Archive for the ‘Rick Perry’ Category

Before he clocked out early this morning, my AJC colleague Daniel Malloy e-mailed a few spin-room notes from last night’s CNN debate of the GOP presidential candidates in Arizona:

– Rick Santorum was on the defensive much of the night, enduring assaults from a well-prepared Mitt Romney and a biting Ron Paul. While expressing regret for his vote for the federal No Child Left Behind law as a senator from Pennsylvania, Santorum in essence accused Romney and Paul of teaming up to take him down. His long-time media strategist John Brabender elaborated later.

“For all I know Mitt Romney might be considering Ron Paul as his running mate,” he said. “Clearly there is some allegiance or alliance between those two and you saw that certainly in the debates.” Here’s a Paul-on-Santorum clip:

There has been anecdotal evidence of a Paul-Romney alliance, proffered here by the most elite of media, the New York Times, but the same argument could be made about Santorum and Gingrich. The former …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: A Mitt Romney-Ron Paul alliance against Rick Santorum? »

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — ‘Twas another Godfather executive who said that, just when he thought he was out, “they pull me back in.”

Former GOP presidential candidate and pizza mogul Herman Cain can say the same now.

While Republicans here were still chewing over a rather tasty debate among the five remaining candidates for the GOP presidential nomination, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert was attempting to hijack Cain’s name on Saturday’s primary ballot. It’s far too late for Colbert, who is mock-mulling a run for the presidency, to have his name placed before voters – and write-in votes aren’t permitted.

Colbert’s solution: “If this Saturday, Herman Cain were to get a significant number of votes, that would be a sign that voters are hungry, hungry for a Stephen Colbert campaign.”
Here’s the pitch on his Super PAC web site:

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In real life, Herman Cain will wade into the 9th District congressional race in Georgia later this month. The GOP campaign of Martha Zoller on Monday put …

Continue reading A Carolina jolt: Stephen Colbert hijacks the Herman Cain name »

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Myrtle Beach, S.C. AP/David Goldman

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Hours before a critical debate, Republicans held a tent revival. Literally.

While the Secret Service swept the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in preparation for this evening’s five-man conversation, Ralph Reed drew South Carolina voters to a massive, heated tent across the street where they could listen to each candidate perform his own warm-up.

There was no sawdust floor, no sweaty bouts of testifyin’. Just an unchallengeable, standing room-only demonstration that, six years after a calamitous run for lieutenant governor in Georgia, Reed is back in the center of Republican presidential politics.

Prosperity gospel was in vogue. With a few loud – perhaps accidental — bars of “Money, Money, Money,” the revival opened with a video address from Donald Trump, who declared that the world “is laughing at the …

Continue reading Ralph Reed’s presidential tent revival in Myrtle Beach »

Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, gets a hug from his wife Mary Kaye Huntsman, as they stand with their family, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Monday, after he announced he is ending his campaign. AP/Charles Dharapak

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman formally dropped out of the 2012 presidential campaign on Monday, but not before calling on the remaining candidates to cease attacks that have rendered Republican discourse “toxic.”

Xiaci jian, Huntsman. See you next time.

Huntsman endorsed current GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney as a candidate able to unify Republican voters – “despite our differences, and the space between us on some of the issues.”

Huntsman’s withdrawal reduces the field of GOP contenders in tonight’s Fox News/Wall Street Journal debate to five: Romney, the frontrunner; former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

More …

Continue reading Jon Huntsman drops out, warns of ‘toxic’ GOP discourse »

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Less than a week after releasing a poll showing Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in a statistical deadheat in South Carolina, a survey released by Atlanta-based InsiderAdvantage has Romney pulling away. From NewsMax.com:

In the poll of 720 likely registered voters in South Carolina GOP primary, Romney was leading with 32 percent of the vote. Gingrich was second with 21 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 14 percent.

Romney showed the most movement in the poll, while Gingrich remained static. The rest: Ron Paul, 14 percent; Rick Santorum, 13 percent; Jon Huntsman, who will withdraw from the race today, 6 percent; and Rick Perry, 5 percent.

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GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney has let it be known that he won’t be on hand for Jon Huntsman’s withdrawal here in Myrtle Beach. Newt Gingrich insists Huntsman withdrawal will help him. “With Governor Huntsman dropping out, we are one step closer to a bold Reagan conservative winning the GOP …

Continue reading Your Carolina jolt: Mitt Romney pulling away in IA poll »

Because you might be flying out of Hartsfield-Jackson between now and Thanksgiving Day, U.S. Rep. Paul Broun has decided to offer you his comforting opinion on air safety.

The congressman from Athens joined House Transportation Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., at Reagan National on Wednesday, where the pair dropped a report that called the $56 billion spent on airport security since 9/11 to be a waste.

From the Washington Post:

Broun said a terrorist bomb could be put aboard an airliner “very easily” at his home airport in Atlanta. “TSA has not prevented any attacks,” he said. “It’s just been very fortunate that we’ve had no attacks.”

Broun has been a frequent critic of airport security. When last heard from on the topic, the congressman said he had witnessed security agents at an airport – he never said which one – pat down an elderly woman and child, but skip a man “in Arabian dress, who just walked right through.”

Then again, there is that Channel 2 Action News video showing …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Terrorist bomb could be planted ‘very easily’ at Hartsfield-Jackson, says Paul Broun »

Throughout the summer, former state senator John Douglas of Social Circle – he ran for state Public Service Commission in 2010 — may have been Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s most ardent supporter in Georgia. Where two or more Republicans gathered, Douglas was there with bumper stickers and a petition urging Perry into the race.

But no more. Douglas posted the following on the Rockdale County Republican party’s Facebook page:

“After very careful consideration and lengthy discussions with many key supporters, I am leaving the Perry camp, effective immediately. I no longer see a path to victory for him and have had great difficulties dealing with his staff.

“I still like many of his policies and would have no problem voting for him if he is our nominee. Now I am endorsing Newt Gingrich for President and will spend time in the near future explaining that move. Suffice it to say tonight that Newt champions the culture war I believe in fighting and he is a brilliant, very well-spoken man. …

Continue reading Rick Perry loses a Georgia supporter, and Newt Gingrich gains one »

On the day before a South Carolina debate that it will broadcast, CBS News is out with a GOP presidential poll that puts Herman Cain in the top spot, and Newt Gingrich tied with Mitt Romney:

[Sixty-one] percent of Republican primary voters say the sexual harassment accusations against Cain won’t make any difference in their vote, but 30 percent say the charges make them less likely to back him, and that rises to 38 percent among women. Cain has lost support among women since last month – from 28 percent in October to 15 percent now. He has lost ground with conservatives and Tea Party supporters as well.

Some crosstabs can be found here. The news outlet notes that Gingrich is the only candidate whose support has increased over the last month, albeit slowly.

Perhaps most important, Cain’s tea party support has drained significantly — while Gingrich’s support from that quarter has increased. The pair are virtually tied among tea-partyers — though Gingrich now has a slim numeric …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: CBS poll has Herman Cain on top, Newt Gingrich rising »

Texas Gov. Rick Perry capped a full day of damage control last night with an appearance on CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman.” Tell me if it worked:

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.

Continue reading Rick Perry’s Top 10 excuses for his ‘oops’ moment »

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s latest stumble couldn’t have come at a better moment for GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain.

For one news cycle, after more than a week of uncomfortable press, the Stockbridge businessman and former pizza executive wasn’t in the first line of daily political reports. My AJC colleague Daniel Malloy has the first take from the suburbs of Detroit.

The New York Times was among many outlets to focus on why Perry’s brain freeze reinforced fears among Republican insiders about how Perry would fare President Barack Obama in next year’s general election debates:

For any other candidate, the moment may have been quickly forgotten or easily explained. But for Mr. Perry, whose candidacy has been consistently undercut by his debate performances, the gravity of the matter grew obvious as chuckles in the Republican audience turned to gasps. The lapse reinforced negative stereotypes about his candidacy, a point that was made clear after the debate when he made a …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: The ‘oops’ heard ‘round the world »