Free Republic

Rick Perry’s Campaign Approach Is Hitting All the Right Notes Seth Mandel July 26, 2011 A pro-Rick Perry group is taking advantage of a new rule in the Iowa straw poll that allows voters to write in a candidate. GrowPAC will air radio ads in Iowa urging voters to write in Perry’s name in the Ames straw poll next month. The move would–if the ad works–help Perry in two ways: it would reveal public support for Perry without having to meet expectations, as he would if his name were officially on the ballot, and it will drain support from Perry’s...

Business Journals relays the latest economic trophy for the Lone Star State and its governor: Texas is the big winner in On Numbers’ midyear analysis of employment trends. Texas added 537,500 nonfarm jobs between June 2006 and June 2011, based on the latest seasonally adjusted figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s nearly 10 times larger than the second-biggest increase by any state over the five-year span, Louisiana’s gain of 55,900 nonfarm jobs. North Dakota was third with a raw increase of 41,700..... This would be a big deal for Rick Perry under any circumstances, but more...

GrowPAC, a group founded by former New York Senate candidate David Malpass, will air radio ads in Iowa urging people to write Perry's name onto the Ames straw poll ballot. "President Obama is making things worse. We need a president who will stop this," Malpass says in the spot. "Iowa has a chance to turn things around for America. At the Ames Straw Poll write in Rick Perry, he can win and make America secure again. I worked for Ronald Reagan and I know how countries create growth and jobs. Let’s give Rick Perry a chance." Continue Reading The 60-second...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is all but certain to launch a presidential campaign and is nearing an announcement set for the second half of August, according to sources familiar with his political team's planning. For months, Republican activists, donors, elected officials, and even voters have dithered about their choices in the 2012 presidential primary contest. But they may have their man in Rick Perry, a telegenic and booming political presence who boasts executive experience as the nation's longest serving governor, as well as a healthy level of support from the tea party faithful. Two new national polls released on Friday...

<p>As I have been saying, Perry is not a fit conservative candidate.</p>

Supposedly he was set to declare even earlier but decided to wait until after the Ames straw poll. Why rush into Iowa if you’re not on the ballot and half the big names in the field can’t be bothered to compete? While Perry has focused on determining whether he can raise the funds necessary to run a credible campaign, his strategists have begun locking down verbal commitments from vendors and other potential top staff who would fill out a campaign organization. One who was contacted about a senior staff position was told, “This is a 99 percent sure thing.” Another...

......The last attempt to campaign on the appeal of the 10th Amendment was made in 1996 by Bob Dole, who carried a well-worn version in his breast pocket. The strategy amounted to unilateral policy disarmament. While Bill Clinton described improvements in education and public safety, Dole talked of procedural limits on federal power. The domestic centerpiece of Dole’s campaign was a void, a negation. Given President Obama’s record of federal overreach, the 10th Amendment may have more political appeal this time around. But the problem with a sweeping application of the amendment is not merely political. [snip] For the most...

Many conservatives and Tea Party activists across the country are eagerly anticipating the entry of Texas Governor Rick Perry into the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Yet Fox Business correspondent Charlie Gasparino suggests that many New Yorkers on Wall Street, presumably of both political parties, are not at all excited about the possibility of a Perry presidency. Gasparino warns: “I talk to a lot of Wall Street guys . . . you know I don’t think a guy from Texas can win again. I just think there’s a Texas taint to it all. And I know the big money...

Senior Aides to Texas Governor Rick Perry say they remain at least two, and as many as four weeks away from any final decision on whether to run for the GOP presidential nomination. Governor Perry is described as enthusiastic about the possibility and a reference to his wife Anita's encouragement yesterday, is actually a reflection of what aides say is many months of her agitation in favor of running. His time frame for getting into the race is about creating the financial network to fund a national campaign that goes big in every state, not state-by-state like others are now...

A pro-Rick Perry independent expenditure group, which is now putting some focus on other early states, says it was denied a booth on the grounds of the Ames Straw Poll because the governor's potential rivals didn't want it to happen.Bob Schuman, the main organizer for Americans for Rick Perry, made the charge in an interview with the Texas Tribune:Schuman said the declared candidates in the contest did not want the party to give any space to Americans for Rick Perry on the grounds at Iowa State University in Ames, where the event will be held. He said Iowa GOP officials...

Jul 20, 2011 — Will the Texas governor elbow his way into the crowded presidential race? Longtime Perry watcher Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune talks about why he thinks Perry will run and what kind of candidate he'd be. [snip] We spoke with the Texas Tribune's Evan Smith about the man he has followed since the early 1990s. A former editor of Texas Monthly magazine, Smith says he's convinced Perry will make a run at the White House, and tells us why other Republican hopefuls should be worried.

Clay County GOP chairwoman Kirstine Thiessen confirmed that Perry won the straw poll vote the other night, which was held among those on hand for a planned meeting. The county, I'm told, is in Rep. Steve King's district, and abuts Minnesota. Of the 59 votes cast, Perry won with 15, followed by Michele Bachmann with 9, Thiessen said. Rick Santorum got eight, Ron Paul got 6, Hermain Cain got 5, Thaddeus McCotter got four, and tied with Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney for that number. Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin each got two votes. It's not quite a representative sample...

Should Rick Perry conclude that voter discontent has left him an opening to enter the presidential race, the Texas governor would be among the Republican field's most conservative candidates. Rick Perry rejects the idea of global warming and the theory of evolution, arguing for natural climate variations and intelligent design of the universe. He branded Social Security and other New Deal safety net programmes "the second big step in the march of socialism," according to a book published last year. The "first step" was a national income tax, which he has said stands alongside the direct election of US senators...

Who has a better chance of winning the Republican nomination?

John King CNN interview: 5:19 minute video: Could Rick Perry shake up GOP W.H. race?GUESTS: Erick Erickson [Red State] and Mimi Swartz [Texas Monthly] discuss the potential presidential candidacy of Texas Gov. Rick Perry.Swartz: “Formidable campaigner. People on the East Coast underestimate him at their peril. He’s relentless. Perry will fight to the death if he wants this.” King: If he gets in, who gets hurt? Erickson: Pawleny has most to lose. Bachman loses. Hurts Romney -- explains in detail. Palin and Giuliani won’t get in if Perry gets in. Swartz: quoting another pundit re: Bush/Perry -- Bush aristocratic –...

Speaking this morning to the Texas Municipal Police Association in Austin, Gov. Rick Perry returned to one of his favorite subjects over the last few years, saying the Obama administration has inappropriately handled security issues on the Texas-Mexico border. Perry, who told the Des Moines Register in recent days that God may be calling him to run for president, has long said Washington has not deployed enough manpower to the Texas-Mexico border. He repeated that criticism this morning, saying he wants 3,000 Border Patrol agents along the border in Texas and 1,000 troops from the National Guard. He said...

If Texas Gov. Rick Perry runs for president, he'd bring along strong conservative credentials. He's advocated laws that require a sonogram before an abortion and that force police to enforce federal immigration law.

Scott said he talks to his counterpart every two to three weeks. Florida Gov. Rick Scott: State jobless rate: 10.6 percent; Texas Gov. Rick Perry: State jobless rate: 8 percent. Florida Gov. Rick Scott: 7,000+ jobs lost at Kennedy Space Center due to shuttle end; Texas Gov. Rick Perry: 4,100 jobs lost at Johnson Space Center in Houston. [Obama is killing jobs in both Florida and Texas] Florida Gov. Rick Scott: Was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers; Texas Gov. Rick Perry: Dispatched Texas Rangers to protect U.S. border. Florida Gov. Rick Scott: Led the nation in job creation in...

Christian Right leaders are not rallying behind Michele Bachmann for president and it’s “probably” because they are sexist, contends a writer for Time. .....“Totally unfair and inaccurate” is how Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America, described [Amy] Sullivan's characterization. Nance was invited to join the conference call but was unable to do so. “Social conservatives are ready for a woman president,” Nance said. “In fact, the McCain campaign really took off,” added Nance, “after Sarah Palin was nominated.” Nance remembered that during the 2008 election she was mostly standing on the sidelines until Palin was added to the...

...With Perry's history of straddling the establishment and tea party wings of the party, [Andrew] Hemingway [chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Liberty Caucus, told RCP] offered a bold prediction for the unique assets that the Texas governor could bring to the table in New Hampshire. "I think ultimately Rick Perry is a candidate who secures Haley Barbour's money with Sarah Palin's endorsement," he said.