Free Republic

"Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., who calls himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” will endorse Texas Gov. Rick Perry next week, a source with knowledge of the endorsement told ABC News.".......

After debate flub, Perry recalls Britney Spears song ‘Oops!…I Did It Again’ Caroline May November 10, 2011 ....On Laura Ingraham’s radio show Thursday, Perry sheepishly recalled the incident explaining it was a “brain freeze” that felt hours long. “A brain freeze for 54 seconds, it seemed like 54 hours. Listen, I stepped in it and I’m still wiping it off my boots,” he said. “You know I think a bunch of Americans would be pretty happy to forget big chunks of the federal government.” Perry said that it is always good to laugh at your flubs and with that in...

he Perry campaign wants to reboot, having retooled and refined its message and tried hard to get back on the jobs message. Okay, fine, but first the Perry camp needs to answer a basic question — why should supporters who went all in for him and wound up feeling burned give him a second shot? I asked him about that and it was, perhaps, a good sign that he stayed on the jobs message. The jobs message, though, raises a question about his flat tax — won't it just help the rich? Also, what about President Obama's approach and his...

Cain 37% Romney 27% Ron Paul 12% Perry 6% 86% say they're somewhat or very satisfied with the current GOP field. Univ of Iowa Poll Press Release 102111

Thursday, October 20, 2011 Reflecting national trends, businessman Herman Cain has now jumped to the front of the Republican pack in Iowa. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Iowa caucus-goers shows that Cain is in front with 28% followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 21%. Congressman Ron Paul is a distant third at 10% followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 9%, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann at 8%, and Texas Governor Rick Perry at 7%. The sixth place finish for Perry is a sharp decline from early September when Perry was the frontrunner both nationally and...

David Axlerod took a swing at Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain Monday, saying that he thought Cain’s 9-9-9 proposal would hurt the poor and the middle class. The senior Obama adviser called Cain an “intruiging personality” on “Morning Joe,” but took a shot at the Republican candidate’s tax proposal, saying, “I think his plan deserves scrunity … I don’t think it’s good for most Americans.” “I think you’ve got to add the 9-9-9 up, get to 27 percent, and that’s probably what poor and middle-class people will end up paying once the thing is implemented,” Axlerod said. Despite the attention...

Last month, Insider Advantage had him leading Romney in the state 29/20. A month later, “He now barely has a heartbeat.” When I saw Perry’s topline number of three percent, I figured the “Ponzi scheme” talk must have sent Florida’s seniors running screaming into the night. Not so. He’s actually doing (marginally) worse with other age demographics in this poll, and in the last poll he did reasonably well with the 65+ crowd, finishing second to Romney in that group with almost 23 percent. That poll was taken on September 13, which was almost a week after Romney started attacking...

Las Vegas, Nevada— One day before a CNN Western Republican presidential debate, a new national survey indicates that Mitt Romney and Herman Cain are essentially tied for the lead in the race for the GOP nomination, with Rick Perry dropping to a distant third. .....According to the poll [CNN/ORC International Poll], only one third of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say they will definitely support the candidate they are currently backing, with two thirds saying they may change their minds. "With only 33% of all Republicans saying that their minds are made up, it's far too early...

Obama Approval 43% & 39% Say He Deserves 2nd Term UTICA, NY--Herman Cain is now the runaway leader among Republican presidential primary voters with 45%, more than twice that of second-place Mitt Romney (21%). Rick Perry, who led with 41% in late August, has fallen to 7%, and Michele Bachmann, who led in June and July, now gets just 1%. President Barack Obama's approval rating among all voters is 43%, and the percentage saying he deserves re-election is 39%. These results are from an IBOPE Zogby interactive poll conducted from Oct. 11-14. Cain appears to have won support of voters...

Do you know why candidates for office tend to be reluctant to propose detailed plans? Because they know the plans will be flyspecked and picked apart by just about everyone. Inviting criticism doesn't help you to get votes. But fear of criticism prevents you from conceiving solutions to problems. So even if avoidance of criticism helps in propelling you to an election victory, how are you supposed to effectively govern? How are you supposed to fix the problems you told everyone you were going to fix? That's why I'm happy to see so much criticism of the 9-9-9 plan I've...

HANOVER, N.H. -- After a two-hour debate on the economy, earnest GOP operatives headed straight to the spin room to tout the merits of their respective candidates. As for Texas Gov. Rick Perry,he headed straight to the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house. "Debates are not my strong suit," Perry told about 100 fraternity brothers gathered to see him at the house, a few blocks from the debate site on the campus of Dartmouth College. No keg stands were in view.

Texas governor wins standing ovation at Washington conference with forceful pitches on jobs and America's place in the world. Texas governor Rick Perry won several standing ovations at a conservative conference in Washington on Friday that marked the start of a fightback in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Perry needed a good reaction after seeing his poll ratings drop sharply after poor debate performances last month. He and the other Republican presidential candidates are speaking at the annual conference of the Family Research Council, which promotes traditional marriage. A straw poll of the candidates is being conducted, with...