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11 Jan 2012 21:24

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Politics: Rick Perry bracing for last stand in South Carolina

  • Iowa’s a fine state. New Hampshire’s… it’s an interesting place. They winnowed the field down. South Carolina picks presidents.
  • Rick Perry • Trying to play to a crowd at a South Carolina restaurant (called Lizards’ Thicket, curiously). Perry has gone all-in on South Carolina — he had a staggeringly poor showing in the Iowa caucuses, placing in fifth, and barely even tried to compete in considerably more moderate New Hampshire. Instead he’s relying on a more religious, socially-conservative GOP base in South Carolina to pull his campaign out of the doldrums. How successfully he can run on social issues while still being likable to a general audience is an open question, though; arguably his most pointed “culture war” ad of the race was received about as poorly as one could conceive. Anything short of a miracle comeback on the 21st, and you can wave the Perry campaign goodbye. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2011 22:28

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Politics: Rick Perry sues Virginia GOP over ballot exclusion

  • SUE ’em if they don’t let you on the ballot! source
  • » That’s Rick Perry’s calculus: A total of five Republicans won’t appear (also including Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman) on the ballot in Virginia’s presidential primary, having failed to collect the 10,000 signatures required by state law, but Rick Perry is the only one to react with a lawsuit (so far). He’s suing the Virginia Republican Party, and the state board of elections, claiming that the state’s signature requirements — in particular, the provision that bans out-of-state circulators from gathering signatures — are unconstitutionally restrictive. Of course, he’s seeking retroactive change in the law, one that would allow him to appear on Virginia’s March 6th ballot after all. We agree with Talking Points Memo that suing one’s own party, even at a statewide level, isn’t normally the best move for a presidential candidate, but then again, what does he have to lose?
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Dec 2011 11:09

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Politics: Gingrich’s campaign manager blasts Virginia over primary exclusion

  • Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot. Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates.
  • Newt Gingrich’s campaign director, Michael Krull • Criticizing Virginia’s primary system, which decided that Gingrich didn’t have enough signatures to show up on the ballot. He joins Rick Perry (who didn’t have enough signatures for the ballot, either), and three GOP candidates who passed on getting signatures altogether: Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman. He has a very strong point here. However … we’re not going to spell this out specifically, but do you see the slight Krull’s slight of Huntsman in his quote? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Dec 2011 19:51

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Politics: Not enough signatures: Rick Perry will remain off Virginia ballot

  • misery A day after frantically attempting to get himself on the primary ballot in Virginia, Perry was told he did not fit the requirements — 10,000 signatures, including 400 from each congressional district. Perry’s camp claimed it submitted 11,900. That sound you hear is Perry beating his head against a table.
  • company Perry wouldn’t be alone amongst those not on the ballot — Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum passed on the opportunity to gather signatures, and Newt Gingrich is still waiting to find out if his passed muster. Ron Paul and Mitt Romney met the requirements. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2011 01:29

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Politics: Unlikely pensioner of the week: Rick Perry is “retired” … kinda

  • $150k the amount in salary Rick Perry has made from being governor in 2011
  • $7,698 the amount perry has made monthly since his pension kicked in
  • $240kthe amount he bumped his income to with the maneuver source
  • » All the benefits of retirement and working! Rick Perry is 61 years old, and for most people, that’s closing in on retirement age. However, Perry is running for president, and could still be the guy to beat (you never know). But with his military and government service, he was able to score his pension now, according to the state’s Employee Retirement System. He has no regrets: “That’s been in place for decades. … I don’t find that to be out of the ordinary,” Perry said. “ERS called me and said, ‘Listen, you’re eligible to access your retirement now with your military time and your time and service, and I think you would be rather foolish to not access what you’ve earned.’” Is the move off-key considering the fact that he’s a noted critic of entitlement programs?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Dec 2011 11:39

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Politics: The composer mimiced in Rick Perry’s anti-gay ad? “An outspoken gay Jew.”

  • If the ad itself isn’t a big enough gaffe… The background music in the ad has ties to noted composer Aaron Copland, an important 20th-century composer whose “Appalachian Spring” inspired the music that gives Perry’s much-disliked campaign ad its swelling style. (To be clear: That is different from being by Copland; the composer of Perry’s music was lifting the style, not copying Copland verbatim.) Copland represents a number of things Perry speaks against in the ad — particularly, he was gay, Jewish and long-suspected of having Communist leanings, to the point where he once had to testify in front of Congress that he wasn’t a Communist. Not the best idea, Rick. But neither was the ad. (thanks marcushere; photo via Library of Congress) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Dec 2011 19:00

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Politics: Guess we’ve gotta remark on this new Rick Perry ad

  • Rick Perry, jockeying for the anti-gay vote: This ad, called “Strong,” has the Texas governor promising to end the Obama administration’s “war on religion” and touting his commitment to Christianity. “Something’s wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military,” Perry says, “but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas, or pray in school.” It’s unclear what policies President Obama has put in place to deny kids the right to openly celebrate Christmas. As of this writing, the video has 675 likes and 26,650 dislikes. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Dec 2011 15:41

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Politics: Rick Perry attacks Obama over support for LGBT human rights

  • Just when you thought Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’s values, AP reports his administration wants to make foreign aid decisions based on gay rights. …This administration’s war on traditional American values must stop.
  • A statement by Rick Perry • Criticizing President Obama over a memorandum he issued today, which stated broad support for advancing LGBT rights and protecting them from violence. It explicitly mentions the efforts of foreign governments to criminalize LGBT persons (the state of affairs in Uganda the last few years being one such galling example), and states that foreign aid will be directed to promote LGBT human rights. Rick Perry (clearly attempting to spark some momentum for his flat-lined bid for the GOP presidential nomination), decided to pounce, saying further: “Investing tax dollars promoting a lifestyle many Americas of faith find so deeply objectionable is wrong. President Obama has again mistaken America’s tolerance for different lifestyles with an endorsement of those lifestyles. I will not make that mistake.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Nov 2011 15:16

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Politics: Rick Perry tries to overcome debate gaffe by flaunting it

  • Making weakness a strength: That would seem to be the strategy Rick Perry is employing to try to weather his absolutely excruciating brain-lock at last night’s presidential debate (if you haven’t watched it yet, you really should). His tact from the moment he got off the stage (with reports from the spin room that he acknowledged he’d “stepped in it,” and a similar Tweet) seems to suggest his damage control plan is light humor at his own expense, to hope “oops” becomes a humanizing moment. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Nov 2011 10:19

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Politics: Rick Perry looking for mea culpa after infamous debate gaffe

  • If anyone’s looking for the slickest politician or the smoothest debater, I readily admit I’m not that person. I’m hoping the American people are the types of individuals who understand that there are mistakes that get made.
  • Texas Gov. Rick Perry • Defending his infamous gaffe, where he awkwardly forgot one of the departments he recommended eliminating, on “Fox & Friends” this morning. Many, including us, called it a campaign-killer. He’s not doing bad as far as the apologies go, though, and that could save him. Can he be a frontrunner again, though? Considering he came in as the Great Texas Hope, that’s the real question. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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