Prior to Rick Perry announcing he would run for President I brought on Katie Thompson to make the case for Perry. Katie now is a leader of Students for Perry, and I predict, a future mover and shaker in Republican circles.
Given all that has happened over the last several months, I reached out to Katie and wondered whether she would be interested in writing another post along the lines of “Why I still support Rick Perry.”
Here was her response:
Here’s my post:
Governor Perry’s positions have not changed. His record is unmatched. What works in Texas will work for America.
What more can I say?
My first reaction was, sorry for asking. But on reflection, isn’t that right? Perry has not changed his positions, tacked to the center or anywhere else, and has been substantively steady through a fairly disastrous roll out of his campaign and debate hiccups.
It may be right, but I’m not sure it’s enough. My issue with Perry never has been his record or his positions, it’s whether he demonstrated he had the wherewithal to be a national candidate.
I don’t think it’s over until it’s over, but can Rick Perry make a comeback and bring himself back into contention for the nomination?
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We’ve seen so many go up and down in the polls, anything could happen in Iowa (as we’ve seen over the years), including a Perry comeback. And I hope he does: with Palin not running, Perry became my candidate of choice, thanks to his record and governing philosophy. But, the debate flubs really hurt him. It isn’t likely, but, to answer the question, yes, I do think he can come back.
yes, Yes, YES, PLEASE!!!
Heck yes he can make a comeback. Look at what we elected *last* time.
While I can appreciate Perry’s occasional libertarian streak (and his nice suits), in reality he is a caricature of everything the left stereotypes as the GOP.
I want someone who can articulate their vision with clarity and breadth. Not someone who repeats the same three talking points like a broken record.
Perry is not the man for this time against this opponent.
That the left stereotypes the GOP is not reason to abandon conservative principles.
Except that he can do exactly that. Obamacare has a specific provision where businesses and states can be waived from having to follow the mandates. Obama did it for his cronies and blue states, so Perry will just waive everyone.
Just reading the “Top Ten Reasons to Love Rick Perry” ( http://conservativedailynews.com/2011/12/ten-reasons-to-love-rick-perry/ ). Number one:
1) Using the Federal Reserve for political purposes is “treason“- I agree (as do all other sound-money folks). Devaluing our money for pretended short-term benefits undoubtedly harms our nation’s economic security.
Now, Bernanke wants to sink our money into the Euro pit. Why? To delay the inevitable to just after Obama’s re-election?
I think he still can come back, but he’d better do it PDQ. Among the candidates still in the race he remains the one most likely to make a decent president; but so far he’s a terrible candidate, and unfortunately you don’t usually get to be president without first being a candidate. Think Cheney, who would have made a wonderful president, but not a good candidate.
Finally LI has a departure from being a Gingrich apologist. I vote in Georgia; heck, Newt used to be my congressman and I voted for him. My primary vote goes to Perry because as he governs, his state prospers. In a general election, his success in Texas and his strong physical stature will compare very favorably to Obama’s ineptness in Washington.
The GOP needs to be looking ahead to the general election. Does it really think an old, flabby, fast talking, slick politician will compare favorably with Obama? And does it think the MSM debate formats will really allow for Newt’s debating skill to shine, or result in the press reporting that Obama got trounced in a debate?
It’s not over until the last vote is counted. His debate performances are improving, and he is showing an admirable quality is continuing on bravely despite some major missteps.
#PerryReboot
Perry comes across as a fool (I don’t think he is, but that’s how he looks sometimes). For example, he said he can repeal Obamacare by executive order. Anyone who knows anything about government knows that is blatantly false. He might tinker around the edges a little with executive orders, but reversing the essence of the law requires that the Supremes overturn it or Congress repeal it.
If he were the Republican nominee, Obama would win in a landslide. A majority of Republican voters realize this.
“Perry comes across as a fool (I don’t think he is, but that’s how he looks sometimes)”
When Gov. Perry assumed office after W went to Washington the cantankerous Texas legislature underestimated & were fairly dismissive of the former Lt. Governor. Perry vetoed almost every bill that came across his desk & The legislature paid attention. Perry knows how to accumulate and spend political capital as an executive dealing with a legislature. He knows how to whip up popular support for an issue from his days as a legislator (Strauss will pay a steep political price for nixing the anti-sanctuary city bill to appease a Houston donor in the last session). He’s made a few mistakes in a long career of serving the people of Texas. He took a lot of heat during the last budget battle but he stood firm, forced cuts to balance and preserved the rainy day fund from complete depletion by the legislature. Texas credit rating was upgraded and S&P cited Perry’s leadership.
Assuming all of that is true, it doesn’t matter if he can’t explain it in an impressive, easy-to-understand way. So far anyhow, he hasn’t. And, I’m not sure that he can. That being the case, he can’t win the nomination and, if he did, he certainly wouldn’t win against Obama.
Well JayDick Perry has gone to Washington to have a sit down with congressional conservatives so we’ll see.
And he can beat Obama with his record& folks want jobs.
Except that he can do exactly that. Obamacare has a specific provision where businesses and states can be waived from having to follow the mandates. Obama did it for his cronies and blue states, so Perry will just waive everyone.
It helps to know what you’re talking about.
The headline on Texas jobs does not tell everything. Texas has oil, and it is hard to not notice oil has gone from $15 per barrel to $100. Agriculture has also been a tailwind for them. A favorite local Illinois blogger friend of mine just moved from Illinois to Texas, mostly because the economic future looks brighter there.
Here is Perry’s time with Huckabee and the attorneys general.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18vlSk7sUc8
He doesn’t strike me as having much depth … his favorite founding father .. “Madison, because he was just awesome” … a little more, but not much. Moving power to states seems good … I’d like more details than “just do it”.
His idea of a part time congress seemed contrived to get attention. Very strong on “right to life” which might hurt in the general, though he might be for states rights to decide, so maybe that’s a plus for the independents. Leading public prayer (recently) also seems a little contrived for gathering the Huckabee types, and seems a little too ostentatious for the “average Christian” even.
He “has a heart” on immigration, which probably helps him in the general. But in general, I feel he has not formed deep reasoning on many of his positions. It is hard to see any major accomplishments in Texas … seems he is more on a glide path with a robust Texas economy magnet making him look good.
I’d still be happy to have him as president, and trust him more than Newt, but he needs to show he can pull it all together better. Of course he still has another full time job. It’s probably too late.
“For Almost 200 Years Congress Served Part Time, Up Until the 1950’s, Rick Perry Is Right” article by Gov.Bobby Jindal…”
This link has Jindal’s excellent article & Perry’s NH speech to the NH legislature making the case.
It is a very good speech & shows one of the reasons Texans keep electing him…Perry gets the job done.
http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2011/12/for_almost_200_years_congress.html
This isn’t a gimmick for Perry. He’s been talking about these things for a long time.
Good speech … hits some solid points. Of course it was probably written for him. But our population and economy and layers of government are SO much larger now, it seems a little silly to say congress should work less.
The problem is they don’t spend time actually debating the fine points of the health care (for example), those things get written by unions and insurance companies and someone in secret, then voted on without being read. Floor time is largely bloviation and hyperbole. The real “work” is done in the Gucci Gulch hallways, where the secret dirty deals are made, to be glossed over with Orwellian titled bills and verbiage.
Bold promises to stop bailouts and investigate the Wall Street DC connection are nice … details are needed. Perry doesn’t seem to have the details worked out yet.
Nope, the facts on TX jobs tell the story
Perry is going to be the nominee.
Yes. He can make a comeback. He can also debate the stuttering liar in chief & win. Obama can’t blame republicans for the economy when Texas under Rick Perry props up what’s left of the American Economy.
Ideas & Bloviating won’t beat Obama. Results will beat Obama. Perry is the only candidate who can contrast his successful leadership record of conservative governance against Obama’s euro-socialist record of failure.
To make the case doesn’t require eloquent rhetoric or data spouting because regular folks tune that out.
Direct & plainspoken answers from the Governor of Texas is the stark contrast that can win the day.
I’ll say this regarding Perry:
I think he could make a comeback. I don’t think he will make a comeback at this point.
The early debate performances hurt him BADLY (much worse than anybody really wants to admit). This is largely so because Obama got elected (according to my liberal-statist friends) partially because the people wanted a President who could speak after “suffering” through 8 years of President Bush. The “elites” have poisoned the independents into thinking of Bush as a “dumb hick from Texas” and since the debate performances have laid the groundwork to paint Perry with the same brush. They will use that in order to tap into the Bush Derangement Syndrome in order to belittle their opponents and say “You’re that dumb you really want another dumb, hick Texan who can’t speak in the White House?”
Unless he has stellar debate performances between now and the Iowa Caucus, and does shockingly well in South Carolina or Florida next month, Perry is pretty much out of the running.
I gave this some thought the other day.
Perry has the absolute right message (flat tax, expand domestic energy development, strong proponent of the 10th amendment, eliminate parts of the federal bureaucracy), but he is, without a doubt, a lousy messenger.
Do you want someone with 10 years governing the second largest state whose beliefs and ideology are unequivocally conservative but who can be a bit clumsy on stage in front of a camera, or do you want a Ken doll look-alike whose done more flip flops than an Olympic gymnast. Or a former House Speaker who was so shady he was effectively forced to resign by his own party?
It seems to me that we’re on the verge of making a bad mistake if we don’t give Perry a second look.
Despite Gingrich’s claim that he has already won the primary, the primary isn’t even close to being over. If y’all think the current frontrunner has it locked up, check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jzi3HBCS2M
Yes, Perry can make a comeback. It is an uphill battle for him, but he has better chances than most folks realize.
In reflection to all the optimists on this page, this Texas resident would and will work tirelessly to make sure that it DOES NOT happen.
All of you need to take a good close look at his record and when you do, you will find that he is a useful tool of the special interests and influence peddlers not to mention being one slippery critter.
I know of not one Perry supporter in my Republican circle of friends. Not one!
And it all results to his weak stance on illegal immigration, to corruption in highway construction and lack of leadership as to the impending, (gasp!), public pension crisis that will be facing the state in the not-so-far future.
Perry indeed… NOT!
Sniff? Smells like concern troll to me.
The Republican party is one of ideas. Perry demonstrates most of those well, some not as well. If Perry doesn’t win this time, I hope its not that last we see of him on the national stage.
New Media especially bloggers will play a pivotal role in this election. It’s one of the reasons Perry announced at RedState since Gov. Perry reached out to conservative bloggers during his last gubernatorial election fairly snubbing the Big Media editorial boards. He’s hosted Blogger forums in Austin and is very active on Twitter,FB and the net. He sees this as a more direct medium to interact directly with his constituents and listen to them without the usual media filter.
He pays attention to bloggers.
Under Gov.Perry Texas has updated and re-vamped it’s websites to insure easy access and transparency.
Texas along with Tennessee ranks at the top of all the states for governmental transparency scoring a 96%
On his site he’s put up a blogger action center…He’s got good team but Perry tweets on his own account directly from his blackberry.
http://www.rickperry.org/blogger-action-center/
This election is being impacted more by New Media then Old Media would like to admit.
@GrumpyOne
“And it all results to his weak stance on illegal immigration, to corruption in highway construction and lack of leadership as to the impending, (gasp!), public pension crisis that will be facing the state in the not-so-far future….”
Vote with your feet Grumpy One if you can’t stand Texas…
TTC is a dead horse!!
Highway construction moves forward under a different plan and now manufacturers can move their product to the freekin airport (Dell in Austin for example) Now traffics moves in DFW during Rush Hour…Sheeesh!
Perry doesn’t have a weak stance on illegal immigration & you know it. It is a federal problemo & Texas has been going to SCOTUS fighting this problem for years till we lost the K-12 case. Bush abandoned the border and started poaching our agents causing the first in a series of border crisis that the Texas congressional caucus made public in 2003 & 2005 & Perry picked up the slack. Obama has made it even worse.
Texas has provided $400 million in border security and law enforcement funding since 2005 to help fill the gap left by the federal government ($152 million in 2011; $121.5 million in 2009; $110.3 million in 2007, and $29.8 million through grant funds in 2005-2006).
In August 2009, Texas expanded its border security efforts by sending highly skilled Ranger Reconnaissance (Ranger Recon) teams to address the ever-evolving threat along the Texas-Mexico border.
Gov. Perry’s border security initiatives have helped stem illegal activity along the border, resulting in the seizure of 6.8 million pounds of marijuana; 82,353 pounds of cocaine; 1,835 pounds of heroin; and 7,552 pounds of methamphetamine which has an estimated value of more than $6.5 billion. In addition, officers have seized $227 million in currency and more than 3,500 illegal weapons.
http://www.blueservo.net/
Gov. Perry has made repeated requests to the White House and Congress for thousands more National Guard and Border Patrol troops, strategic fencing and Predator drones to monitor the U.S. Mexico border and provide real-time intelligence to law enforcement.
Texas joined with several other states in opposing the federal lawsuit against Arizona’s immigration enforcement policy.
Gov. Perry Championed a Voter ID law that ensures only American citizens will be able to vote in elections.
Signed into law a requirement that only citizens and legal residents may obtain a driver’s license.
Declared legislation outlawing “sanctuary cities” an emergency item in Texas, and added it to the call of the 2011 special session.
Signed into law tougher penalties for those who engage in human trafficking.
Signed a law that requires counties to assist the state in tracking the number of illegal immigrants in Texas county jails.
Protected a Texas law that prevents any public agency, taxing jurisdiction or economic development corporation from receiving public subsidies if they have been found to have hired undocumented workers.
Tejanos in Texas want Border Security too…And they will campaign and vote for Gov. Perry because as a Conservative Texan he’s not a bigot like Tancredo. Perry is firm but fair and above all conservatively practical.
Illegal immigration has been going down for over 2 years which is why Obama is trying to stack the deck with catch & release…He’s panicking.
@workingclass artist
Why do you waste your time with grumpy?
I tried to get some details about the immigration problem in TX in another thread and he refused to respond. This has not been the first time, either. Now he claims to not know one Perry supporter in his (grumpy’s) ‘circle of friends’.
Either the poster has a very small circle of GOP friends, thinks KBH is just peachy, is a Ron Paul believer, or he is a troll. When someone does not defend his views, I am not quite sure which of the four options to believe. I am leaning ……….
Can Rick Perry make a comeback?
Probably not, if you mean coming back to win the 2012 nomination. It’s not impossible.
However, he can continue to get his sea legs on the national stage in preparation for the next contested nomination.
If he looks strong at the end of the primaries, he can improve his prospects for the VP slot.
I’d be surprised if Perry took a VP slot. He’s a top dog kinda guy. It would depend on certain factors I guess including who the nominee is.
I know this is hard to believe outside of Texas but Perry is famous for his disdain of DC. He thinks something happens to good people when they cross the Potomac into the corrupt Bureaucratic bubble of Washington. He got in late because it didn’t look like other conservatives would stop Mitt = Obamalite. I mean he would’nt have loaned his campaign staff to Newt if he planned on running and when Newt went on the cruise and wanted Callista to co-manage his campaign Perry’s staff quit. He’s had to spend most of his time scrambling to match Romney in fundraising which he did in 1/2 the time in the first quarter. He’s been adapting to the national stage and is improving in both strategy & performance. He’s been humbled by the process but he’s not going to try and be something he’s not. What you see is what you get with Perry and he’s consistent.
If he doesn’t make a comeback for the nomination he’ll come back to Texas and finish his term. He’s already a legendary governor of Texas which means a lot to a native son.
Perry is always underestimated by his opponents. If he doesn’t win the nomination he’ll shrug it off & it won’t affect his standing in Texas. He’s the man in the arena and he’s got folks talking about the 10th amendment in a national conversation that is more accessible than Ron Paul’s libertarian argument. That in itself is a victory.
The debates interfere with what is Perry’ strength on the stump which is retail politicking where he is often compared to Bill Clinton with regards to skills & likability. It’s how he wins.
So we’ll just have to see how it plays out. At any event Rick Perry is driving the platform narrative and has been since he entered the race. He has a knack for putting his ideas in a plainspoken rhetoric that sinks into the psyche of the voter because it reflects what most voters think & talk about. It resonates. Currently the part time citizen congress is resonating & that is straight out of his philosophy from his book Fed Up. Folks have forgotten that is how it used to be and given that Texas can get business done with a part-time legislature while the states with full-time legislatures are in trouble,it is a powerful argument.
There are some Texans who don’t want to lose him to DC because so many economic refugees are moving here from failed liberal states and bringing their failed liberal politics with them.
The conservative case for Perry’s border plan.
http://conservativedailynews.com/2011/12/rick-perrys-immigration-plan-is-tough-but-realistic/
Of course he CAN, although with each day, it gets less likely.
For Perry, there was only one clear route recovery after his several lousy debate performances culminating with his “oops” moment, namely to devote all his time and resources to win or place in Iowa and prepare intensively for further debates.
Unfortunately, Perry appears to have opted instead to launch a hugely expensive national media campaign aimed af boosting his cratered numbers in national polls. It has not worked and meanwhile the race in Iowa is resolving into a three-way affair among Gingrich, Romney and Paul.
It’s still not too late, akthough Perry has squandered most of his once big campaign chest. He can still focus 100 percent on Iowa while staking a claim to being the true conservative, unlike either Mitt or Newt, and having the most relevant experience.
JEBurke
This primary is more like a democratic primary. There is an 8 week lag after the early contests before Super Tuesday.
Plenty of time for stumpin’ & retail politicking.
Newt will have to have the money to do that. According to Newt his wife is managing his campaign & he’s dependent on the debates.
So far in this marathon the only opponent with a competitive war chest is Romney.
National coverage of Perry is different than local coverage of him on the stump which is more positive.
Perry is flooding Iowa with 600-700 Texans to campaign and volunteer for him for the caucus. He’s got some heavy hitters on the stump for him ( Including Atty. Gen. Abbott & Comptroller Combs) telling Iowans the Texas Story & how the conservative Texas model adapted by states to fit their needs can win the day against Obama and how Perry will fight to move the federal govt. out of the way. He’s got Gov. Jindal on the media & Arpaio.
The only polls that count are the ones at the voting booth.
Hmmm, I wish Perry well, truly. But when I hear something like 600-700 Texans swooping into Iowa, I have to wonder, what about the Iowans?
In every hotly contested Iowa campaign, candidates bring in out-of-state volunteers but usually they don’t crow about it because Iowa caucus goers are a proudly parochial bunch.
Well I guess we’ll have to see.
I don’t know why Rick Perry’s allegedly poor debate performance in the very early phases of the election should be a problem.
I watched Hillary debate Barack Obama, and she cleaned his clock. That didn’t matter to the Democratic-supporting talking heads: They were lavish with praise for him in ways I found disingenuous. He wasn’t inspiring: he was amateurishly ill-informed, and she quietly and deftly called him on it.
When a Republican does that, it makes the national news. With BO, nothing.
Take-home is this: Republicans need to learn to defend their own. They need to say what they like about their favored candidates, and leave it at that. Giving ammunition to the Democrats is —
STUPID!
Any putative comeback by Perry will have to begin in Iowa and will have to involve Perry overtaking someone for at least third place. Bear in mind – in Iowa, any socially conservative, devoutly Christian candidate stands a chance. It would not surprise me in the least to see an outcome in the Iowa caucuses of Gingrich, then Perry, then Paul, which would count as a Perry resurgence regardless of the hard numbers. So too could Bachmann resurge in Iowa, based on her religiosity.
However, if Perry comes out of Iowa a distant 4th or worse, with a single digit %, it is very hard to see how he’ll begin any resurgence elsewhere. Given the number of Christian evangelist voters in Iowa, if it doesn’t happen there for Perry, it isn’t going to happen at all.
I’m not worried about Perry debating Obama…
“The Smartest President In The History of The World Confuses Texas And Kansas…
All you bitter clingers look the same.” – Zip
Video at link.
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/12/06/the-smartest-president-in-the-history-of-the-world-confuses-texas-and-kans
No, there is no comeback for Perry with his less than honest response regarding the dying lady who was supposedly lobbying for Gardisil BEFORE it passed when in fact it was after the fact. No, I don’t tolerate misrepresentation/fudging the facts/shading the truth/little white lie. Perry like Gingrich would have eventually kissed and made up with conservatives over having a heart on subsidizing children of illegals going to college and Gardisil. BUT fibbing is another matter. Yes, politicians are stereotyped as being two-faced when it comes to implimenting their campaign promises. BUT needlessly fibbing on the Gardisil issue doesn’t go over well. We already have a liar as POTUS, why would I nominate one that feels it’s ok to act like a Democrat and tell little white lies? We can handle the truth, apparently Perry can not. This (integrity) is a character issue and character counts when there is a defect found.
If Perry makes a comeback, it will only be as a VP to whomever gets the GOP nomination. I would prefer Cain as VP to either Gingrich or shutter…Romney. Even at 65, Cain would be prepped 8 years later with experience to win in 2020 at the age of 73.