Thank you for your service as well! We are not at Benning alas, although my son did his OSUT training there before being stationed in Ft Hood.. We are at Ft.Stewart and our daughter is at Ft Gordon near Augusta so we have the state covered,Lol1 No bandwagon fans here( we still root for the cowboys-hey it’s a rebuilding year- and our beloved Longhorns and Mavericks, you gotta have stamina for that. There are literally no positions that Perry has that we are unaware of so we have already made up our minds-family included. I also have to laugh at the naivete of the WAPO-”hunting camps?” nobody calls them that here, which tells me their “sources” are not from Texas,surprise surprise. No wonder they are also unaware of the use of the “racist” term that is applied to large outcropping of rocks for the old settlers! In Colorado there is a range of mountains called “Sangre de Cristo” which literally means ” Blood of Christ” funny how there is no outrage about that to the manscaped,waxed,highlighted hair,pantywaists at the Washington Post. Not sure I want “men” like that anywhere near me or my kids. I agree with your assessment and here’s hoping that is the exact tact they will take.

I agree with both the feedback review and the comment Russ!

Dittos on this:

“Maybe I’m just desensitized to all the race stuff, so neither Perry nor Cain gained or lost with the Racist Rock incident?”

Liberals will use this against Perry down the road, but then the NAACP attacked the decent and honorable GWB over some racist killings, as if he did it.

This whole story is nothing story and Cain’s reaction is a nothing story. Meanwhile people died due to an out-of-control administration intent on showing we are arming Mexican cartels, jobs are scarce and the president is in fullbore demagogue mode.

We have bigger fish to fry.

In the northeast? Really? You mean like Olympia Snowe, Lincoln Chaffee, John Kerry? There are a few conservatives in the northeast, no doubt. But not enough to elect an actual conservative to anything since John Adams.

In your own words here

I lived in the South all my life.

I’ve listened to Rush since the 90′s off and on and pretty much everyday since 2003. I’m a military brat and also a military wife of an active duty soldier of 22 years. I’ve lived basically everywhere they’ve managed to fit in a military base I guess you could say, both OCONUS and here at home. I was actually born in northern ,Ca but a brat never really has a home per se but lived the most years in TX after my dad retired. However, wherever I have lived , i have found people to be basically the same, it is only in the metro areas that you have the elitist, so called sophisticates. I’ve seen basically the same ideals in most places-family,God, and Country. From Nevada,Utah,Colorado,all the way over to Fla,Ga,SC AND NC, up to Neb,VA,N DAK,S DAK,WYOMING and down to Texas,LA,MISS and ALA- we all feel the same. Keep your mitts(pun intended) off of my wallet, your opinions out of my bedroom, my church, what car I drive, out of my doctor’s office, the air I breathe and don’t you dare lay a hand on my guns. I will say what I want and if people do not like it they can choose not to listen or associate with me, I will eat whatever I as an adult would like to eat and accept the consequences of my action, you will not tell me how to raise my child, force them into failing schools and fill their head with your biased crap as long as I’m alive to put a stop to it, and if I want to say Merry Christmas to the bank teller or clerk at Wal mart then no one will tell me that is not acceptable anymore, I will continue to do it and say God Bless You as well. don’t like it,walk away. Don’t you dare wasted my hard earned tax dollars on souless crap like providing free abortions at gov clinics and handouts to your political supporters masked as charitable causes, if people need charity, i will donate it myself out of my own pocket directly to the people who need it,not thru a DC middleman. These are the most common CONSERVATIVE ideals and they certainly do not pertain to a Mitt Romney as he fails nearly every one. They do pertain to a Rick Perry for the most part and that is precisely why he has earned my vote, not through pandering but through action.

Perry being inarticulate worries many of us who might otherwise give him the benefit of the doubt. It implies he’s not fast on his feet nor very thoughtful. I certainly prefer him to Romney. But every one of the top four (Romney, Perry, Cain, Gingrich) have flip-flopped and/or hold some non-conservative positions. Other than the totally unconservative Romney, I prefer an articulate salesman to an inarticulate one.

He never flip flopped to suit the base; he just made national security his issue. This time the economy is supposed to trump social issues. But it never does. In the end, we are voting for candidates and their character. That’s why Romney was third after McCain and Huckabee

got filthy rich, as did his investors, at Bain Capital while thousands of workers lost their jobs. Romneycare basis for Obamacare, is a jobskiller for MA and has drained the state treasury.

He is not a right to life candidate as his position has wavered over the years, and for me his unethical quest as Governor to pull the plug of life support on an 11 yr old girl that had been beaten into a coma is unconscionable. She revived amid his litigation, lives in a rehabilitation center. Had then Governor Romney had his way she would have dehydrated to death!

Romney is not a candidate for all people, as he has effectively chased away the Latino vote, a significant voting bloc this next election, with his pummeling of Perry over Texas instate tuition policy. He rants to America his ability to govern a border when in fact he has absolutely zero experience. Talks about illegal “magnets” giving tuition to kids on a path of higher education and citizenry simultaneously, while he employed undocumented Guatemalans in his past to manicure his rich expansive lawn. Scary to think of a President Romney representing the fastest growing ethnic group in America.

I’m on Team Perry. If for some reason my candidate, my Governor does not succeed in the nomination process I will be looking into third party candidates. Never had a situation where I refused to vote for a President. Romney is just that bad, no wonder he has trouble polling over 25%. In retrospect, I look at Governor Perry’s meteoric rise in a nano second as a superficial bubble that would have been of greater service to his ardent supporters had his introduction to the national stage projected on a more even keeled ascent.

Another problem rank and file Republicans have with Romney is his elitism. Rick Perry or Herman Cain can relate to average, everyday people in a way Romney never can because of his upbringing. Romney was born into privilege, his dad a Governor. He grew up without ever having to rub shoulders with real people; went to Ivy League schools, then went into corporate finance and the rarified air of New York/Wall Street with all the bankers and business moguls.

This shows in lots of ways. Putting your dog on top of your car for a 12 hour drive? Most people think that’s strange, and maybe even a little cruel. Telling voters in Iowa that you understand them because “I’m unemployed too right now…” shows a total lack of a common touch. Doing deals on Wall Street, “restructurings” (i.e. where real people lose their jobs) doesn’t endear you to regular people. Just look at the ads Ted Kennedy ran against Mitt in 1994. The left will eviscerate Mitt for his elitism if we are stupid enough to nominate him.

Romney may have moderated his global warming positions, but the bottom line is still that he has been badly mistaken in accepting this pseudo-scientific fraud, and Rick Perry has been exceptionally astute and brave in calling the global warming scam what it is.

It really is thought provoking to me that the Texas hick got it right and the Harvard trained lawyer and MBA couldn’t figure it out. I’m an Ivy League grad myself, but the truth is whatever it is.

While I agree those expectations are in the toilet, but the bar for Perry has been moved from “not horrible” to at least a Santorum or old Bachmann performance if not slightly higher. That is doable, but will be a challenge.

“Maybe that’s the brand of ‘love thy neighbor’ they teach in the Mormon church.”

Please don’t put a cheap shot like that in a post supporting Rick Perry. The rest of your post makes you sound reasonably intelligent. This statement, not so much.

Mitt Romney alone is personally responsible for the dirty-politics messages of his past failed campaigns. I hope the same fate befalls his present one.

Could you please point me to one of Romney’s “hateful personal attacks” and explain why it is a hateful personal attack rather than about policy positions?

Perry took a big hit for using the heartless comment and he may never regain because of it.

On the other hand Cain has openly said he would not support Perry if he were the nominee (so I guess he wants Obama instead) and Cain supported Romney in 2008 and appears to be doing so now,

Somebody explain to me how Cain could be the Anti-Romney candidate.

I believe I stated that our group was aghast at the heartless comment. Most people hadn’t even watched the debate because it had already become apparent to most what the media’s intentions were. One of our group leaders is smarter than the media and immediately followed up controversial statements from the debate with interviews done right after. Hence our group members were able to see Perry(the next morning I think,I could be wrong without checking) explain in his OWN words and also apologize for the comment. So, NO, he didn’t get a free pass, I guess you had to have been there. However Cain(whom I also support) said he could not support Perry if he were the nominee-it was right there on the presentation, not “today” but if he were the nominee. people gave him a pass for that one. There will be no pass given-nor is it deserved for the rock controversy. Cain knows better and he went off of incomplete facts and assisted in smearing a fellow conservative as “racially insensitive.” Like Bachmann before, he did it for his own political gain and it was a BAD,BAD decision. He needs to come out right now with a heartfelt apology to Perry and turn his ire on the media(including the disgrace Wallace) for using him in the way they are. I don’t know how insensitive a man can be to not know the attitude of this country and how low on patience we are getting with the race card being played. Especially the tea party members who were just recently accused of it again. Cain was stupid to have gone along with the flow and that is a major ,critical flaw. He needs to get back immediately to being positive and campaigning against Obama and not participating in the media and Romney’s attempt at bringing down Perry or he will have no chance at all.

There is a reason it’s called Luntz and Luntz’s dunces.

interesting to watch but a dial,lol how arcane. Unfortunately, are there really any polling outfits left who don’t have some skin in the game? Not in my opinion. I laugh because polls are more often then not way off then way on. According to the polls ,Perry should have had a huge falling off in fund raising after that last debate , but instead his numbers and contributions actually rose. So are people willing to send their hard earned dollars to back a losing horse-I don’t think so. We’ll have to wait and see, but having myself been intentionally misquoted once by the Washington Post so they could prove a political point on Bush(in a story they later had to retract), I don’t put much faith in the media(ANY of it-FOX is especially suspect now) and use a bs filter on articles and blogs I read as well. Polls? interesting, but only a mere snapshot that might or might not show a trend,might or might not be slanted, and might or might not have any relevancy at all-so I’ll just keep on talking to the folks all around me and via the internet to gain my perspective-SOOO no need to rely on PPP or CBS/NYT to tell me what they derive- I’ll do it myself without their “helpful” assistance

It’s one thing to have an inspiring candidate, and another who just shows up. It’s very easy to become complacent because Obama’s going down in flames and he’ll get elected anyway. WE NEED TO STAY ON GUARD AGAINST THIS!

That’s one (ONE!) of the fears I have should Romney gain the nomination.
I know Obama ran a feel good campaign in ’08, but McCain ran a terrible campaign and just did not inspire us to go vote.

One thing that Perry’s slip has shown is the loyalty and passion I have seen from his supporters on this and other sites.

Cain may have that now, but it took Perry falling for Cain to get it, and I think Perry will get it back.

There have been a lot of establishment people on the side.

Figure that Romney is at 25%
Cain / Perry at 17.5% (helps my math)
Ron Paul at 10%

That totals up to 70%

So the rest of the field is 30% with Gingrich slightly above 5% and Bachmann slightly below.

Cain or Perry really need Gingrich / Bachmann out … if they do, I think that one of them will bounce into first and after that I think that person will be the anti-Romney.

Cain needs to get his butt off of his book tour and onto the campaign field especially in IOWA. If he tops IOWA, he kills Perry especially if Romney is second in Iowa.

I gave romney a certain percentage of the undecided and I am also convinced that *all* of those Huntsman supporters who stay involved in the primaries will go to Romney.

but a flop because he probably did not have as much info back in May when he said that he should be charged. An American citizen fighting in a foreign land against America is still considered an enemy according to the courts and perhaps Cain got educated.

“The Factor”.

“The No Spin Zone” is such a misnomer. O’Reilly is an elitist snob if ever there was one; he and Mitt are just like peas and carrots.

Just what did ORieley say.

sorry to say it, but the format of his show changed over the last two years or so, around the time Obama was inaugurated. First off he has the slime Dick Morris on every week, whom I cannot stand and will not watch, and secondly his know it all tone has gotten to be grating. If someone will not come on his show, he holds a PERSONAL grudge and then goes negative. His show- his choice, but you’d be surprised how many tea party members will not tune into his, and lately,Hannity’s show anymore.Hannity especially, who constantly reminds his viewers and listeners that he is a member of the conservative party, continuously brings Mitt on . Cain is fine, but where is the balance Sean? He also pimps out Morris and even worse Rove. No thanks , character matters and Morris,Rove and Mitt have none. my husband said a while back that Mitt has a spine of steel sure,but it’s made up of a bunch of steel hinges that twist to and fro. On top of his hinged steel spine is a steel antennae so he can keep abreast of the current position on a topic and his spine can hinge back and forth in that direction. Sean has him on his show all the time , so he can’t be too good of a judge of character- add in the others mentioned and it amounts(for me) of watching HGTV or Chopped on Food Network rather than turning my dial to FOX.

since its widely reported that Chris Wallace, et al, did a war room meeting prior to the first Fox debate to figure out how to take him down. They stragetically placed Romney and Perry next to each other so they could get facial reactions at the same time on camera and intensify the confrontational atmosphere. Bill Kristol, even Hannity, all have pre-determined Perry isn’t going to be the nominee. Add in bar flies, Coulter, Morris and Malkin and Perry really doesn’t have any friends over there. He needs, instead, to go on with Limbaugh and Levin where he can get a fair shake–plus, the audience is probably bigger anyway.

Sheesh.

has been getting a thorough vetting here on Redstate since before he announced. All the positives and all of the possible negatives have been put under sunlight. No one that I know of was trying to shield him from any issue, and keep what some may perceive as weaknesses away from honest scrutiny. In fact there was a top rated diary here pointing out 18 possible arguments against him which included the Gardasil issue, his immigration positions and a host of other things that some may not support him because of There are still some Perry supporters here, who have looked at his record, and decided there wasn’t enough to throw him under the bus for, myself included.

Now it seems there are some that would love nothing more than to see everyone posting anything positive about Perry banned. I would love to see many of the other istas and bots banned as well, but that just isn’t how it works around these parts. Too each his own, and it’s still a free country, last time I checked anyway.

The man that has held 3 terms as gov in TX, a very red state, is hardly new to the arena. To compare Rick Perry’s experience to Obama’s non-experience is naive at best. The problem with thinking Perry wasn’t vetted is that the media has lined up against him, fueled by Romney and Paul campaigns and you aren’t hearing about his record or accomplishments. He spends his press time dodging swords. You’re right, we do need to vet our candidates. I suggest you do some homework on Rick Perry, starting with the list of bills he signed this past July at the end of the legislative session. By the way, the budget for ’12-’13 he signed into law at the same time is a balanced budget and does not touch Texas’ $6 billion Rainy Day Fund. Like the military? So does Perry so read up on the bills he just signed that gives them alot of support. Does your state require photo ID to vote? If you’re a Texan, Perry just signed a bill requiring it for you. Would an extension of tax exemptions for small business help create jobs in your state? Perry just signed a bill on that also. Are you in favor of property rights and restricting eminent domain? Move to Texas; Perry just signed a bill on that one. Did you favor the Balanced Budget Amendment? So did Perry; that’s why he signed a bill calling on the US Congress to pass it. S&P may not be confident in the US economy, but in ’09, they raised the credit rating in Texas. Vetting? Indeed.

Well I do not disagree that O’Reilly is a bully. But I always try to watch his show and rarely watch Hannity.

Hannity preaches to the choir and is jut too much of a partisan. So that even though I mostly agree with him, it is boring.

O’Reilly, on the other hand, even though he has some populist sentiments and is a bit brusque. Is always informative, and entertaining.

I don’t look for Perry to have any good debate performance’s. It is not his best forum or forte. When you consider that the next debate includes WaPo, do you have any confidence? I’ve read today that it was supposed to be an economic debate solely, but they sent a warning to the candidates that only the first half will be about the economy, the last half will be a free for all. If you thought the Fox debate was a set-up, watch what happens in this debate. I have low expectations, and will be really pleasantly surprised if he does OK. He will win with his honesty and candor in the end.

Why not use the new media to moderate debates? Why not a radio host or an Erick Ericson? Perry will never have a good debate as long as WAPO and their ilk have a say in the questions. That is their intention-to get him on the defensive and urge the others to pounce so they can make headlines and “drive the narrative.” I am pleased to read that they boycotted one already because of how Rubio was treated, they need to boycott this Bloomberg one as well since they decided to change the format. With Perry being supposedly in 3rd place that would mean if we follow the pattern, that the media and others will pounce on Cain and try to rip HIM apart, but you just watch, they will pounce on Perry instead. Why? Because everyone knows Cain is going no where and a lot of this hype being reported in polls and articles is journolist(tm) driven. It is not translating down to fund raising which should be a big red flag, but they’ll run with it regardless and try to destroy him like they did with Palin.