Rick Perry to Kick Off Campaign Saturday

By Doug Powers  •  August 12, 2011 09:21 PM

**Written by Doug Powers

It’s no secret that Texas Governor Rick Perry intends to run for president, but now it looks like Perry will kick off his 2012 campaign tomorrow in South Carolina. He’ll then travel to New Hampshire followed by a few days in Iowa, at least according to the Associated Press:

Months behind other GOP candidates, Rick Perry has something most of them don’t: Buzz. The Texas governor will enter the race Saturday with splashy appearances in South Carolina and New Hampshire.

At the same time, he is putting together what looks a lot like a traditional presidential campaign. The path he hopes will lead to the Republican nomination starts here, in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa, with a message of jobs and values as he tries to set himself apart from GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.
[...]
“We cannot and must not endure four more years of rising unemployment, rising taxes, rising debt and rising energy dependence on nations that intend us harm,” Perry is to say Saturday in Charleston, S.C., according to remarks prepared for delivery.

Notice I didn’t say Perry will formally announce his candidacy, because I don’t quite know what’s going on with the formals and informals. Though Perry will by most accounts enter the race this weekend, a “formal” announcement could be coming next week in Houston — or maybe not:

Politico, the New York Times and the Statesman of Austin, Texas reported that Perry would make his plans to seek the nomination known on Saturday, though they suggested he would likely stop short of a formal announcement. Statesman reporter Jason Embry Tweeted late Monday, “I’m hearing from several GOP sources there will be a formal announcement of Perry’s campaign next Wednesday in Houston.” A Perry advisor, however, told CBS News: “We won’t be making much news in Houston next week.”

To-may-toe, to-mah-toe. Bottom line: Perry’s running, and the dynamic of the GOP race will immediately change a great deal:

With Texas Gov. Rick Perry widely expected to announce his plans for a presidential bid this weekend, he’s still sitting pretty near the top of the GOP pack, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll released today.

The poll finds 15% of Republicans and right-leaning independents picked Perry as their top choice for the nomination — just two points behind frontrunner Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor’s slim lead is within the survey’s two-point margin of error.

Perry was in an almost identical polling position just last month, when he trailed Romney 14% to 16% in another CNN/ORC survey.

By the way, for Perry, the phrase “laser-like focus” takes on a whole new meaning.

If you’re not very familiar with Rick Perry, here’s a terrific speech he delivered at CPAC earlier this year:


*****

Check back in tomorrow and we’ll catch up on the Perry announcement, Iowa straw poll results and more.

Update: Here’s a good reason for conservatives to like Perry: You’ll never see him on a love seat next to Nancy Pelosi in a global warming PSA. Sure, he was Gore’s Texas campaign manager in ’88 (which will be a sticking point for Perry), but I don’t think Gore was nearly as nuts then.

Update II: Text of Perry’s speech Saturday is here.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

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Posted in: 2012 Campaign

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Comments


  1. #101
    On August 13th, 2011 at 5:09 pm, Hiraghm said:

    On August 13th, 2011 at 4:59 pm, Hiraghm said:

    In WWII, would have he have had outreach to Japanese programs, and instituted National Socialism curriculums?

    FIFM

  2. #102
    On August 13th, 2011 at 8:07 pm, txvet2 said:

    On August 13th, 2011 at 4:14 pm, purplepeep said:

    I’ll take your word for it. I haven’t bothered to go back and look it up.

  3. #103
    On August 13th, 2011 at 8:11 pm, txvet2 said:

    On August 13th, 2011 at 4:56 pm, Hiraghm said:

    If Perry is so good on jobs, why does Texas have a higher unemployment rate than Oklahoma?

    The usual reason given is that the population is growing faster than the job production.

  4. #104
    On August 13th, 2011 at 8:16 pm, txvet2 said:

    On August 13th, 2011 at 5:08 pm, Hiraghm said:

    I can’t tell you how much I hate this computer. I just typed out a response, hit the return, and the whole thing disappeared.

    As far as I know, there’s never been a court ruling at any level to support your point of view, but you’re welcome to your opinion, and for that matter to try to get a court to support it.

  5. #105
    On August 14th, 2011 at 12:36 am, SignPainterGuy said:

    For anyone interested, http://peskytruth.wordpress.com/ has some fairly extensive info on Perry. I`m in the middle of it, so far, no mention of the Dream Act.

    Still not a fan, but I want to know more about him since he does have a lot of positives.

  6. #106
    On August 14th, 2011 at 9:05 am, Dave Turson said:

    Sure, he was Gore’s Texas campaign manager in ’88 (which will be a sticking point for Perry), but I don’t think Gore was nearly as nuts then.

    Perry has a story to tell about his support for Al Gore.
    Winston Churchill’s conservatism was sometimes in the center. He went from conservative to liberal to conservative — it’s all about timing and whether one’s party is moving too far left or too far right.

    “Anyone can rat [change parties], but it takes a certain ingenuity to re-rat.” — Churchill in 1925.

  7. #107
    On August 14th, 2011 at 10:02 am, thejim said:

    On August 13th, 2011 at 1:18 pm, GladzKravtz said:
    No amnesty for me but:
    For the life of me, I honestly cannot visualize how we are to get the illegals already here out of this country (after a wall is built/finished).

    Three Presidents have already ejected millions of illegals, the last serious one being President Eisenhower. He successfully evicted millions of illegals after WWII in order to guarantee jobs for returning vets, all prior to the availability of computers. It can be done, but the clowns that we seem to elect really don’t want to do it.

  8. #108
    On August 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am, Roland said:

    Ye Gods. I’d never seen Perry speaking before. He’s an articulate, better looking version of GWB. The extreme similarity of their speaking mannerisms is hilarious.

    The Left is really, really going to hate this guy.

    I just hope he’s more serious than GWB was about limiting the power of the national government.

  9. #109
    On August 14th, 2011 at 12:12 pm, Blackstone said:

    On August 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am, Roland said:

    Ye Gods. I’d never seen Perry speaking before. He’s an articulate, better looking version of GWB. The extreme similarity of their speaking mannerisms is hilarious.

    The Left is really, really going to hate this guy.

    And they’ll do everything they possibly can to link the two of them together in the public mind.

    (then again, that might cause him to benefit a little from the “Miss Me Yet?” effect, so who knows)

  10. #110
    On August 15th, 2011 at 12:18 am, sport02 said:

    Rick Perry has one thing going for him. His nemesis Molly Ivins died in 2007.

  11. #111
    On August 15th, 2011 at 2:06 pm, fighterDC said:

    Conservatives should judge Perry on his actions, not his speeches…Remember, that’s how we got Obama.

    Perry’s support of the DREAM act in Texas is very concerning, and frankly, so is the fact that he worked for Gore. While people should be allowed to change, we should be very familiar with the markings of a political opportunist. Such markings include changing parties based on the shifting political winds and supporting legislation that caters specifically to a special interest (particularly one carved of ethnicity). He has two of those marks, so in my mind, all the public prayers, anti-Obama rhetoric and anti-federal government rhetoric should be considered just that, rhetoric…empty words.

    All I’m saying is that he needs to support his claims with concrete action or he should not receive a minute of consideration. Writers write speeches, Politicians just read them.

  12. #112
    On August 16th, 2011 at 9:14 pm, Virginia Patriot said:

    Perry has a soft spot for the Religion of Pieces as well, haven’t we been down this road before?

  13. #113
    On August 16th, 2011 at 9:33 pm, Virginia Patriot said:

    http://www.rightsidenews.com/2011081614297/editorial/rsn-pick-of-the-day/rick-perry-and-islam.html

    Islam is incompatible with Western Civilization. Notions like equality for women and free speech will get one killed by the Religion of Pieces.

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