Posted on 01/05/2012 1:16:43 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
National conservative leaders are wondering who, if anyone, can stop Mitt Romney from walking off with the Republican nomination after his narrow win in Iowa and his expected comfortable victory in New Hampshire next week. The name that keeps surfacing is Rick Perry, which says a lot about the desperation that the anti-Romney forces are feeling now.
[snip]
Perry insiders say that the plausible course forward for the candidate is to make this a one-on-one race with Mr. Romney so that the conservative vote doesn't split in two, three or four ways.
South Carolina has a history of deciding the eventual GOP primary winner. If Mr. Perry can take first or second place, he can live to fight another day and prepare for Super Tuesday, when voters in the bulk of Southern states go to the polls. Perry supporters also say that a comeback depends on his ability to make this a North versus South race. They say that three-quarters of Republican voters aren't sold on Mr. Romney. The problem for Mr. Perry, of course, is that even more voters aren't sold on him, either, in part because he has done such a lousy job of educating voters about his admirable record on jobs and growth in Texas.
Many conservative leaders that I talked to after the Iowa caucuses are rallying around the latest flash, Rick Santorum. But others have concluded that despite all of his debate mishaps and his poorly run campaign thus far, Mr. Perry may be the only Republican candidate capable of beating Mr. Romney. As one campaign aide told me: "We have to make a good second impression."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
If you would have posted on FR three weeks ago that Rick Santorum would come within 8 votes of winning Iowa, I would have asked what you were freebasing.
There are no nevers in this crazy-arsed election year.
I don’t think you even read my post. If you did, you’d see how that doesn’t even matter.
DB, I am not a santorum promotor!
I was only trying to be realistic. Even Michelle Bachmann was able to grasp the message, and drop out. Perry’s “heartless” speech condemned him to single digits, and Gingrich will soon be there to join him. All we have left is Santorum and hopes that Palin will quickly come to her senses.
Oookay, it looks like our fellow Freeper rintense believes that 'better' means 'more popular'.
???
Romney is a non-stater as is Newt, albeit for different reasons.
Paul is certifiably insane.
Huntsman seems like a nice guy but Cain has more chance of getting elected and he's not even in the race.
So I am all in for Santorum. I could have voted for him or Bachmann prior to Tuesday night. She is out and he is doing well -- so he has my support and sincere hope that he does well. Should he not, God help us.
Well, that clears up who you're voting for.
You aren't voting for Romney, Paul, Perry, Newt, *OR* Santorum.
Thanks for clearing *THAT* up.
Tebow/Ryan I could do.
Maybe it’ll be another Packers/Broncos Super Bowl.
I’m with your son: Go Packers!
What is clear is that there is an anti-Romney and anti-Paul majority. And it is being divided. To me South Carolina is the key. Which of the three wins South Carolina should stay in and the other two should drop out to ensure the conservative majority is not diluted to ineffectiveness.
Great comment ES! I agree on all counts.
So once again, I would request that you make the case for Santorum. Perry is not as blanket pro-illegal as some make him out to be. And once again, he would be a considerable improvement over Obama, Romney or Paul.
Do you really think a GOP convention stacked with establishment superdelegates would nominate Palin in a brokered convention?
I love what Palin did as a corruption-fighting maverick in Alaska, but I also realize that she cannot overcome the damage that has been done to her as a national political figure.
We have to fight with the soldiers we currently have on the field.
lol! I have been a part of nearly every Perry thread predating his announcement. I have researched every aspect of his past and am acutely aware of his every position as well as his record, a record of pandering to ILLEGAL aliens. He was absolutely pro-ILLEGAL alien as governor of Texas and has only backed off slightly so he could run for POTUS.
The only candidate that could guarantee amnesty more than Perry is Gingrich.
Santorum has been opposed to amnesty his entire career. He has backed off that hard-line stance some but he remains, since Bachmann's exit, the most anti-ILLEGAL alien candidate in the race. So he has my support.
Or Obama and Nappy?
Not a trick question. I don't agree with Perry on border fencing in Texas, but I also don't think he wants to wink at illegal immigration over that border.
That's how this works at this stage. No perfect candidate has emerged. As is always the case.
So we have to decide who is the best of the rest.
I don't think Santorum is perfect on illegals, and I am sure someone can cherry-pick votes that make him look bad.
So I once again raise the larger point - we have three antis. One will emerge. Please make the case for the best one, because we have no idea who will emerge from this crazy process as the leader after SC.
I believe that the majority of the delegates will be well aware that Romney = Obamacare forever, regardless of who ultimately wins the general election.
Its way too early to predict any of the state primaries, given the present turmoil, but were Palin to get in, I do believe that she would garner a significant number of her own.
I don't trust either of them. And I base that opinion of Newt on his own words.
Anything less than requiring people who are working here illegally to return home to apply for a worker visa is amnesty.
~Newt Gingrich 2006
I am for a path to legality for those people whose ties are so deeply into America that it would truly be tragic to try and rip their family apart."
~Newt Gingrich 2011
It should also be mentioned that advocates of amnesty should not be taken seriously if they claim to be also in favor of tougher border control. It is simply not credible that advocates of amnesty will be reliably tough on controlling the borders.
~Newt Gingrich 2006
Not a trick question. I don't agree with Perry on border fencing in Texas, but I also don't think he wants to wink at illegal immigration over that border.
Perry said he would be open to amnesty. I'll take his word that he wasn't lying.
I never said Santorum was perfect; that's the point, no one is. But he is head and shoulders above pro-ILLEGAL alien Perry and pro-amnesty Newt.
So I once again raise the larger point - we have three antis. One will emerge. Please make the case for the best one,
I'm pretty sure I have.
LOL...I was working on a project for Rick Perry. I got so caught up in it, I was carried away and didn’t even think of checking at FR to see if I had any pings to do. I am a multi task person, but the different task can be a bit consuming. ;o) Almost frying my brain. HA
I will ask you the same question I asked the Perry folks, yet have not received a single answer:
If Perry is indeed the true conservative in this race, why isn't he in the lead? Why isn't he at least beating Romney? And why is he polling so low?
Thank you for posting this, CW; I’m saving the interview for tomorrow.
I was just reading a bit of another thread in which Jim Robinson suggested we stop trashing our conservative candidates. I agree with him, but it seems there are quite a few on this thread who either didn’t get the memo or decided to willfully ignore it. It’s just another Perry bash-fest.
Our fellow freeper is a bitter person. She lost her first candidate; she lost her second candidate.
She was part of a posse of people who came on every Perry thread to make nasty comments about Perry.
She accuses Perry supporters of trashing Cain. I was on many Cain threads, just looking mostly. I did not trash him nor did I see anyone I know as a Perry supporter trash him.
She has no one left to love so she just indulges in hate. I cannot believe it as I once thought she was a great person.
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