Free Republic

Gov. Rick Perry will win the GOP nomination for the presidency. Here's why. Mitt Romney is a certified RINO, a ruling class Republican of the type that spawned the Tea Party. There would be no Tea Party were it not for big government, country club Republicans like Mitt Romney. Herman Cain does not have the money or organization to go the distance, Newt Gingrich is too flawed personally, Michelle Bachmann is out of gas, and Ron Paul is and will always be a fringe candidate. Rick Santorum has yet to gain any real traction and that is unlikely to change....

.....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.

In the Russell Senate Office Building Caucus Room, Fred McClure was watching the crowd. It was March 1978, and the American Agriculture Movement — a pressure group for government support of farm prices — was meeting with Texan congressmen. A legislative aide to Sen. John Tower (R.), McClure was leaning on a door when a rancher from Paint Creek, Texas, named Rick Perry walked past. Newly retired from the Air Force, Perry held a degree in animal science from Texas A&M. His class ring gave him away. Spotting the ring, McClure, a fellow Texas A&M grad, introduced himself, and the...

Boarded-up shops and a nearly empty parking lot provided the backdrop for former Masschusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney’s visit today to a struggling shopping center near the intersection of Victory and Laurel Canyon boulevards. Romney, presumed to be among the leading Republican contenders for the presidency in 2012, said President Barack Obama’s economic policies have contributed to the decline of this and many other malls across America. “Proposing raising taxes did not put people back to work. Obamacare made it less likely for employers to want to hire people. The talk about cap-and-trade and higher energy costs made it less likely...

...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.

Should we be more amused or appalled at the prospect of Rick Perry as a presidential candidate? Certainly, over the centuries, the republic has endured worse, most recently Ronald Reagan and Bush II. But Gov. Perry brings to the subject a unique political cynicism that would be fascinating to watch, if only one didn't have to consider the public consequences. As a young pol on the make and feeling the prevailing Texas winds, Perry moved effortlessly from conservative Democrat to reactionary Republican with nary a backward glance. Stuck behind and below the always anointed Dubya, he patiently bided his time...

Two major names remain on the 2012 bench. Each has a giant persona, comes from a giant state, and has a giant following. Yes, it’s Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Their political friendship, while somewhat recent, seems real — so real that it would be easy to imagine one endorsing the other if only one of them would jump into the race. That would give an instant charge of credibility and buzz to the endorsee, and likely set either Palin or Perry as the Tea Party favorite. Their friendship goes back to their days as...

WASHINGTON — Rick Perry is the 100 million dollar man of Texas politics. Over the past decade, he has been a political money machine, raising more than $100 million for three gubernatorial campaigns and another $50 million for GOP candidates as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2007-2008. But the Texas governor's fundraising prowess will be tested as never before if he runs for president in 2012. While he's raised more campaign cash than anybody not named Bush in Texas history, Perry faces different rules and greater demands should he set his sights on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. "In order...

TX governor panders to 'The Race' Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 7/21/2010 5:20:00 AMThe head of a grassroots borders enforcement organization says it's completely inappropriate for Texas Governor Rick Perry to speak to a radical Hispanic organization that supports granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. The Republican governor recently addressed a crowd of 1,800 members of the National Council of La Raza, which calls itself the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States. Critics, however, point out that La Raza means "The Race," and claim the organization is nothing more than a Hispanic supremacist organization. One of...