Posted on 01/09/2012 8:25:23 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Is Rick Perry the Tea Party’s last hope in the 2012 election? As he prepares for his Alamo-moment in South Carolina, the longest serving governor in Texas history makes the case for limited government.
It’s a deliberate play for South Carolina’s once powerful Tea Party to come to his aid. During the 9AM MSNBC debate today with David Gregory, Rick Perry promised the Tea Party across the country that he would have their back against big spending Republicans. But will they have his?
Today, Amy Kremer of the Tea Party Express promised on Breitbart.tv that the organization will endorse before the January 21st.
Perry’s proposals of cutting the pay of Congress and prosecuting congressmen for insider trading have been popular among Tea Party supporters. Indeed, in November, Perry was accused of “pandering to the tea party” by none other than House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). The Texas Tea Party, however, withdrew their support of the governor for his support of sanctuary cities for illegal aliens. An October Washington Post/ABC poll confirms that his support was cratering among Tea Party activists, placing him just above Romney and Ron Paul. Perry is hoping that South Carolina is a bit more generous.
Only a few of the Republicans swept into power in South Carolina by the Tea Party have made endorsements. Tea Party darling, Gov. Nikki Haley endorsed Mitt Romney and has been an active surrogate for the former Massachusetts governor as far afield as New Hampshire. Haley’s support in South Carolina, however, is cratering. A poll conducted by Winthrop University between Nov. 27 and Dec. 4 showed only 34.6 percent of those surveyed approved of Haley’s job performance, making her one of the least popular governors in the country.
Haley’s support for Romney may be pecuniary or payback. Romney’s “Free and Strong America” political action committee donated $36,000 to Haley’s campaign in 2010. More than 35 other Romney-backers received PAC money from the former Massachusetts governor before making their endorsements. Perhaps they were merely returning the favor. Or perhaps their campaigns were paid for that favor early in the process.
Thus far, the very popular Tim Scott has declined to endorse anyone for president. Rep. Scott’s highly coveted endorsement is seen as something of proxy for Senator Jim DeMint, the godfather of both the Tea Party and the South Carolina. In 2008, DeMint endorsed Mitt Romney, but in 2012, he has remained deliberately on the side lines.
Of the federal legislators in South Carolina, only freshman congressman (and Tea Party favorite) Mick Mulvaney has endorsed and he has endorsed Rick Perry. Mulvaney reportedly decided to support Perry after seeing his 20% flat tax proposal. “It’s very, very similar to what we’ve been talking about in terms of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative group within the House Republicans, and he went a little bit further than I think we’re going to go even. I was enthusiastic about somebody actually taking some bold steps,” Mulvaney told MSNBC. Perry also won the support of Bobby Harrell, South Carolina’s Speaker of the House.
South Carolina’s Tea Party groups hold their own convention in Myrtle Beach on Sunday, Jan. 15, and Monday, Jan. 16, the same day that the next– the 16th– of the presidential debates takes place.
Perry’s sure to be helped by his South Carolina advisors, which include former state GOP chairman Katon Dawson, who believes that Perry will play well with both evangelical and military voters who make up the Palmetto State’s Republican electorate. “Iowa picks corn, New Hampshire picks presidential campaign pockets, and South Carolina picks Republican presidents,” Dawson told reporters after Perry’s fifth place finish in Iowa.
Though there is no clear Tea Party candidate in South Carolina, Tea Party groups are pretty clearly opposed to Mitt Romney. Karen Martin, the head of the Spartanburg County, S.C., chapter and other Tea Party leaders put it simply in an interview with National Public Radio:
“There’s no Tea Partier that I talk to in the state or nationally that would want to promote Romney. Other than the people that have come out publicly and endorsed Mitt Romney and the people left over from his 2008 campaign, I do not personally know anyone that does not despise Mitt Romney and doesn’t hate the idea of him being our nominee.”
Governor Perry will be sure to keep proclaiming his conservative bona fides, especially on the Tenth Amendment, which is popular among Tea Partiers. To capitalize on that vote, Perry would do well to throw his backing to South Carolina’s fight against the Justice Department over voter fraud. He would also do well to speak out against President Obama’s unconstitutional recess bids, especially as those recess bids governing the National Labor Relations Board which is at war with Boeing over relocating their plant to a right-to-work state.
IMO the nightmare scenario will be the three candidates below Romney remaining neck & neck until it is too late.
How can he be a spoiler when he’s polling at 5%? And it’s been established that the Romney VP idea is a ludicrous joke.
Now, let’s address my question, which you didn’t answer. Doesn’t it take up a lot of time for you, searching out Perry threads so you can do a little more bashing? Why do you do it? He is a good conservative Christian man. Don’t you find your behavior unChristian? Or, if you aren’t a Christian, then unseemly, at the very least?
This would be a historic moment for the the so-called leaders out there to be courageous and bold. Stop thinking about yourselves. Come out now, Republican governors! Come out now, Sarah Palin. Come out now, Republican legislators. Endorse the only qualified candidate running for POTUS. Give Governor Perry the vote of confidence he needs to fight your fight. Remember the fight? Help him take South Carolina.
Gov. Perry is the best candidate to fight it out with Obama -- and the only one who isn't standing in quicksand. Perry has a record that Obama cannot dismiss.
Rudy has his flaws too like your candidate but he led New York in a very solemn time. I commend him for doing such a great job. Rudy did VERY WELL during 9/11.
“Pathetic”
Yes you are.
If that fails to come to pass after SC, or if Newt is the one who is resurgent, then IMO Perry should get out. If his background is not a workable fit in SC to where he cannot manage better than a third place finish among the anti-Paul and anti-Romney pack, then he really can't make an argument for his candidacy elsewhere.
Perry backed Rudy for his national security and strong executive skill and bonafides. And during that GOP Primary most Texans were backing Rudy.
This is an interesting article about where Texas' campaign money and support was going in '08. Things just aren't back and white. Texas donors on fence for 2008 election
I’ve thought the same thing.
Where are the leaders?
They’re afraid.
They’re thinking about themselves.
Perry helped get a lot of them elected; raised record amounts of money for the RGA.
Quinnipiac polls are totally unreliable
Nice try, spin-bot.
I HAVE been bashing you and a few other Perry posters when y'all were posting threads and comments from liberal hatchet jobs on the other conservative candidates. I guess you take that as an attack on Perry as opposed to ripping into your personal FR slimeball methods. I will say this - you have been refraining from attacks on the other candidates as of late, and that is good. I hope it continues.
I also mentioned a column by Erick Erickson at Red State (a Perry supporter) about the need for changes to the Perry campaign. I posted that in the context of the contention by a Perry supporter that he had a solid campaign staff and he asked for documentation of my claim otherwise in response.
You were so driven to belittle my doing such that you asked for a name for the blogger - when you have posted Erickson's hatchet jobs against other candidates, so you know darn well who he is. Pretty funny.
But I guess you can't stand the valid point I am making about the need for the bottom candidate of Perry, Santorum or Newt to get out after SC, in case that is Perry, so you have to make up lies about what I am posting. If that bottom candidate is NOT Perry, and Perry makes a solid showing in first or second as the anti-Romney, then I will instead be calling for someone else to get out.
But only in your agenda-crazed brain is that an attack on Perry. Or maybe your checks from the Perry campaign will end if Perry gets out of the race?
Perry is no spoiler. He is spoiling for a fight. Polls, schmolls...it is going to be a marathon.
One more thing. The guy flew military aircraft. It takes nerves of steel to do that. It also takes true grit to stumble like he did in that debate then come back time and again and stand and deliver. All of this shows that Perry has what is needed at his core to win.
They went nowhere in Iowa, despite the amount of money Perry had for a ground game.
We'll see what plays out in SC. Your concern about a close three-way split is probably the worst-case scenario, as none of the three remaining anti-Romneys would feel an impetus to get out.
“He should be our top candidate right now. Santorum is not a viable national candidate, Romney is Romney; Newt would be good in a cabinet position.
Depressing actually....”
I agree with you. I was hopeful about Perry when he entered and I have come to like him more as a man during the course of the campaign. But it does not appear to be going anywhere. We cannot continue to divide out votes against Romney. I am hoping that if Perry cannot perform a miracle, ASAP, that he will be big enough to withdraw soon, and offer his support to Gingrich. I am not on fire for Gingrich, but unless Perry can reverse positions with him PDQ, I will opt for Gingrich.
We -must- suppress Romney. Romney’s candidacy would make people long for the sincerity, integrity, and party strength of Richard Nixon.
It is obvious that there is a concerted effort to crush the Tea Party Movement by knocking out everyone that represents the Tea Party.
How true. I’m afraid that the ‘poll watchers’ will only look at how he’s in the basement poll-wise; and he’ll keep being pushed in there until he’s driven out! I keep reading how he’s doing so well among all these groups of people, yet he keeps being pushed into the poll basement. It’s maddening!
I like Perry a lot; he’s got much of the same strength and appeal of Bush 43 and that’s why I like him. There’s something sort-of reassuring about him; something of a “can do” attitude, just like there was with Bush 43, or even Ronald Reagan! Sure, he’s got his quirks, just like Bush did. However, there is a lot they share! It’s a kind of “rough and ready” air about them that gives them a certain appeal!
I’m not sure why he keeps getting dumped in the basement in the polls. So many people only look at that! The news media, even the more balanced “FOX News”, seem to have already crowned Mitt Romney for us, and the voters will only seem to look at that, dang it!
It’s too bad that Perry supporters chose to visciously attack Sarah Palin on every thread. Had they held their fire, perhaps Rick Perry’s campaign wouldn’t be sucking canal water now.
“If that fails to come to pass after SC, or if Newt is the one who is resurgent, then IMO Perry should get out. If his background is not a workable fit in SC to where he cannot manage better than a third place finish among the anti-Paul and anti-Romney pack, then he really can’t make an argument for his candidacy elsewhere.”
I agree with you on all points, and it is a damn shame. Perry brought the most successful executive experience to this race, but he stumbled at the start and thus far has not made up the lost ground. He is not perfect, but he is solid. I trust he will do the right thing.
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