Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry tried to revive his campaign Friday but got dragged into a religious row and saw a plea to Christian voters drowned out by fast-rising longshot Herman Cain. Perry, who exploded into the White House race in August but has since fallen back after wobbly debate performances, sought to win over evangelical Christian conservative voters, a crucial bloc in the party nominating contest.

Now that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has announced he will not seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, all of the Republican donors, elected officials, and party activists pining for a savior to jump into the race must face the reality that the field is set. They need to channel Stephen Stills: “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” No doubt the fundraisers for Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are tying up the phone lines into New York’s financial district, wooing donors who had either been holding out for Christie or had used...

Today, the Susan B. Anthony list and National Organization for marriage released a joint scorecard for the Republican candidates for President at the annual Values Voters Summit. Ordinarily, a release like this carries few surprises, and in this election cycle so dominated by fiscal issues, a scorecard devoted to gay marriage and abortion is unlikely to carry the same weight it would have in the past. However, what may surprise those perusing the score card this time around is the fact that one candidate – the one widely interpreted as the most conservative in the race – actually falls to...

In this interview [10 questions], Rick Perry is asked all the questions on illegal immigration that people have wanted to hear him asked. Over the course of the interview, Perry revealed a lot of new information on how he'd handle the illegal immigration issue if he becomes President. Although he might disagree with this characterization, his positions on the issue seem to be well to the right of where many conservatives believe he is on illegal immigration. Here are just a few excerpts from the interview: -- If Rick Perry becomes President of the United States, would that fence on...

HOUSTON -- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Thursday that he would definitely consider an invitation to run as the eventual nominee’s vice president, except if the nominee turns out to be Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Cain, who rocketed to the top tier of the GOP field in several recent polls, was asked by reporters on the campaign trail for his thoughts on a hypothetical invitation to run as the eventual nominee’s No. 2. After offering the obligatory comment that he intends to be the nominee, Cain said, “Quite frankly, based upon Gov. Perry’s position on some issues, I would...

Those words were spoken today by Georgette Mosbacher, RNC Finance Co-Chair and huge GOP fundraiser, after Chris Christie’s announcement. The “we” is all the big bundlers, fundraisers, and money folks who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the field to be set — and that quote represents the coalescing around Mitt Romney that is expected to happen rather quickly now. Mosbacher went on to say: “I think tomorrow, we’ll be contacting one another and probably put something together with Romney… And I would say that the race is now Romney and Obama. Quite frankly, the enthusiasm wasn’t there...

[Can't say if I'll vote for Perry but hope Jewish voters understand that Obama is not their friend.] It could have been an awkward moment even for a seasoned politician like Texas Governor Rick Perry. Surrounded by a group of Orthodox rabbis in black hats and black suits during a Hanukkah ceremony at the Texas State Capitol, Perry, now a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, was swept into a hora dance, holding hands with the Jewish leaders as they surrounded the lighted menorah. But Perry did not seem to mind. “That was a real ‘Dancing With the Stars,’”...

Herman Cain talks to Hannity. They discuss his book, Hillarycare, and some of Cain's history. http://www.mofopolitics.com/2011/10/03/herman-cain-on-hannity-10311/

The governor’s 2012 rivals have latched onto his executive order mandating the HPV vaccine and his advocacy for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, while little has been said about his unrealized 1,200-foot-wide toll road project that would have swallowed more than 500,000 acres of Texas farmland and wildlife habitats. But as the focus of debates increasingly turn toward President Barack Obama’s jobs agenda — a plan calling for a heavy dose of infrastructure investment — that may change. “Pay to play, cronyism — all those charges can be found right here in the Trans-Texas Corridor,” said Terri Hall, founder and...

.....Drudge's editorial decisions replace Perry's message of solid, inspirational, conservatism with an inept, flagging candidate. And while Drudge doesn't exert the broad influence over the scattered media landscape that he did over a more concentrated media five or ten years ago, he still wields immense power, .... Drudge's relationship with Romney's campaign manager is seen by some Drudge-watchers as a kind of Rosetta Stone, but I've never thought he was quite that predictable. Perry could have emerged on the page as the larger-than-life cowboy political hero his campaign depicts. Instead, he's the bumbling, cartoon version of that character.

The new Washington Post/ABC News poll confirms what the Florida straw poll showed last month: Rick Perry is bleeding support from activist conservatives. In the national survey, Perry’s share of the GOP primary vote has fallen to 16 percent – a tie with Herman Cain and 9 points behind Mitt Romney, who draws support from a quarter of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Continue Reading Ron Paul is in fourth place, with 11 percent, followed by Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich tied at 7 percent. Rick Santorum takes 2 percent and Jon Huntsman takes half that. The apparent explanation for Perry’s...

I know Perry’s not done. I know it, but … sometimes I have to remind myself. Cain is now running in second place in Florida now that his support surged nearly 19 percentage points after last month’s Republican Party of Florida’s Presidency 5 debate and straw poll, according to a survey of likely Florida voters conducted by Gainesville-based War Room Logistics, which typically polls for Republicans. Meantime, Perry’s support plummeted nearly 16 percentage points. Perry had been tied as a Florida frontrunner with Mitt Romney at about 25 percent on Sept. 20, dropped to third/fourth place with 9 percent of...