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Rick Perry says he's going on to campaign in Florida's Jan. 31 Republican presidential primary - no matter how he fares in South Carolina.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s lawyers filed a motion with a federal appeals court Sunday, seeking to win him a place on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Virginia even though his campaign failed to gather the 10,000 signatures required by state law. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge John Gibney ruled that Perry, Newt Gingrich and other candidates who failed to make the cut waited too long to pursue their legal challenges, which were brought as ballot printing was getting underway and the mailing of absentee ballots was about to commence. However, Gibney said Perry and the other candidates would...

(CNN) – Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Sunday that Marines videotaped urinating on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan made a "dumb" mistake, but should not face criminal prosecution. In an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," the Republican presidential candidate said the Obama administration over-reacted to the incident by talking about possible criminal charges and speaking with what he called "disdain" about the U.S. military. According to Perry, famous military figures including U.S. Gen. George Patton acted similarly in a war environment. "When you're 18 or 19, you do dumb things. These kids made a mistake, there's not...

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry of Texas continued to fight for votes Saturday, squeezing in a quick morning talk in Mount Pleasant before a Fox News forum. Perry, who is polling in fifth place, stopped by Page’s Okra Grill on Coleman Boulevard, emphasizing that he’s the only candidate in the race who doesn’t have a Wall Street or Washington, D.C., mentality. If elected, Perry said, he would support a 20 percent flat tax for all — corporations and individuals. “Corporate lobbyists will hate that, but tough,” said Perry. “I’m tired of Main Street paying for all of these corporate...

When Allie Jennings and her husband, Ethan, graduated form college in 2003, they had no trouble finding jobs. “I just think raising a son, and then being married to someone who would like to climb the ladder in business, I think Gov. Perry represents a lot of opportunity for our family,” Allie Jennings said. Perry announced his candidacy during a rally in Charleston over the summer, and the Jennings were there to see him as Perry emphasized his record on job creation while governor of Texas. In January 2001, a month after Perry took office, there were 10,023,806 jobs in...

**CLICK Picture** [12:57]Republican presidential candidate Texas Governor Rick Perry (2nd L) arrives for the Huckabee Forum 2, a televised event, in Charleston, South Carolina, January 14, 2012. MRC: Best showing yet for Gov Rick Perry in the Huckabee Formun GOP debate.

South Carolina GOP leader Patrick Haddon, who formerly supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the 2012 presidential primary, yesterday announced his endorsement of Rick Santorum. "After looking at all the candidates and their political careers, and looking for a true conservative that has been fighting for real Republican causes, there is only one candidate that has been a consistent conservative fighting [for] family values and supporting pro-life issues," said Haddon, former chairman of the Greenville County GOP. "That is why Shelly and I are proud to endorse Senator Rick Santorum for President of the United States." Haddon's endorsement of Santorum...

Following a hearing in Richmond today, U.S. district judge John Gibney ruled against Rick Perry's challenge to the Virginia ballot rules. In his opinion, Gibney says Perry, and the other candidates who joined the challenge, waited too long to bring the suit. "They knew the rules in Virginia many months ago; the limitations on circulators affected them as soon as they began to circulate petitions," he writes. "They plaintiffs could have challenged the Virginia law at that time. Instead, they waited until after the time to gather petitions had ended and they had lost the political battle to be on...

Rick Perry is still struggling to remember which three Cabinet-level government agencies he would like to eliminate if elected president. Perry was asked about his proposal during a radio interview with Savannah, Ga., radio host Bill Edwards, according to ABC News.“Three right off the bat, you know, Commerce, Interior and Energy, are three that you think,” Perry said. But Perry had previously suggested that he would eliminate the Department of Education, not the Department of the Interior.  Edwards went on to ask Perry about the Department of Education later in the interview. “They are blackmailing states with our own money,...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's part-time Congress proposal has become the blueprint for a bill Rep. Timothy Johnson, an Illinois Republican, will introduce next week. The Citizen Legislators Act would limit the days Congress works to five per month, or 60 business days per session. It also would cut the salaries of representatives and senators in half. But like Perry's plan, Johnson's bill allows members to have jobs outside of Congress. The caveat is that their income cannot be earned as "a result of the privilege of their office, such as speaking tours, lobbying and consulting." Like Perry, Johnson says he...

....[Gov. Rick] Perry, a states’ rights advocate, along with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are challenging Virginia’s residency requirement for people who circulate ballot petitions. Candidates must collect 10,000 signatures -- at least 400 hundred of them from each of the 11 congressional districts. As of the deadline, only Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas qualified. Timing is critical. Officials at the State Board of Elections say they need to mail absentee ballots by Jan. 21 to get them out 45 days before...

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) -- The 17-year-old stood in front of a dark window on a crowded downtown streetscape, hands sweating and a look of nervousness on his face. He won't be old enough to vote in the upcoming primary, but he said he will be praying for Perry. That's exactly how the bright orange sign read that Joe Mitchell held high as the Texas governor approached on Thursday. "I won't be old enough to vote, but I will pray!! Perry 2012." Mitchell, a senior at Summerville High School cut class to meet the man vying to become the next president,...

WASHINGTON--GOP White House hopefuls Rick Perry and Ron Paul did not file correctly for the March 20 Illinois presidential primary "beauty contest," leaving them open to a challenge that could knock them off the ballot. Illinois law requires candidates to file using their home addresses. Paul, a Texas congressman used an address in Virgnia and Perry, the Texas governor used a post office box in Austin, Texas for an address. Newt Gingrich, Paul, Perry, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Buddy Roemer all filed the required 3,000 signatures. Jon Huntsman skipped Illlinois.

Looks like there’s a little war brewing between Rick Perry and former presidential candidate Herman Cain, who recently criticized the Texas governor’s depth and knowledge of political issues. “I hope Herman doesn’t think running a Godfather’s Pizza is the same as running the state of Texas,” Perry said on Laura Ingraham’s Radio Show after the host played a clip of Cain’s comments and the Texas governor touted his job creation record in the state. During an interview on the Fox Business Network Wednesday, Cain called Perry a “foregone superstar” who “wasn’t deep on any of the issues.” “He started out...

It is commonly argued that Mitt Romney has benefited from a weak Republican field, which is true. And that the attacks of his opponents have been late and diffuse. True, and true. But the political accomplishment of Willard Mitt Romney should not be underestimated. The moderate, technocratic former governor of a liberal state is poised to secure the nomination of the most monolithically conservative Republican Party of modern history. Some of this improbable achievement can be attributed to Romney's skills as a candidate. In 14 debates, he delivered one gaffe (the $10,000 bet) and once lost his temper (with Rick...

In politics, as in life, there can be an overwhelming temptation to go along to get along; to be a team player; to do the easy thing even when it’s not the right thing. For far too long, insiders from both parties have played these games. Talk up fiscal responsibility, but spend big. Talk about a federal government that fulfills its basic responsibilities, but then vote to expand it beyond all recognition so that it cannot possibly do so. Talk about doing what’s right, but then do what the establishment wants instead. Americans deserve better—and they deserve to get to...

Obama picks immigration reform advocate to lead domestic policy By Amie Parnes and Erik Wasson - 01/10/12 01:27 PM ET President Obama has picked a strong advocate of immigration reform to head the Domestic Policy Council. The White House announced Tuesday that Cecilia Muñoz, a former senior vice president of the National Council of La Raza, would replace Melody Barnes at the top of the council. White House press secretary Jay Carney announced the appointment during his press briefing. Muñoz is now serving as the White House's director of intergovernmental affairs and is in charge of outreach to state and...

"Michele Bachmann is Glenn Close From Fatal Attraction" Franky Boy was caught on camera. “Rick Perry is George Bush without the intellect.” And then, once he was caught and realized there were cameras, he gives a great little remark to the guy that was recording it: “Take your suit and go. This is a private conversation!” Something tells me these two opinions–as well as the ego– are quite common at Faux News.

....Perry started slashing away at Romney’s record as chief executive at Bain Capital on Monday, but was more caustic Tuesday in condemning the firm’s practice of making money in corporate takeover deals that sometimes triggered job losses. "They’re vultures that are sitting out there on the tree limb, waiting for the company to get sick, and then they sweep in, they eat the carcass, they leave with that, and they leave the skeleton,” Perry told about 100 seniors here at the Sun City retirement complex. ......Perry went on to castigate the Obama administration for allegedly failing to stop “self-dealing” on...

No Virginia ballots should be ordered or mailed to absentee voters until a federal judge decides which Republican presidential candidates will be on the state's primary ballot. That temporary order was made Monday by District Judge John A. Gibney Jr., who will make a final decision Friday, Jan. 13, said Joseph Nixon, the lead counsel for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Perry filed a lawsuit last month against Virginia's State Board of Elections after he didn't get enough signatures to get on the March 6 primary ballot. Only two Republican candidates did: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron...