When you start getting state legislators to ask Rick Perry to run you know a Draft Perry movement is well underway. These comments from Ed Morrisey at Hot Air pretty well sum up the debate and the field:
After writing a curmudgeonly rant (or two) about one of the worst debate productions ever seen, I suppose I owe a word or two about how the candidates did. Frankly, none of them turned in an inspiring or inspired performance, although all of them did at least a competent job. I spent two hours looking for a breakout candidate or a charismatic performance that would stand out and frame the rest of the primary race. Instead, perhaps as a result of the silliness and grunting foisted on us by CNN and its moderator John King, none of them stood out much from the others, and none of them did much damage to themselves or each other.After the debate on Monday night, Rick Perry flies to New York for a round of interviews and a speech to the Manhattan GOP the next day and all the press is focusing on Rick Perry. All you have to do is look at Rick Perry's record as Texas Governor to know he would make a formidable candidate when he gets in the race.
The Texas legislature will adjourn on 30 June so can we expect an announcement he is running on the 4th of July? That would be perfect. He is keeping his word that he will not make an announcement while the legislature is in session. The number of speeches he is being asked to make around the Country this summer is increasing. People want to hear Governor Perry speak and they will not go away disappointed.
Reactions to Perry's speech are pretty positive. The Spectator's Alex Massie writes that Perry has the advantage of a simple story and theme: that "Texas is working" and that "what's worked for Texas can work for the rest of America too." And the National Review's Rich Lowry is impressed by Perry, writing:
There are three things a presidential candidate generally needs: 1) presence (does he fill the room?); 2) a narrative (does his biography and/or record add up to something?); 3) a theme (does he have a point in running?). Based on tonight, I’d say Perry could well have all three.
So much for some of us hearing the media spin that another Governor from Texas won't be welcome in the race by a lot of people:
The big question on the mind of many is "When will Rick Perry announce for President?" and with last night's speech, he has done nothing to quell that expectation. Looking forward to his address on Saturday to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Last year's speech was really good -- typical Rick Perry where he gets the people in the audience involved and hits the ball out of the park.
We in New York need to be more like Texas,” said Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive in suburban New York. “I, for one, hope that Gov. Perry puts his name in the ring for president. We need straight talkers.”
The big question on the mind of many is "When will Rick Perry announce for President?" and with last night's speech, he has done nothing to quell that expectation. Looking forward to his address on Saturday to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Last year's speech was really good -- typical Rick Perry where he gets the people in the audience involved and hits the ball out of the park.
Perry stresses record during N.Y. speech
By RICHARD S. DUNHAM/richard.dunham@chron.com
Updated 08:15 a.m., Wednesday, June 15, 2011
NEW YORK — Texas Gov. Rick Perry sounded very much like a presidential hopeful at a New York City Republican fundraising dinner Tuesday, blasting President Barack Obama’s economic policies and boasting of Texas’ economic growth during his decade-long tenure.
“The Democratic Party is now the party of record deficits, historic debt and failed spending measures sold as job creation programs that only ended up expanding government,” Perry told 250 Republican loyalists at the New York County GOP’s annual Lincoln Day dinner.
Appearing at a hotel at Grand Central Station, Perry bragged about presiding over “the strongest economy in this country.”
He cited government statistics indicating that 48 percent of the jobs created in the United States in the past two years have been created in Texas.
“We keep adding jobs while other states lose them left and right,” Perry said. “Those jobs flee other states because of factors like excess taxation, punitive regulation and frivolous litigation.”
Perry congratulated the Texas Legislature for balancing the state budget without raising taxes “to preserve our job-friendly climate and most of the state’s $6 billion in our rainy day fund.
“In Texas, we can’t defer today’s tough decisions for tomorrow’s generation,” Perry said, “and unlike Washington, we don’t have one of those Beijing credit cards to finance deficit spending.”
Perry didn’t mention a potential presidential campaign during his 25-minute speech, but he did ask the audience to support his efforts by texting him their contact information. Still, he was treated like a presidential front-runner by the audience.
New York state Republican chairman Ed Cox, the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon, praised Perry as “a principled leader” and “a champion of fiscal discipline.”
The governor’s top political advisers downplayed the significance of his coast-to-coast speeches this week, which began Sunday in Los Angeles and end Saturday in New Orleans.
This is “just like any other week,” said Perry political consultant David Carney. “He does this quite often.”
“People are really intrigued about what’s going on in Texas,” he said.
Perry was a late replacement at the dinner, taking the spot of billionaire developer and reality TV star Donald Trump, who dropped out after he quit the presidential race.
The Texas governor said it was “pretty cool” to speak “instead of The Donald.”
“He’s known for saying, ‘you’re fired,’” Perry said. “We’re known for saying, ‘You’re hired.’ That’s what we do in Texas.’”
Perry talked a lot about one person he’d like to see fired: Obama. He condemned the president’s “abysmal leadership” and the “endless overreaching” of his administration.
“This administration considers profit to be a dirty word,” he said.
Perry’s rhetoric — and his record as Texas governor — left the New York GOP leaders mighty impressed and a little bit jealous.
We in New York need to be more like Texas,” said Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive in suburban New York. “I, for one, hope that Gov. Perry puts his name in the ring for president. We need straight talkers.”
Perry’s speech came hours after 20 Arkansas legislators wrote an open letter to the Texas governor pleading with him to enter the presidential contest.
And the Alabama Republican Party announced Tuesday that Perry would speak at its summer fundraising gala in the early-presidential-primary state.
Before his speech, Perry gave a round of interviews to national media outlets. Asked by Fox host Neil Cavuto about a possible presidential race, Perry said he was “giving it some serious thought.”
Six weeks ago, this was not on my radar screen,” he said.
Read more: San Antonio Express News
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