Rick Perry Fading

Tuesday night was another GOP debate in a seemingly endless line of debates.  It seems they have been having debates every week since January.  Once again, the frontrunners, Herman Cain or Mitt Romney, were at center stage, facing withering attacks from third-tier candidates such as Rick Santorum and, alas, Michelle Bachmann.  One former frontrunner, Rick Perry, was also be at the debate.  He must be a glutton for punishment.  He has made himself look foolish, ill-prepared and nonchalant about the whole thing.  True enough, Rick Perry has around $17 million in his war chest.   But, what good is all that money if his poll numbers remain in single digits? 

I've stated before on this blog that Rick Perry's decline can be linked from the time he started supporting illegal aliens.  His Texas Dream Act was unknown by most people (and probably by those people who have contributed money to his campaign).  I don't know how he can make a comeback now.  He can't change what he is and what he is, is a RINO.  He claims to be a fiscal and social conservative.  He is anything but either of the two.  He is George W. Bush Part II in my opinion.  We simply don't need another RINO in the White House.  Barack Obama is a known evil.  We know where he stands on the issues.  But, another character flaw in Perry is that he is not absolutely concrete on where he stands on some issues.  Sure, we know he is all for helping children of illegal aliens.  He made that clear to us with his "heartless" comment.  Again, that was a moment that helped to define the Perry campaign.  It was an ill-advised comment that has continued to haunt him.

I'm not on the Herman Cain bandwagon.  I'm certainly not on the Mitt Romeny bandwagon.  I would vote for either of those two if they were the Republican nominee.  However, if Rick Perry somehow makes a miraculous comeback to win the Republican nomination, I would have to look elsewhere to cast my vote.  I find Perry to be all fluff and no substance.  Furthermore, if he can't stand up to the attacks from Republicans in a debate, how well would he handle attacks from Democrats in Congress  as President?  I don't think we will have to find out.  Perry is done.

Orlando GOP Debate

 
Thursday night Fox News held the latest GOP debate among Republican Presidential candidates.  I had some lasting impressions that I came away with after watching this debate.  The first and foremost impression I had was Rick Perry mortally wounding himself in defending illegal aliens in Texas.  When Perry stated "You don't have a heart" if you don't want to help children of illegal aliens in this country, he was roundly booed by the crowd.  That is a rather simple indictment on Rick Perry's immigration policy (or lack thereof).  Perry also stated, "We need to be educating these children, because they will become a drag on our society."  Here's a news flash for you, Governor Perry;  Illegals are already a drag on our society.  The notion they take jobs Americans won't do is no longer accepted.  They take up slots in public schools which in turn creates classroom crowding.  They do take social services such as Social Security and Medicare.  If you don't believe it, let me know.  I'll be glad to explain it in more detail.

Michelle Bachmann, I'm sorry to say, is probably finished.  Her poor performance was only made worse when she tried to explain away her remarks  on vaccinations.  She seemed exasperated at times.  Herman Cain made good points, especailly how Obamacare would have killed him when he stated, "Getting treatment on my timetable, not the government’s timetable, saved my life."  Herman Cain is a good man and someone I would feel no hesitation to support if he could possibly win the nomination.  Unfortunately, presidential nominating processes are all about personality and not substance.  Witness the clueless wonder we have as president right now.  His greatest appeal (and still is) is his personality.  Rick Santorum  did well, especially when he was nailing Perry on instate tuition for children of illegal aliens.  He had a good night.  But, again, he just doesn't have the personality that people are searching for in this era of political horse and pony shows.  Ron Paul did well and I personally felt was the winner of the debate.  The problem is that Paul doesn't get many questions in the debates.  He seems a flake and a bit weird at times.  But, overall, he has some good points, especially about supporting the Tenth Amendment.  I was not aware previously he was a states rights supporter.  Romney performed well at times.  But, he spent most of the night on just two issues, social security and illegal immigration.  I might just have to hold my nose and vote for him some day.

Overall, there was nothing earth shattering that came out of the debate.  I do think Perry continued his recent downward trend.  Did he hurt himself enough to lose the Florida primary?  Last reports were that he held a nine-point lead over Romney.  If Romney cuts that in half, after this debate, it spells serious problems for Governor Perry.