1836
12-04-2011, 03:27 AM
Rick Perry has clearly failed in this presidential campaign. He has also failed, in many ways, as a Texas Governor.
I was a big supporter of Debra Medina, have supported an independent candidate against Perry in a general before, and have done some other things to try and undermine the governor. He's been a failure in many respects.
And yet even a harsh critic like myself has to admit that Perry's not bad on everything. He led on the budget somewhat well. He works closely with the Texas Public Policy Foundation which, while imperfect, does a pretty decent job of promoting a relatively conservative agenda for the state. Some of his appointments to boards and commissions have actually been pretty decent. He has been an advocate for federalism (even if he isn't sure what that actually is).
I'm not trying to put Perry on a pedestal. He is often not a good governor. He'd be a terrible president. But...
I think we and the campaign should consider reaching out to the Perry camp for his support. Why?
- He has some credibility with certain elements of the tea party
- He has big credibility with the "federalism" crowd, earned or not
MOST IMPORTANTLY
- He has a huge network of influential donors and supporters
This may be impossible. However, I think it would be within reach. Perry's campaign has been flailing and will flame out before, or shortly after, the Iowa caucus deals him a big loss. If Ron Paul's campaign, and we his supporters, started reaching out to the Perry campaign, I would say we would fare a small chance of getting his support (or at least, not criticized by him after he drops out). He has clearly been friendly to Ron during this campaign. There's no animosity there.
He would be able to deliver to us a pretty decent number of donors. He would be able to get us some serious lists. And some of his advisers, if they were to come on board, would be potentially helpful.
Please keep in mind that I am not, nor ever would be supportive of Perry in any way. I'm simply talking politics. He could be useful to us. I don't think he's that bad of a guy, and nominally, he's with us on some things. If we are going to be the nominee, we are going to have to be willing to bring people on board who might otherwise make us uncomfortable.
"Will you support Ron Paul in the event your campaign is unsuccessful? He's closest to your stated federalist ideals, governor."
It never hurts to ask.
I was a big supporter of Debra Medina, have supported an independent candidate against Perry in a general before, and have done some other things to try and undermine the governor. He's been a failure in many respects.
And yet even a harsh critic like myself has to admit that Perry's not bad on everything. He led on the budget somewhat well. He works closely with the Texas Public Policy Foundation which, while imperfect, does a pretty decent job of promoting a relatively conservative agenda for the state. Some of his appointments to boards and commissions have actually been pretty decent. He has been an advocate for federalism (even if he isn't sure what that actually is).
I'm not trying to put Perry on a pedestal. He is often not a good governor. He'd be a terrible president. But...
I think we and the campaign should consider reaching out to the Perry camp for his support. Why?
- He has some credibility with certain elements of the tea party
- He has big credibility with the "federalism" crowd, earned or not
MOST IMPORTANTLY
- He has a huge network of influential donors and supporters
This may be impossible. However, I think it would be within reach. Perry's campaign has been flailing and will flame out before, or shortly after, the Iowa caucus deals him a big loss. If Ron Paul's campaign, and we his supporters, started reaching out to the Perry campaign, I would say we would fare a small chance of getting his support (or at least, not criticized by him after he drops out). He has clearly been friendly to Ron during this campaign. There's no animosity there.
He would be able to deliver to us a pretty decent number of donors. He would be able to get us some serious lists. And some of his advisers, if they were to come on board, would be potentially helpful.
Please keep in mind that I am not, nor ever would be supportive of Perry in any way. I'm simply talking politics. He could be useful to us. I don't think he's that bad of a guy, and nominally, he's with us on some things. If we are going to be the nominee, we are going to have to be willing to bring people on board who might otherwise make us uncomfortable.
"Will you support Ron Paul in the event your campaign is unsuccessful? He's closest to your stated federalist ideals, governor."
It never hurts to ask.