The Eyes of a Texan are on the Presidency
At this point, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas is looking long and hard at a Presidential run. Many have been predicting this could happen and some here on Tea Party Nation have said it would happen.
What does this mean for the Tea Party?
Rick Perry in some circles is a lightning rod for criticism. Interestingly enough, even though he is not a declared candidate, Rick Perry came in second in the recent TPN presidential poll, beating out Tea Party favorites Sarah Palin and Herman Cain, though bagging less than half the votes of Michele Bachmann.
Perry has strong support. He has been supportive of Tea Parties in Texas, speaking to a number of them. He has also been criticized for being a former Democrat and being soft on immigration.
Perry showed some backbone this week, ignoring pressure from Obama, Mexico and the United Nations and refused to block the execution of a Mexican national who had been convicted of a brutal rape and murder of a teenaged Texas girl.
Perry’s entry into the race will cause Tea Party members to make a hard choice. The Tea Party vote is split with Michele Bachmann clearly in the lead, followed by Sarah Palin, if she runs and Herman Cain.
We would all love to see a Tea Party candidate win but the question is going to be can someone like Bachmann win the primary and then win the general election against Obama?
Bachmann is clearly winning the Tea Party vote but what many in the Tea Party do not realize is that the Republican vote is not made up exclusively from Tea Party members.
The GOP establishment does exist and there are GOP moderates. The polls that show Mitt Romney in the overall lead among Republican candidates is not simply an exercise in creative writing. The $18 million dollars Romney just raised was not monopoly money.
There are vested interests that want to see an establishment candidate elected. We in the Tea Party can rant and rave all we want about how terrible the RINOs are but the simple fact is they do exist and in many areas control the GOP.
A Perry candidacy really throws a curve ball into the race. For Michele Bachman, as the leading Tea Party candidate to win, among other things, she would need the RINO vote split among the leading RINOs.
That isn’t happening.
Tim Pawlenty’s campaign is flailing like a fish caught by a Minnesota fisher on a frozen lake. At this point, the only real question is, when is he exiting the race. Newt Gingrich’s campaign limps along. He will stay longer but his campaign is doomed too. Jon Huntsman is zipping along on his motorcycle in the Utah desert but so far his supporters could probably all fit on the back of his motorcycle.
That leaves Romney, who is to put it mildly, a very seriously flawed candidate.
Right now, in a one on one campaign, Bachmann probably loses to Romney. But do not underestimate Bachmann. While everyone thinks of her for her fiery Tea Party rhetoric, she has been quietly assembling a team of serious Republican insiders and is building a formidable campaign.
Enter Rick Perry. Many establishment Republicans know how flawed Romney is, but do not have an alternative to him. Perry could provide that alternative. More than one analyst has said that Perry might be the one candidate who could appeal to both the Tea Party and the establishment.
For many looking at the numbers for 2012, Texas cannot be ignored. Obama has said he believes Texas is in play in 2012. Is that just talk? Perhaps. But as we have said on TPN before, Texas is crucial. There is simply no way ANY Republican candidate can carry the day without Texas.
Texans will protest and say that Texas will never go blue. Among the live Texans, that is very true. But when you count the dead Texans that will be voting, the fictional Texans that will be voting, the illegal Texans that will be voting and the blue Texans who will be voting early and often, victory is not certain.
Perry does ensure that a Republican will win Texas with a fraud proof majority. As we move into the serious part of the election season, that is something conservatives cannot ignore.
Tags: 2012, Huntsman, Pawlenty, Perry, Rick, Romney, gop, iowa, obama, palin, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Connie Harn on -
Donald, I have worked at the capital, not in Texas, but in Colorado. I can tell you that even though the Governor of a state does not vote on the legislation, he has a major influence over what is proposed and how that bill for an act is voted on. Governor's a very good at calling legislators into their offices for a little private chat and also calling them at home for a more "I'm your buddy, do me a favor" type chat. I'm not saying that's what Perry does, but it is done all the time in this state and those that "play ball" with the Governor here, usually end up with darn good appointments.
I don't totally dislike Perry, but he is bad on immigration and on the other hand, very good with economics.
All in all, I feel that come November 2013, each of us is going to have to do a lot of soul searching. Could there be anyone worse than Obama? I'd hate to think so.
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Permalink Reply by Louise Whiteford on
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NO, I he is not good on economics. He just appears to be because of the way Texas is governed. He could have put pressure on the Chair of State Affairs to see the anti Sanctuary legislation was passed but he didn't care.
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Permalink Reply by CoChair on
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Your comment will go over the head of many of these indiviuals. Those of us who live in and are politically involved in our state politics knows this. However, just as many of the postings on this site are getting alittle overboard with incomplete opinions, some will beleive it.
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Permalink Reply by EMil on -
And there it goes!!!
Is anybody else sick and tired of these compromises proposed to us conservative voters? The last Texan we conservatives had to have, continued to sell America out, just not as fast as his predecessor did. What is wrong with us just moving the ball forward and saving the day (our country) as men of character did 235 years ago?
Why is compromising the fundamentals of our liberties so easy for so many?
If Bachmann won the Primary, is the fore drawn conclusion that these wonderful RINO politicians and voters would rather have Obama for our country than rally behind the people's choice? If it is, why in the world would we want these wolves in sheep's clothing ruling over us?
I suppose the readers of TPN just better get use to the pro Perry spins put out. Question is, can we challenge the readers to see past the status quo (hold your nose and vote for the RINO) and let the order of the day be RINO's hold their nose and vote for the conservatives. Can we even remember a time that RINO's compromised?
Didn't think so.
Real leaders don't compromise their liberties or their country to second best.
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Permalink Reply by CoChair on
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Our governor votes on no legislation(yes or no), he only signs in or out any passed bills sent to him.
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Permalink Reply by Dan Smith on -
Perry can't vote on this. Governors don't vote...
He's a RINO anyway. Bad enough we have him here in Texas. I wouldn't wish him on the country like Arkansas gave us the Clintons.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Anderson on -
I can support Perry if he wants to be VP under Michele but, my support is totally with Michele and I think if he came in, he could take some of the Tea Party votes, allowing Romney to take the primary.
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Permalink Reply by Dave Mason on
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While we all have our favorite, I think we - as a group - can get behind nearly anybody but Obama or Romney.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Hoff on
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We will hear a lot of negative about Perry but if he were to run with either Palin or Bachmann I believe it would be winning combo. That ticket would draw enough RINO's and keep enough conservatives from starting a 3rd party that we could win even with all the dead, multiple and acorn voters. Something that hasn't been talked about much is election observers.
In Texas it is a voluntary position in addition to election judges. They help keep down the fraud. Not sure if other states have them.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Jurrians on -
Michigan has something similar to your election observers. We call the poll watchers and poll challengers, and each one has different duties. I was a poll challenger last year and it made for a very long day as you are at the polling place before the polls even open to the public and then you watch them tabulate the votes, absentee ballots that were run through etc. We watched them set up and calibrate the voting machines. There is even a voting machine for people who are handicapped (blind, etc), but are still able to vote.
It was interesting to watch the process from the other side of the ballot box for once. It was an educational experience. I will do it again for the next election coming up.
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Permalink Reply by Trisha on
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If you mean poll watcher Jim, we have them in Michigan. I was one last Nov. We require photo i.d.. We had almost no problems (except a dem candidate soliciting votes too close to the poll). This was at a middle class city school. The poll watchers are crucial. The lady I worked with was a bulldog. I intend to do the same next year. I am still a West/Bachmann or vice versa person, but Perry may do as a stop gap. I have real reservations about him being a rino lite. I think we need a draft West movement!! Probably needs to start in his district.
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Permalink Reply by Dave Mason on
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West has about as much chance as Ron Paul. His patriotism and loyalty are unquestionable...
But, his electability is nothing less than laughable.
At this point, folks who want Allen West or Herman Cain are left-overs from the white guilt brigade.
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