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Perry stays in presidential race, says it ‘wasn’t a hard decision’
Austin American Statesman ^

Posted on 01/04/2012 10:50:05 AM PST by wk4bush2004

Gov. Rick Perry said today he will continue his presidential campaign despite a fifth-place showing in the Tuesday Iowa caucuses and serious questions about whether he can continue. “I re-assessed,” Perry said as he left his West Des Moines hotel at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. “We’re headed to New Hampshire and South Carolina.” Perry surprised the political world - and many of his advisers - when he Tweeted this morning that he would stay in the race. His Tweet included a photo from his morning jog.

“I was out on the trail when it kind of came to me,” Perry said.

Perry has scrapped campaign events over the next couple of days in South Carolina but will take part in two weekend debates in New Hampshire. He is unlikely to do well in New Hampshire’s primary next week, so he will instead focus on South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary.

“It’s clearly there,” Perry said. “South Carolina is a place where I feel very comfortable that the values and the people and the time that we spent there. We’re going to give the people of South Carolina, New Hampshire and America a choice in this election.”

(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: larazarick; perry4amnesty; perry4romney; singledigitsperry
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This is so exciting! Call me crazy, but I really believe that Governor Perry is about to make a major comeback!
1 posted on 01/04/2012 10:50:09 AM PST by wk4bush2004
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To: wk4bush2004

This only helps Romney.


2 posted on 01/04/2012 10:52:35 AM PST by Patrick1 (" Let's all pray Kim Kardashian's divorce won't have an impact on her craft.")
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To: wk4bush2004

I don’t think you’re crazy, just very, very unrealistic.

My guess is that GHWB & Son made calls to Perry and asked him to stay in the race to siphon votes and $$ from Santorum.


3 posted on 01/04/2012 10:54:20 AM PST by rbg81
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To: wk4bush2004

How is “indirectly helping Mitt Romney by splitting all of the conservative votes among all of the non-Mitt Romney candidates for ‘12 GOP POTUS” a very good thing for Rick Perry?


4 posted on 01/04/2012 10:56:11 AM PST by johnthebaptistmoore (If leftist legislation that's already in place really can't be ended by non-leftists, then what?)
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To: wk4bush2004

The first “Bush’s third term” ad and the election is over.


5 posted on 01/04/2012 10:56:35 AM PST by Jim Noble ("The Germans: At your feet, or at your throat" - Winston Churchill)
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To: wk4bush2004

The nomination was Perry’s to lose and he did so in record time!


6 posted on 01/04/2012 10:57:08 AM PST by edge10 (Obama lied, babies died!)
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To: rbg81

“My guess is that GHWB & Son made calls to Perry and asked him to stay in the race to siphon votes and $$ from Santorum.”

I disagree, considering the fact that it is a known fact that the Bushes and Perry do NOT get along and I think that it is highly unlikely that GHWB would have done such a thing, considering that fact.


7 posted on 01/04/2012 10:57:13 AM PST by wk4bush2004 ("FREEDOM, PROSPERITY, RESPONSIBILITY: RICK PERRY 2012!")
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To: wk4bush2004
"This is so exciting! Call me crazy, but I really believe that Governor Perry is about to make a major comeback!"

Not crazy at all.

A lot of Cowboy fans said that the other night when they played the Giants.

8 posted on 01/04/2012 10:58:28 AM PST by VicVega ( GEAUX LSU TIGERS, GEAUX SAINTS)
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To: wk4bush2004

Perry surprises staff, stays in race
By: Jonathan Martin
January 4, 2012 12:33 PM EST

Surprising some members of his own staff, Rick Perry announced via Twitter on Wednesday morning that he will stay in the GOP presidential race despite a disappointing finish in Iowa.

“And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State … Here we come South Carolina!!!” Perry tweeted just after 11 a.m. EST from his personal account, linking to a picture of him in Texas A&M jogging shorts giving a thumbs-up.

Perry campaign manager Joe Allbaugh confirmed to POLITICO that the governor is going forward.

“Staying,” Allbaugh wrote in an email when asked whether Perry is remaining in the race.

A source close to Perry said the Texas governor decided to make a stand in South Carolina because “he is not a quitter and really is the only true conservative in the race.”

“Records matter; start comparing,” the source said.

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said Perry would stay in Texas until Friday, at which point he’ll head to New Hampshire and participate in the two debates there this weekend. The candidate will then go to South Carolina.

Perry’s decision to campaign in South Carolina is a major blow to Rick Santorum’s hopes of consolidating conservatives behind his candidacy. If Perry and Newt Gingrich are still in the GOP race when it heads south on Jan. 21, the base will likely be divided among conservatives.

Perry’s decision to stay in initially caught some of his own staff off-guard. His long-serving press secretary, Mark Miner, said he didn’t know what the plan was and said only that he was “checking on it” when asked about Perry’s tweet. Miner confirmed that Perry handles his own Twitter account.

In a subsequent conversation, Miner declined to say when the governor decided to go forward or when he notified staff.

“He had some conversations and made the decision,” said Miner, noting that Perry only said he was going to reasses and “never left the race.”

The Dallas Morning News quoted Perry’s son, Griffin, as saying that his father had made up his mind during a morning jog.

“Dad had a run today and cleared his head. He and mom talked, and we’re in and onto South Carolina,” Griffin Perry told the newspaper.

“I was out on the trail when it kind of came to me,” Perry told the Austin American-Statesman.

After taking just 10 percent of the vote and finishing a distant fifth in Iowa yesterday, Perry told supporters that he would return to Texas to reassess whether there was “a path forward.”

Some of his campaign advisers made clear that they wanted him to drop out last night and, after his speech, thought that his reassessment language was merely a prelude to a formal withdrawal.

“It seemed like everything was going to wind down and life was gonna be good, and now there’s an explosion and I don’t know what’s going on,” said one of the strategists, who added that some of Perry’s Texas backers were urging him to go forward.

Another adviser confirmed that the decision had been closely held, and that members of the team were caught by surprise.

As for Perry’s announcement via Twitter, one strategist said: “Welcome to Campaign 2012.”


9 posted on 01/04/2012 11:00:15 AM PST by varina davis (We grow too soon old and too late smart -- Pennsylvania Dutch adage)
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To: VicVega
A lot of Cowboy fans said that the other night when they played the Giants.

Only the delusional ones.

10 posted on 01/04/2012 11:00:48 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: wk4bush2004
Perry has the resources to continue the fight and 10% of the vote is not the same as 3% of the vote. "Jobs, jobs, jobs" wasn't going to sell in Iowa with it's 5% unemployment like it will in South Carolina or Florida.

Politically, it was the correct move. Whether he is able to sell himself better and get back in the race is now up to him. But it was too early to pull out on the basis of one rather flaky state.

11 posted on 01/04/2012 11:01:19 AM PST by OrangeHoof (Obama: The Dr. Kevorkian of the American economy.)
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To: Patrick1

I wonder if he thinks he’s going to get DeMint’s endorsement given that DeMint can’t endorse Romney since he did that as an anti-McCain move last time?

If Santorum becomes this cycle’s Huckster (and I like him BTW), then Perry’s campaign really gets started in SC and moves South and West.

Just speculating......


12 posted on 01/04/2012 11:02:30 AM PST by Reagan Disciple (Peace through Strength)
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To: wk4bush2004

this only helps Mitt Romney,continues to divide the conservative vote.
He must have gotten a phone call offering a job if he stays in.


13 posted on 01/04/2012 11:02:50 AM PST by ballplayer
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To: wk4bush2004
Call me crazy

You're crazy.

14 posted on 01/04/2012 11:03:40 AM PST by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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To: dfwgator

LOL. I was really trying to be nice.


15 posted on 01/04/2012 11:04:29 AM PST by VicVega ( GEAUX LSU TIGERS, GEAUX SAINTS)
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To: wk4bush2004
Not my intention to insult you as none of us know the future. But, odds are that Perry fired his big shot in Iowa, and the result was a 5th place finish. I can't see how his staying in the race will benefit any Conservative causes, rather benefiting Romney.

Perry had money, organization and strong supporters from Texas. The media didn't hurt the Perry campaign, Perry hurt the Perry campaign. I don't see anything going to change this. But hey, it's his campaign and he can do with it as he wishes. As for me, I only envision his campaign possibly accomplishing the role of a spoiler, and I hope that doesn't come to fruition

16 posted on 01/04/2012 11:05:07 AM PST by Rational Thought
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To: wk4bush2004

17 posted on 01/04/2012 11:05:49 AM PST by montyspython ((Romney-Perry-Obama ... No Way))
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To: wk4bush2004
I gave to Perry when he announced and was dismayed by his mistakes, especially, the debates.

Iowa is over and NH is up next, however, SC/FL are real primaries and I will take the measure of support after these two play out.

I want an alternative to Mitt and if Perry can get and stay on message he is the one I back. I like Newt but fear his baggage will make him a “target rich environment” especially since the MSM is in Obama’s pocket. The others I think are flash in a pan and cannot go the distance.

Call me crazy but I just gave more money to Rick Perry and in my whole life I have never given money to any candidate for any office.

We have to get rid of Obama, but, we need to get someone in who will reverse the rot of the Federal government. Mitt is not fit for that task so I put my chips on Rick.

18 posted on 01/04/2012 11:07:31 AM PST by lowbuck (The Blue Card (US Passport) Don't leave home without it.)
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To: Rational Thought

As today’s Gallop poll showed, Santorum does not poll well anywhere but in the Iowa caucauses.


19 posted on 01/04/2012 11:07:31 AM PST by varina davis (We grow too soon old and too late smart -- Pennsylvania Dutch adage)
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To: montyspython

Love your visual...LMAO!

“It seemed like everything was going to wind down and life was gonna be good, and now there’s an explosion and I don’t know what’s going on,” said one of the strategists, who added that some of Perry’s Texas backers were urging him to go forward.
YEP..paging Gov. Perry...cheap labor lobby on line 1


20 posted on 01/04/2012 11:10:19 AM PST by magna carta
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