Rick Perry Presidential Push Quietly Gains Steam

RCP ^

[Retired Greyhound]

As many grass-roots Republicans remain in search of a conservative candidate with the pizazz to go toe-to-toe against President Obama, a man from deep in the heart of Texas who was tea party before the tea party was cool appears to be giving the presidential race some thought. Gov. Rick Perry has insisted on multiple occasions that he has no interest in the presidency, but RCP has learned that political associates have begun to nose around quietly on Perry's behalf. A Texas pol who is close to Perry has been telling a few key strategists that the nation's longest-serving governor sees a vacuum and is waiting to be summoned into the race. This source believes that could happen by late summer. Without fellow Southerners Haley Barbour or Mike Huckabee in the race -- and with Newt Gingrich's early troubles raising further doubts about the current lineup -- there could be a glaring niche for Perry to fill. According to another well-connected Republican, at least one Perry confidant has been very quietly making inquiries about the political terrain in the nation's first voting state of Iowa. A third Perry associate, RCP has learned, has been heralding a small contingent of Iowans with the time-tested line that is often used by would-be candidates who are leaving their options open: "Keep your powder dry." Perry's aides have long made it clear that the tough-talking Texan, who succeeded George W. Bush in Austin in 2000, would not seriously entertain the idea of mounting a White House run before the state's legislative session finishes at the end of this month. That date is now less than two weeks away, and the 2012 presidential field remains fluid.

[Ditter]

When you find the *perfect candidate* I hope you will let me know, because I haven’t been able to spot one yet and I have been looking for a long time. Even Reagan wasn’t perfect enough for some conservatives.
.

[FredZarguna]

One year is not enough to go from being not famous enough to being “top”

No, but one week is enough to go from yesterday's news to "out of the race for all practical purposes," which is where Gingrich is.

Anyway, I disagree. GWB was not well known outside Texas before his first race, and he was also not popular with conservatives before he became President.

[Jedidah]

He says the right things.

He does the wrong things.

You plan to look at him. That’s an excellent approach. Look long and hard and under the surface. It won’t be pretty.

[TonyInOhio]

We must do better.

OK, who?

[VRWCmember]

Thanks for the info. I guess we’ll all just reelect the Kenyan, then. So we're to the point where, at 18 months before the election, if we don't nominate a John McCain who happens to have John Edwards' hair and that nobody outside of Texas knows, Obama coasts to re-election because the GOP failed to embrace the most charismatic RINO to be considered thus far?

[normy]

Except McCain has spent the last 15 years of his Insider Washington career cozying to the MSM and the Ted Kennedy's of the world. McCain was so detached from reality of the American life it's pathetic. Perry is right of McCain for sure.

[normy]

So he was also LT. Governor under Bush and if he simply signs Conservative bills because Texans want it, what's wrong with that? By the way GHWB endorsed Kay Bailey over him for guv this last election.

[VRWCmember]

I gave up on finding a perfect candidate a long time ago. But at this point, at least for the primaries, my standard is somewhere to the north of “at least as good as McCain”. Perry is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of about as good as McCain. If that is good enough to get you excited about our prospects in 2012, then by all means go jump on that bandwagon.

[TonyInOhio]

So we're to the point where, at 18 months before the election, if we don't nominate a John McCain who happens to have John Edwards' hair and that nobody outside of Texas knows, Obama coasts to re-election because the GOP failed to embrace the most charismatic RINO to be considered thus far?

Well, that's not exactly what I meant. :) I'll admit that I don't know the ins and outs of Perry's record, so I guess I'm wondering who Texas FReepers who think Perry is a RINO want to vote for. Who do you think could run and win, for example?

[Jedidah]

Good question, and my jury is out. I won’t be actively backing anyone for a few months at least.

Palin, Pawlenty, Cain, Daniels haven’t been crossed off my list, even though two of them aren’t running yet.

It’s worrisome. We need a stronger field. I shudder at the thought of Romney getting the nomination, although I expect him to crater again like he did in ‘08. Money can buy votes, but not enough of them.

I just know that Perry is seriously flawed and not to be trusted. That’s from a Texan who has wanted him to be better for years, since he was Ag Commissioner, then Lt. Gov., then governor. He’s just let us down over and over.

Even the Farm Bureau won’t endorse him. Seriously. His appeal is much greater among those who don’t know him.

[truthfreedom]

Well, his name was George Bush. Same as the former President.

And that’s as famous a name as you could get.

GWB might not have been famous, but his name most certainly was, and that was enough to make him “top” Republican of 2000.

By the time the primaries actually rolled around, all the other potential “top” Republicans had dropped out. Quayle dropped out, Lamar Alexander dropped out, Elizabeth Dole dropped out. All 3 could’ve been “top” Republican, but it was Bush. It was Bush v McCain in the Primaries, and of those 2, Bush was the “top” Republican, based on the famous name.

I don’t think Gingrich is out by a long shot. McCain was doing terrible stuff we all hated in 2007, and he still won.
He wasn’t the “front runner”, wasn’t up in the polls, but he still won.

[VRWCmember]

Perry is right of McCain for sure.

Perry is a deal-cutter just like McCain, ready to sell out and sign whatever will help him get along. I'm not convinced that he is to the right of McCain; as far as I can tell he pretty much IS McCain but with John Edwards' hair. I don't know yet whom I would support as the best candidate in the primaries, but I am convinced that we can do better than Perry.

[normy]

Tony, Perry has been gov too long but he still wins. Perry will crush Obama on record alone. I can rebut everyone of the naysayers comments which means if I can, so can Perry. He is heads above the rest of the Republican crew and he has an actual record to contrast to Obama's.

Remember McCain is and was a Washington insider picked by the GOP establishment. Perry is not liked by the Bush Sr./Karl Roves of the Republican Party. Perry is strongly pro life, pro gun, pro spending cuts and pro business. He is the best candidate so far if you consider record to record. Even Walker of Wisconsin or Christie of New Jersey doesn't have a record of accomplishment like Perry. They may one day and hopefully they do but if you want Obama to lose, Perry is the man to do it.

Google Perry/Obama and you will see he's been fighting him and his government for the past two years.

[af_vet_rr]

What happened when people started to shout NO?

It wasn't just the people who said no, it was religious organizations, the state GOP, Republican legislators, and a whole slew of other people, and Perry was not happy to be rebuffed, not happy at all, just like he was not happy to be rebuffed over his trans-Texas corridor. Let me ask you this.

How would you feel if Obama signed an executive order mandating that all 12 year old girls receive a vaccine against a sexually transmitted virus?

How would you feel if Obama presided over a system that took DNA from every newborn and kept it without the consent of parents, without revealing the intentions behind keeping it or who had access to it? How would you feel if you had to go through court to find out the intentions behind that and to find out who had access to it, all the while realizing that taxpayer money was being used to fight you all the way?

How would you feel if Obama handed out confidential no-bid billion dollar contracts to European contractors that would lead to hundreds of thousands of acres in Texas and millions of acres across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and who knows where else, being confiscated so that those European contractors could build for-profit toll roads across the US?

Perry did or tried some incredibly evil things, and they were done for companies that employed his buddies. I could, well I couldn't excuse them, but I could better digest them if Perry did all of the things mentioned in this thread out of some kind of personal beliefs, but the fact is that the majority of things that he did that fly in the face of being a Conservative were somehow linked to companies that employed his buddies. Unfortunately, that is something that Texas has a serious problem with and has every since the Civil War.

[SaraJohnson]

They are friends...

[VRWCmember]

Who do you think could run and win, for example?

At this point, I have no idea. My preference would be a governor from a "swing" state but who has strong conservative convictions -- not just opinions or positions. Someone who believes in AND FIGHTS FOR limited government. Someone who will articulate a Reaganesque message that more government equals less freedom, and not waver from that message.

I don't know if that candidate is out there yet. I would have liked Fred Thompson to enter the race a little sooner in 2008 because I think he could have articulated that message in a way that would energize people, but he waited too late and then ran a very uninspired campaign. Maybe the cream will rise to the top before the primary season gets heated up and we can get excited about someone. I hope so, because I'm not convinced that any of the current "front-runners" can generate enough interest in the GOP to mount a winning campaign even with the lousy job the bamster has done.

[af_vet_rr]

Texas is strongly pro life, pro gun, pro spending cuts and pro business.

Fixed that for you. Don't give Perry credit for what Texas is. Texas has been business friendly for many decades, as evidenced by the massive growth in the 1980s, back when Perry was still a Democrat.

That's not to say that Perry isn't pro-business though, especially if that business is European or employees his buddies.

[SaraJohnson]

He has not been wishy washy with Obammy. He’s also truly upset about the open borders now that the Mexican cartel has arrived in America.

[Las Vegas Ron]

Yer right, I was just kidding.

It's fun to point to and promote those that would actually take a fight to those who are trying to "change" our Country though.

I'm no fan of Trump for POTUS but he illustrated the way to win...attack, attack, attack!

[dforest]

Yep, if you have paid any attention, they have been for quite a while.