It is my sincerest wish that Perry beats Romney for the nomination

[scheming daemons]

1) If there's any character that can get the "disaffected left" back into the voting booth, it is Rick Perry.

2) Rick Perry won't win a single state north of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi, with the possible exception of Indiana. Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota will be blue. Romney has a chance in a couple of those.

3) Perry's politics play in Texas, but he's a gaffe machine on the national level. His threatening of Bernanke, his calls in 2009 for Texas secession... these are just the tip of the iceberg.

4) America still has "Bush fatigue". It's why Jeb won't run. The Bush name is toxic with Independents. The Bush persona, mannerisms, style, and philosophies that Perry embodies... well, that may be just as toxic as the name Bush.



I really hope he wins. Romney is slippery enough that he can get a lot of independent vote. He seems non-threatening. Perry has absolutely no chance to win the middle. None. Liberals will be galvanized to vote against Perry... not so much against Romney.


Perry's is an oppo-research specialists wet dream. There will be no shortage of material available to the Obama campaign team.



Some here are afraid of a Perry run... I'm not. I'd be afraid of a Perry presidency..much more than a Romney presidency... but the odds of that are much lower.



Smart Republicans, and there are a handful left, will favor Romney over Perry. But if the GOP was full of smart people, a guy like Perry wouldn't even hold elective office now.



They're going to nominate him... he'll throw them the read meat they love... and the polls will show Obama with comfortable leads that the Hannity's of the world will be unable to understand, so they'll disregard them.


But Perry in 2012 would get shellacked worse than Goldwater in 1964.

[applegrove]

1. Yes. For all those reasons Rick "W." Perry is a better candidate for Obama

to run against.

[MineralMan]

2. I think there's also a much greater chance of Perry making some

sort of election-losing gaffe, too, at some point. Romney's too smart for that, generally. Perry's mouth, though, is a loaded cannon, just waiting to go off.

[Politicalboi]

15. "Corporations are people"

And the fact Romney is Mormon is another plus for us. Perry has a better chance I think than Romney. A lot of us said the same thing about Bush, and look what happened there. Even though Gore won, it was that close, and that's scary. And if they steal another election we are sunk.

[backscatter712]

Be careful. Perry is dangerous. He could get elected.

America's elected batshit crazy presidents before (yes, I know, the most recent one was an asterisk, which means the GOP still was able to make it close enough to steal.)

The thought of President Perry is utterly terrifying. He's both mind-bogglingly stupid and sociopathically evil.

[scheming daemons]

6. A) None of them has been as batshit crazy as Perry, not even Bush... B),.....

...Romney could win several states that Obama won.


The only Obama states that Perry could flip are North Carolina, Virginia, and Indiana. And that isn't enough.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Preferably with his fists.

:patriot:

[DEdem]

4. I'd rather see a Palin/Bachmann ticket.

Double the Bat sh1t, double the fun!

[OHdem10]

5. Be careful of what you wish for. People though Reagan was

a not so smart, tired actor. The Democrats wanted
him to win because they thought they would beat
him easily. We know how that turned out.

[scheming daemons]

8. A) Reagan wasn't even in the same batshit crazy universe as Perry... and B)....

...Carter would've won easily if Ted Kennedy's primary run hadn't weakened him and depleted his campaign war chest.

[elleng]

11. Thanks for the 'primary' reminder, daemons.

[MilesColtrane]

33. Perry holds no core values at all, not even the religious ones he's always swinging around.

He's from the Greedhead side of the GOP. He just plays crazy for the fundamentalist's votes.

This is why Big Money is not afraid to back him to the hilt.

[TBF]

7. I wouldn't underestimate him - all the reasons we make fun of him

are the same reason why he'll play in Peoria. FAUX news will be running 24/7 positive about him. With the economy still in the dumps, and Obama also dumping on unions, tell me how exactly he won't win.

I wouldn't count on some of those northern swing states, particularly Pennsylvania and Ohio.

If I were y'all I'd be hoping for Romney ...

[scheming daemons]

10. I live in Pennsylvania, near the Ohio border. Perry can't win here.

[MilesColtrane]

34. Voters in Western and Central Pennsylvania favor Perry over Obama right now.

(It's basically a tie in Pittsburgh.)

This poll was taken before Perry announced, so you could probably safely factor in a couple of points bounce for a more realistic picture of where he stands against Obama.


http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1327.xml?ReleaseID=1630

[Ship of Fools]

12. Not only faux noise, but MSM in general. It's all about the contrarian game.

[bpj62]

13. Faux Noise

Fox couldn't get McCain/Palin elected in 2008 and they will be hard pressed to do the same for Perry. yes he is a good campaigner but he won't play outside of the South and as previous posters have said he will put his foot in his mouth more then a few times and quite frankly when faced with a tough questions regarding secession or his comments about the fed chairman he will probably threaten the reporter. He his just a thug in cowboys boots.

[Mojambo]

9. You've made a persuasive argument, but I'm not there.

I simply don't trust the American people to see Perry for what he is.

I think people will eat up his bullshit FAR more readily than they would Romney's.

And more importantly, I think the corporate media establishment is far more in love with Perry than Romney.

[bonzotex]

18. you speak truth Mojambo!

Perry is a much scarier prospect than Romney. The media and Repug establishment hate Romney. They will love Perry. The media will love him because he'll be a fun show to put on every night and provide fuel for the punditry to make fun of how "dumb" and "redneck" he is.

The likely republican voters and right leaning squishy middle will actually like that he acts like a dumb ass redneck.

Perry would be a disaster as President. That doesn't mean he can get elected.

[griffi94]

14. i dont think obama can beat romney

but the way things are going ...he may not be able to beat perry by election time.

[bonzotex]

16. In a sane Nation, what you say would be true.

We are not living in a sane Nation.

Perry is a nightmare prospect. Liberals will rally against him, but 30% of the electorate will vote for him no matter what just because he's a repuke. Another 30% will vote based on how they feel that week or on some peripheral issue they think they understand and care about. That 30% could swing to Perry for no rational reason.

Perry is not an easy win for Obama. The press will fawn over him. His inevitable displays of ignorance will be portrayed as genuine and folksy. If he gets the nomination the repukes will close ranks and support him without reservation.

Perry's one consistent political ideology is pandering to the wealthy and Corporate. Perry can raise dump trucks full of money and the right wing PACS will double or triple the spending power of the campaign. He's not intellectually smart, but he is very clever and a very slick politician who has beaten expectations for 20 years.

Do not underestimate this asshole. Don't overestimate the intelligence of the American electorate. Perry will have to be beaten. He won't self destruct.

[scheming daemons]

17. tea party has 19% approval rating... americans are saner than you think

[bonzotex]

20. I hope you are right...,

...but he has appeal way beyond the tea party. The United States is not Texas, but all the "smart" people here said he couldn't be elected State rep, Ag Commissioner, then Lt Gov, then Gov...three freak'n times.

[Lisa0825]

19. Apparently Bush didn't teach you anything. nt

[scheming daemons]

23. Bush taught Americans plenty... which is why Perry has no chance.

[SoCalDem]

21. I never did see Mittens winning.. No matter how much money he spends

they really, really, really just don't like him..

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Be careful what you wish for...

W comes to mind, as well as that B actor in California

[scheming daemons]

24. somebody is going to be the GOP nominee... Perry is the best option

For us... when compared with Romney


Bachmann is actually the best choice for us

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. That was said about those two

And while the USSC had far more to do with W's election than the electorate... yes it was a coup... be careful what you wish for

[scheming daemons]

27. I am very careful what I wish for... i wish for Obama to win

Running against perry instead of romney helps him win.

[kentuck]

25. Romney would be easier to beat than Perry.

Simply because many right-wingers do not trust Romney and his healthcare-reform when he was Governor. It looks too much like Obamacare. Rick Perry would be very difficult for Obama to beat.

[scheming daemons]

28. in a general election, everyone on the right will vote for romney

But more liberals stay home and undoes aren't afraid of him.

Both romney and perry would get all the right wing.... independents would run screaming from Perry.

[kentuck]

30. The Republican Party as a whole is closer to Perry than Romney...

And many more would be enthused about voting for Perry than for Romney, in my opinion. A few years ago, maybe not? But with the Tea Party taking over the Republican Party, it is a very right-wing Party at this time.

[scheming daemons]

31. their hatred of Obama is so great that they will crawl over broken glass to vote for anyone with a R

Kermit the frog would get the republican vote if he had an R next to his name.

This race will be won by the candidate that takes the middle.

Perry has zero chance to do that, romney has a chance there.

Both candidates would get ALL of the anti-Obama vote.

[deaniac21]

29. Unfortunately, we are screwed whoever gets elected. It's just

a difference of degree.

[Ilsa]

32. He didn't get a majority in Texas, either, only 39%, IIRC.

Kinky Friedman pulled some votes from the Democratic candidate.

[Dan]

35. Do not over estimate

the intelligence of the American voter. You may get what wish for, with surprising results.

[scheming daemons]

38. Don't overestimate Rick Perry either

[LeftyMom]

36. A significant fraction of fundamentalists would not vote for Romney.

They regard him, as a Mormon, as deceived at best and at worst an active servant of the devil. They would see voting for him as a sin. They might stay home, vote third party, or skip the presidential election and vote down ballot, but many would not vote for him under any circumstance.

They'd vote for Perry. He speaks their language.

[scheming daemons]

37. They won't vote for Obama, that's for sure. They'd hold their nose and vote for Romney.

Count on it.

[LeftyMom]

40. You're wrong.

As I posted on an unrelated thread, I read fundie lit as something of a hobby. I read their books, follow their blogs, browse their web forums. I pay attention to what they say to each other, not what they say to the general public. I have a pretty good idea of where their thought process is, and no, hardcore fundamentalists would not vote for somebody they perceive as a non-Christian, which would include a Mormon in almost all cases. Essentially none of them would vote for Obama either, but they'd opt to stay home, skip the presidential race and vote downticket, or vote third party (probably Constitution party, a lot of them do anyhow because they have close ties with fundamentalists) rather commit what they would see as an evil by placing a non-Christian (again, their perception) in a position of power and thus defying God and placing the country at risk.

Aside from the religion issue Romney's not sufficiently anti-choice. They'd never, ever vote for him based on that alone, even if he were the right religion and were willing to salt his language liberally with all their favorite code words and catch phrases.

[Douglas Carpenter]

39. I see your point -but I wouldn't want to tempt fate particularly at time when the economy may very

well be doing poorly when the election comes along. During periods of economic downturn and malaise - the unthinkable does sometimes happen. We do not know for sure that the economy will be down and there will be a sense of malaise in October/November 2012. But it is quite possible and one might even say probable. Even that does not by any means guarantee that he would win. - But considering just how dangerous the consequences are of a Perry victory - the chances would be too high and the consequences would be too dear to welcome his nomination with anything but fear and trembling.

Rick Perry belongs to a religious movements that believes that America is commanded by God to push for the destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem so the Temple of Soloman can be rebuilt and a catastrophic world war will be provoked against the Arab and Islamic world - resulting according to their belief systems in the mass conversion of Jews to Christianity and the ushering in of the second coming of Jesus Christ. I really would not want someone with that belief system to be the commander and chief. Risking the possibility of someone who identifies with a movement that thinks like that actually becoming the commander and chief of the greatest military supper power the world has ever know is a too great a risk to bare.

For all that is wrong with Mitt Romney, I doubt that he himself is the least bit insane. He just tries his best to sound that way at times in order to appease the lunatics that dominate the grassroot foot soldiers of today's Republican Party. For all that is wrong with Mitt Romney - I do not believe that he would ever intentionally try to provoke World War III. The risk that Rick Perry might do that is too great to want to take on the risk that he could be in the position to do so.