He should and hope he does!

Perry needs to deliver “Total Package” message

As a note, Huntsman could make this argument fairly well too, and should.

Bachman coined the term “heartless.” Perry said no more than Newt said saying we were inconsiderate. Watch the whole debate again on youtubue and find Santorum got the boos talking over Perry during Perry’s response time. Perry did not implode as much as the pundits, even Fox News is in with the Establishment against Perry. The Establishment does not want a shellacking again either. But, if not Perry…we loose. Think on it…Romney or Perry…the war chest will matter to take Romney out…and the gloves have to come off. Same with obama. Obama will wipe out Romney, Santorum and Gingrich faster than he did McCain.

Perry’s came out with gun blazing…he won the first two debates he was in…but the pundits gained up and we followed them. Just as Erick has to do the work here…the lazy journalist are not even worth following. Follow Red State…be more informed! Thanks Erick! Fine Patriotic duty you have done!

But unless Rick P can clean up the immigration stance he’s lost. I hate it that something so simple, that I believe was twisted would disqualify, in my opinion, the only one that IS qualified. I’ve talked to friends in other states that have said ” We don’t want our boarders over ran with illegals trying to get here for ‘free’ education”. Now, that’s not what he said, but that is what many heard.

Also, Rick P was on Hannity’s radio show and explained his postition on illegals and what exactly it is that Texas does. Then very next hour Rick S was on spewing the same drivel of instate tuition, but when Sean backed him in the corner about educating these illegals, Rick S said ” Yes, I would educate them, I just wouldn’t give them instate tuition”. Yet, Sean NEVER corrected Santorum on his misleading statements about Rick Perry. Hannity and Fox are in the tank for Romney. Hopefully Newt will take care of Romney and he won’t get about 5% coming up……. Yes, anyone but Obama, but I feel that Romney would be a disaster! If we don’t get this right, then too have maginalized ourselves, as the democrats have done with Obama.

.. and Reagan signed the big-deficit budgets of Tip O’Neill, big government spending.

So I guess Reagan was a non-conservative too … or maybe Santorum is the next Reagan.

Santorum supports the Balanced budget amendment, wants to get govt spending to under 18% (lower than under Reagan). The blather about “statist Republican” … Santorum was in the top 10 most conservative senators in the senate, had ACU ratings in the mid 80s, and the most conservative northeast Senator.

And on this … “I don’t have much enthusiam for Romney, but he has a much better chance of defeating Obama than does Santorum.” … I disagree. Santorum has run and won in tough districts, and proved in Iowa he can do a lot with a little. Romney will be tagged a “1%er” by obama and cant go after Obama hammer-and-tong like Newt or Santorum will.

Santorum would run a better campaign and would get more enthusiasm than would Romney. Santorum can also appeal to the working class folks in ways that Romney simply cant and wont. That makes him at least as electable as Romney.

You fail to understand the significance of the Specter endorsement, so I won’t waste anymore time on it other than to say that Specter was one of the primary instigators who caused Robert Bork to be defeated. And it was Specter who was the 60th vote in support of ObamaCare.

Santorum might be a nice guy and and a great family man. But he isn’t the right guy to lead this country…nor can is he the right guy to defeat Obama.

I would say however that the problems facing us at the moment are not issues on which Santorum has focused

Reforming entitlements
Cutting spending

I understand that Santorum was from a blue state, and may have been restrained by that fact—but lets be honest with ourselves—-Santorum probably hasn’t spent more than 5 minutes thinking about Medicare reform before deciding to run for President this year.

So, yes he like Romney says “I support the Ryan plan” [but don't expect me to ever discuss it in detail and put my political capital at risk].

We need to get the debt under control, and that requires entitlement reform.

On that issue, Santorum is not better than Romney.

Well said romans. I have always valued this site in its fight for conservative principles but it is becoming almost unbearable to read anymore… and very predictable. It’s Santorum’s turn to bear the wrath because he is the anti-Romney and NOT Perry. It is clear more every day that this site has one goal and that is to tear down every leading candidate not named Perry until we are stuck with a nominee who can’t remember three items.

The simple fact is that Santorum would be an improvement over Obama of EPIC proportions and coupled with a Conservative congress could easily undo much of the damage done in the last 4 years.

or Jindhal. Heck, I find Rick Perry preferable. Preferable to Obama and to Romney.

But at this point we have to be honest. Iowa dealt us a hand, and that hand means that one of Newt, Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney will be our nominee.

Huntsman was from the get-go a vanity candidate with 0% chance.

I am sympathetic to those liking Rick Perry for example, I like him and thought he’d make a good nominee, but IMHO we need to wake up and smell the coffee. He’s toast. I dont think he’ll be able to move the needle in SC.

I am sorry you are repeating Democrat talking points by blaming Bush for “the huge debt our nation now faces”… is because of DEMOCRATS in Congress, we had the last $5 TRILLION created AFTER Santorum left office, after 2006.

In the 1990s, Santorum was a part of the Gingrich-led Congress that balanced the budget. And in 2002 to 2006 the budget deficit went to $250 billion – high but nothing like the level under Obama, Reid and Pelosi.

His National Taxpayer rating is 76%. Santorum is NOT a ‘big government conservative’ but an across-the-board mainstream conservative with a solidly conservative voting record, albeit marred with the support for earmarks that every Republican of that era, including mr anti-government Ron Paul, accepted. Here are his ratings:

American Conservative Union — 88%
National Right to Life Committee — 100%
Americans for Tax Reform — 95%
National Tax Limitation Committee — 92%
U.S. Chamber of Commerce — 88%
League of Private Property Voters — 94%

Now remember, this is Santorum’s House ratings, in a DEMOCRAT district. How many Republicans in Democrat areas vote this conservative? Kirk? Snowe? LOL… That’s conviction!

Claims that Santorum is a big-government conservative are simply contrary to his full record and his conservative agenda as a candidate for President, where he wants to repeal Obamacare, cap spending at 18% and follow the Ryan roadmap and pass the BBA:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/santorum-is-no-big-government-conservative/2012/01/04/gIQA5Q1zaP_blog.html

“While in Iowa, Texas Gov. Rick Perry tried to begin a line of attack on Rick Santorum claiming that the former Pennsylvania senator is a big-government conservative. That attack seems poorly thought through (shocking, I know from such a meticulous campaign) for several reasons.

First, Santorum is to the right of Perry in some important ways. Santorum opposed the Troubled Assets Relief Program; Perry wrote a letter on the day of the Senate vote urging Congress to pass legislation to avert a meltdown. Santorum, as we saw in the debates, is likewise to the right of Perry (and Newt Gingrich, for that matter) on immigration.

Indeed, Santorum’s supposed deviations from conservative orthodoxy are similar those of his rivals. He voted for earmarks and highway funds. Gov. Perry took the money. Santorum voted for Medicare Part D; Gingrich lobbied for it, and Perry said in a debate that he wouldn’t repeal it.”

“And finally, Santorum has put together an aggressive spending reduction plan. He’s for the balanced-budget amendment. He’s embraced Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan. He’s in favor of Social Security reform, against energy subsidies, for privatizing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and in favor of repealing Obamacare. The guy is no liberal when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Is he to the right of Gingrich? Yes. To the left of Ron Paul? Yes. But so are most GOP voters.”

—-

Bottom-line: Of Newt, Santorum, and Romney .. Santorum is the one who is MOST fiscally conservative.
Remember, Newt supported Medicare Part D, supported at one time healthcare mandates, and supported all the Bush programs you object to in Santorum’s voting record.

Both Newt and Santorum are conservative. Just not perfect.

The ‘moderate’ label on Huntsman is not lazy, but just a shorthand that he has far more non-conservative positions to account for than other candidates, and praised Obama and worked for Obama. Huntsman is loved by the media BECAUSE he is more moderate and not a conservative stick-in-the-mud. So Mr 1% never got vetted.

n/t

“But his record also contains several very weak spots, including his active support of wasteful spending earmarks, his penchant for trade protectionism, and his willingness to support large government expansions like the Medicare prescription drug bill and the 2005 Highway Bill.

As president, Santorum would most likely lead the country in a pro-growth direction, but his record contains more than a few weak spots that make us question if he would resist political expediency when it comes to economic issues.”

But he is relatively speaking worse on spending.

Opposing spending as a private citizen is meaningless. The time to oppose spending is when you are one of 100 votes that matter, and when you are actually working is the legislative process.

I give Santorum on A on fighting taxes.

What spending did Santorum every oppose? His approach was very much like W’s—-give on spending issues so that you can get the other issues that matter more to you.

1. Perry did sign the bill and approve it, but it’s not a Perry bill. He didn’t single handedly write and sign it. People speak of the bill as if Perry operated in a vacuum. The fact is only 4 legislators voted against the bill. Perry was part of more than a super majority. And Texas, which has been lauded and ridiculed for being the most conservative state, elected Perry twice more after he signed it.

So please, don’t tell me it’s a Perry bill or something he desired or wanted. What Perry wants is to shut the border down so these problems dry up.

2. Subsidize is not reimbursement. Saying Texas is “paying tuition” is incorrect. The bill did not establish a scholarship for children of illegal immigrants.

Bill Clinton said about the instate tuition, and paraphrasing here,
“What woild you rather have them do, sell drugs on a street corner?”

So since Texas can’t deport them, re federal law, just what do you do with
them who have graduated from a Texas High School, (which by the way the feds make the state educate, K-12), can’t deport them, (feds again) have been in the state three years through no fault of thier own, (can’t ya just see those kids kicking and screamig “No dad, it’s against the law to cross the border illegaly”)
and have saved or earned the money to pay thier own way.
Yes, they have to pay thier own way.
And on a side note, those students make up only 1% of collage students.
Just what do YOU do with them.

And remember the Gardasil thing, when he was opposed to the will of the legaslature and people, and backed down.
The same ones who support this particular program.

Tell me, what does Freeedoms Truth do.

Oh yeah, sell drugs on a street corner, right?

from link you provided:

You need to read the letter,” top Perry political strategist Dave Carney told The Daily Caller. “He praised her efforts in trying to tackle the issue and urged her not to overlook rural Americans. The letter was at the onset of her efforts before she proposed anything. No one could have imagined the horrible monstrosity she cooked up, in fact not to be outdone until ObamaCare years later.”

“As Agriculture Commissioner he was concerned that rural Americans would be overlooked and their options even more limited,” Carney continued. “Working with the administration regardless of party, working with members of the other party, as long as you don’t violate your principles, is important to getting things done.”

nt.

That letter is simply a solicitation to Hillary to remember classes of people Perry represented when her committee discusses way to reform health care. It is NOT an endorsement of what came out of the committee.

Because others have. It’s the one they use most,
from:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62335.html

the letter:

“I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation’s health care system are most commendable.”
“I would like to request that the task force give particular consideration to the needs of the nation’s farmers, ranchers, and agriculture workers, and other members of rural communities,” Perry continued, noting his administration’s focus on economic development for rural Texans. “Rural populations have a high proportion of uninsured people, rising health care costs, and often experience lack of services.”
“Again, your efforts are worthy,” Perry concluded, ”and I hope you will remember this constituency as the task force progresses.”

The response after finding out what Hillarycare entails:

Asked by TheDC about the 1993 letter, Perry’s presidential campaign defended it, saying the full scope of Clinton’s healthcare plan was not yet known when Perry signed it.
“You need to read the letter,” top Perry political strategist Dave Carney told The Daily Caller. “He praised her efforts in trying to tackle the issue and urged her not to overlook rural Americans. The letter was at the onset of her efforts before she proposed anything. No one could have imagined the horrible monstrosity she cooked up, in fact not to be outdone until ObamaCare years later.”

“As Agriculture Commissioner he was concerned that rural Americans would be overlooked and their options even more limited,” Carney continued. “Working with the administration regardless of party, working with members of the other party, as long as you don’t violate your principles, is important to getting things done.”
_________________________________________________
note this part of the response:
The letter was at the onset of her efforts before she proposed anything. No one could have imagined the horrible monstrosity she cooked up, in fact not to be outdone until ObamaCare years later.”

You obviously didn’t read the whole article either, or you would have seen the last part of my excerpt was in the DC article also.
But when dissing Perry, facts don’t matter.

And the other things you brought up have already been refuted many times since Perry announced.
Your dislike of Perry is personal, not logical.

You start…

Romney does not hold an exclusive license of beating Obama. I think even Ron Paul can beat Obama.

Have you seen Obama’s record? Not saying this is a slam dunk, but there is plenty to work with.

The top four candidates in NH, SC and national polls are:
Gingrich, Paul, Santorum, Romney.

“The question is which one has the best chance of beating Romney.”

That IS the question.

IMHO, with Gingrich in 3rd place now in SC and with him going ballistic on Romney, which may hurt Romney but doesnt help his image as the elder statesman type, and with Santorum now in 2nd in NH and SC in polls, the ‘anti-Romney’ candidate – like it or not – is Santorum. If you think the answer is Rick Perry, you must have slept through the news out of Iowa this week. He’s in single digits.

and a poor one at that.
All he does is run around trying to convince everyone here that perry is the worst thing since cancer.
He ain’t to good at it.

Living a decade in California makes me afraid of ever telling a government bureaucrat that I’m a Republican.

n//t

I have no problem giving non violent offenders the right to EARN back their vote. Violent offenders wouldn’t be a problem because in my system they would have been harvested for their organs anyway.

Why put a person in prison for more than 5 years? If they need to be jailed for longer than that, part them out to help deserving people needing transplants.

“Tbone, reforming the prison system one kidney at a time.”

n/encroachment

Are you interested in saving the country or saving the dyfunctional progressive movements of the Republicans