were shocked when Perry tweeted a mere 12 hours after his fifth-place Iowa finish that he would be heading on to South Carolina; the newly energized candidate underscored the point with a picture of himself in full running gear.
Communications Director Ray Sullivan told reporters after Perry’s subdued caucus-night speech that he expected the campaign to reevaluate both the Iowa results in detail and to examine his prospects in South Carolina, the early-primary state that best matched Perry’s background and political beliefs. His advisers worked through the night to prepare that assessment.
In an interview, Katon Dawson, Perry’s top adviser in South Carolina, offered a sense of what was discussed that night: “I think it’s a competition for the heart and soul of the conservative movement,” he said, “Governor Perry’s a competitor. He never lost a race.” Dawson also pointed to Perry’s prominent Christian faith and his military background, which will appeal to the many veterans in the state’s Low Country. And the strong tea party contingent should be receptive to Perry’s anti-Washington message.
While he stands to gain votes from people who had supported Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who dropped out of the race on Wednesday, advisers say that her decision did not affect Perry's. Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart said Wednesday morning that the lawmaker called her rivals to congratulate them after the caucus results came in, but did not indicate that she would be dropping out.
“The governor's decision was based on discussions with his family and advisers including our South Carolina team, a realistic assessment of our financial position, an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the GOP field, and a recognition that the race has been very fluid and unpredictable,” Sullivan said. “Perry believes his record and plans make him uniquely able to press an outsider-based conservative reform message for Washington and the tax code; uniquely able to promote American job creation and fiscal responsibility;and uniquely able to defend fiscal, social, and tea party conservatism in South Carolina.”
It helps that the Palmetto State is a relatively low-cost place to run a campaign. Media is cheaper, and the smaller markets make it easy to blanket the state. Its relatively small size also keeps travel costs down and puts a premium on retail campaigning, Perry’s strongest skill set. That will all be crucial as the money runs out. A campaign aide said that reports that Perry still has $3.5 million in the bank are likely overstated. Beyond the encouragement Perry received from his South Carolina team, he also relied on the advice of Sullivan and campaign manager Joe Allbaugh. There also something to be said for the mental clarity that a jog on a brisk, sunny morning in Iowa can bring. “I was out on the trail when it kind of came to me,” Perry told reporters the morning after the caucuses. He then flew home to Austin for a couple days of rest.
Now it’s game on, again. Perry will be in New Hampshire this weekend for two debates, but he is flying to South Carolina on Sunday afternoon and likely will be there until the Jan. 21 primary. “He’ll be here, and stay here almost wall-to-wall, shortly,” Dawson said. “There’s not a whole lot of quitting to us.”
He gave him some undeniable facts on Newt and Santorum neither had the organization OR money to fight and stop Willard. Only Perry has that ability.
Being able to raise more and transfer his presidential funds in the future....bottom line.
“This man has no spine.”
Good grief.
One of many reasons to vote for him.
Thanks shield.
And you have no brain.
“Did Sarah & Rick have a little talk? ...hope so.”
I think it would be worth a shot for them to team up. They were governors together. They were friends. She supported him. They are Conservatives. Did you notice they both smile, even laugh, and love life? They instinctively love the land. They are proud of our country. I’m so sick of the grumpy, straight face haters.
I hope more governors come out in support of Governor Perry.
” Conservatives should treat Perry with only the utmost contempt.”
LOL. Good grief. It sounds like the Cainiac-hate-Perry machine is back in business.
So much wrong with you comment... so little time. Rick Perry’s ads were positive and inspiring.
Anti-gingrich ads came from Romney.
Why doesn’t your candidate quit. I am sick of people telling Rick Perry to quit.
I posted this on another thread and it is applicable here.
People here are so fickle and shallow it scares me.
We’ve had zero primaries. We had one caucus - the results of which almost never name the eventual candidate. I understand Rick S. spent a year having Sunday dinner with everyone in Iowa.
One Santorum supporter admitted to me that his support was more based on not liking anyone else than it was on liking Santorum
The support for various candidates here on Free Republic has been schizophrenic. And wild.
First it was Palin (guilty here on that). She didn’t run. In looking for comfort people here glommed onto an unlikely and eventually futile semi-worship of Mr. Cain.
He was forced to drop out. Immediately, the Cain people rushed to Newt Gingrich, a man who was reviled by conservatives as little as a year ago. I like Newt and he was fun in the debates, but he lost it over negative advertising and when he finally responded, he acted like a madman.
Now, after one rather inconsequential victory in a caucus, the lemmings have landed on Santorum, who wasn’t even a blip on the radar a week ago.
And suddenly if we want someone besides those two flawed and vulnerable candidates (Newt and Santorum) we’re taking votes away from worthy conservatives and handing them to Mitt?
Please give me a break. Perry is a better candidate and would have a much better chance against Obama.
Newt,Mitt, Santorum, not so much. They perfectly willing to endorse Big Government subsidies, hardly a conservative position."
Yep. You saw this, didn't you?
I don't reckon they liked Perry wanting to do away with subsidies...
Jim Robinson: Taking stock of our dwindling conservative inventory
Pump up your candidate choice and stop attacking Perry.
"Soft" Delegates Need to Nominate 1,144 (available) 2,261 R Paul 6 W Romney 6 R Santorum 6 N Gingrich 4 J Perry 3
Very well said! It has been awful to read the denigrating comments on this board. Shades of Palin when they went after her, the same drumbeat coming from the same people.
I hope Perry can get back in. If he does, he certainly will have proven his worth because the Perry-haters are watching every syllable out of his mouth and jumping on it.
Go Rick!
A prime example of what we shouldn’t be doing. Iowamark provides no evidence to support his claims.
Altura...good post!
I’ve got a question for the Perry-haters, or Newt/Santorum supporters:
If your candidate slips in the polls and Perry climbs, at what number will you begin to call for them to drop out and support Perry?
If we’re all in this to 1st get Romney out (and I’ve seen that as the stated goal), what’s the actual switching point?
I’d like a number, please. When will you quit on your candidate and switch to Perry? In my hypothetical?
No fair saying it won’t happen. It’s a hypothetical.
Besides...bunches of folks never thought they’d see Cain drop to where he did.
So, is there such a number? When will you quit supporting your candidate?
And if you’re answer is, “I won’t stop until my candidate stops”, then you understand us Perry supporters.
Otherwise, I’d really like to hear your tipping point.
Jim Robinson: Taking stock of our dwindling conservative inventory
Jack Wheeler’s email to Governor Perry 2 hours before his Wednesday morning tweet:
FYI, this message of mine was given to Perry early Wednesday morning. Two hours later,
Perry announced he was staying in. I like to think my message helped:
*****
Gov. Perry said he is going back to Texas to ‘reassess’ his
campaign, to pray and reflect. My prayer is that Providence will
give him the strength to persevere.
Romney is McCain redux. Santorum is a farcical candidate built up
by Romney as a phony conservative alternative to Perry, and Iowans
were stupid enough to buy it. He has no organization whatever
beyond Iowa and neither does Gingrich.
All primaries until April are proportional, and the RNC penalized
the too-early ones by cutting their delegates in half. It is
mathematically impossible for a candidate to gain a majority of
delegates until at least mid or late April.
Only Perry has the capacity to continue duking it out with Romney.
Only Perry has the capacity to defeat Obama. Our nation’s fate
is at stake. Only Perry can rescue America today as Reagan rescued
it 32 years ago. I hope you can pass my prayer onto him.
Jack
Ps: I think Perry’s “You got a name?” shut down of Politico
leftie Mike Allen is a Reagan “I paid for this microphone, Mr.
Green” defining moment. There isn’t a conservative alive who
doesn’t want leftie journalists put in their place like this. I
want to see him do it again in South Carolina!
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