Rick Perry doesn’t quit

**Posted by Phineas

Well, this shocked the heck out of me (1):

And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State…Here we come South Carolina!!!

After a miserable fifth-place finish and an announcement of a return to Texas to “reassess” the campaign, I thought sure Governor Perry was done. (And, like ST, I was depressed.) A candidate doesn’t “reassess” only to say “Yep, we’re in it to win it!”

Unless said candidate is Rick Perry, I guess.

Still, throwing one’s campaign into neutral and deflating supporters’ hopes is an odd way to build momentum.

But then, Texas has always been a bit different.

Regardless, I’ve thought and continue to think Rick Perry would far-and-away make the best president from among the current field. Anyone can find individual issues on which they vehemently disagree with a candidate, and I won’t argue with single-issue voters.

But, for me, there are two goals that override any single issue: the first is sending Barack Obama, the worst president since James Buchanan, into retirement. Governor Perry isn’t a good debater (but neither is Obama), but he has the experience and the track record on the key issues of the day –jobs, the economy, and energy– to make Obama stand out as the Socialist failure he is. Mitt Romney can’t credibly attack ObamaCare; Rick Perry can go after it with an ax and give it forty whacks.

The second is putting in office a president who can take the experiences gained in accumulating such a record, combine it with a governing philosophy of limited government, federalism, and free markets to help create similar success in the nation as a whole. While almost all the candidates have one or more elements in their platforms I can approve of, it’s my opinion that Governor Perry combines it all in a package that makes him a potentially great president.

So, while this development surprises me (to say the least), if he really is still in the race, then I’m with him till the end.

Bring on South Carolina.

PS: RickPerry.org

Footnote:
(1) And so did the accompanying photo…

UPDATE: The Austin Statesman confirms.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

14 Responses to "Rick Perry doesn’t quit"

Lorica says:

January 4, 2012 at 1:20 pm

This is actually good news, and shows me that Mr. Perry does have the testicular fortitude to move ahead into the future. I am not unhappy about this news in anyway and hope that Mr Perry does well in the future. – Lorica
Carlos says:

January 4, 2012 at 4:35 pm

The biggest argument I have with Perry (but certainly not the only one) is his catering to the La Raza crowd. That, to me, disqualifies him as a serious conservative candidate.

I have a real hard time understanding how, on the one hand, a candidate can promise to create an economic situation that creates jobs, then turn right around and say those jobs are for everybody, criminals included.

That just doesn’t compute to a fat old country-lovin’ guy like me. I want a leader that looks out for the law-abiding citizen first, and that includes prosecuting both the criminals who trespass and the criminals that hire them. If that means he loses their bribes (i.e., big-time campaign donations), so be it.
Chris in NC says:

January 4, 2012 at 5:49 pm

Have to side with Carlos on that one. Immigration is where I jumped off team Rick for team undecided. If Perry is the nominee, he gets my vote over Obama.

I don’t know what will change for Perry. He’s not getting any traction and the evangelics in Iowa went to Santorum for the most part. I don’t see that changing.

Phineas: Buchanan is worse then Carter? and if Obama is the worst since that means Buchanan is worse than Obama? I need to review Buchanan.
Phineas says:

January 4, 2012 at 6:05 pm

Chris:

Buchanan did nothing to prevent the dissolution of the Union and basically dropped the whole problem in Lincoln’s lap. He also sent arms shipments to Federal forces in the South, knowing they would be diverted to secessionist state militias. (And as Polk’s Secretary of State, he was insubordinate, self-serving, and scheming. Basically a lousy man.) He gets the mark as “the worst” from most historians, and in this case I have to agree.

But Obama is certainly trying…
SDN says:

January 4, 2012 at 6:43 pm

Except, of course, Rick Perry hasn’t done anything of the sort, Carlos. And you either know that (in which case you’re a liar like ORomney) or you’re stupid (like Ron Paul).
bill glass says:

January 4, 2012 at 7:05 pm

Perry’s got something, that’s for sure. If he zigs when everyone is looking for a zag, then he’s bound to get the attention he’s gonna need.
The Dana who still supports Rick Perry says:

January 4, 2012 at 8:27 pm

South Carolina is the first state in which the primary is restricted to Republicans; both Iowa and New Hampshire allow independents and even Democrats to participate in the caucuses/primaries. CNN showed a graphic which said that the attendees at the Hawkeye cauci were 74% Republicans, 24% independents and 2% Democrats; guess where Ron Paul got his support. It was SC where George Bush finally got ahead of John McCain in 2000.

In SC, he’ll be contending with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for the anti-Romney vote . . . and he has more money than they do. Still, to put it in NFL terms, to make the playoffs, he needs to win out and get some help. He has to perform better than he has previously.

By the way, if you’re a blogger who supports Governor Perry, he’s looking for you.
Carlos says:

January 5, 2012 at 12:26 am

I take umbrage at the remarks, SDN. It is well-documented where Perry stands on the issues of immigration.

The most important employment/unemployment statistic from 2011 is that there are at least 20 million citizens unemployed/severely underemployed in our country today, and by amazing coincidence the most common figure tossed around as being accurate for the number of criminal aliens in this country is (wait for it…..) 20 million, probably higher.

And I haven’t seen anything from Perry showing that he’d go after the criminal employers using criminal aliens as slave labor, either. From the tone of your comment you make it sound like I support the Mittster, but I would vote for him only ahead of Paul or the ‘bamster.

But think what you wish, lard-brain. I admit I’m just an old country boy. What’s your excuse?
SpideyTerry says:

January 5, 2012 at 2:41 am

I disagree about Perry’s debating skills to an extent. He’s bad when facing people on his own side. When he gets to rip into an opposing candidate, he’s more impressive – whereas Obama comes across as a whiny lightweight. (Speaking of which, any odds on whether Obama storms out of a debate if the GOP nominee challenges him with a difficult question?)

As for his finishing fifth in Iowa, big deal. In 2008, GOP Iowa voters picked Huckabee (and he promptly sputtered out – only hanging in to sock it to Romney). Meanwhile, Dem Iowa voters picked Obama and yeah he went on to win, but look at what a mess that turned out to be. So despite their “first” status, Iowa is no better at picking candidates than any other state. Perry’s South Carolina defense might go as badly as Rudy’s Florida gambit, but I’m content to wait and see how it all pans out.
Phineas says:

January 5, 2012 at 8:57 am

“The Dana…”,

Thanks for the link. I’ve added a badge to my site.
Why Rick Perry didn’t drop out: 4 theories « worldviewtonight says:

January 5, 2012 at 2:34 pm

[…] from party strategists to Perry aides figured that meant he was going to drop out. But Perry “shocked” the political world on Wednesday, tweeting that he was moving on to South Carolina’s […]
Konnie says:

January 5, 2012 at 4:06 pm

Yes, I would wholeheartedly support Rick Perry! Remember, everyone said that Ronald Reagan couldn’t be elected either. People don’t want Romney, Newt is smart but flighty, Rick S….I dunno, but Rick Perry is a guy who I can believe what he says, and is a FISCAL CONSERVATIVE. Plus, he loves America as much as Obama hates it. I don’t think he would let us down. He really needs some good airtime. Where are the ads?
Xrlq says:

January 5, 2012 at 7:46 pm

Perry’s done. He’s a horrible candidate who hasn’t a chance of winning either the primary or the general if he did. Staying in merely delays the inevitable (but may help Romney so I’ll take it).
Chris in NC says:

January 6, 2012 at 8:11 pm

Thanks for the info Phineas! As for Perry, I will gladly support him if he’s the nominee. He’s just not my first choice. He can win the nomination, but it will now depend on Santorum.

Comments are closed.