| FLORIDA: Fundraising and Flopping
On Wednesday, Perry attended two fundraisers in Florida.
Before the primary debate on Thursday, Perry spoke to some evangelical Christians about the importance of religion in government.
Then, he flopped in the debate.
Perry Loses Debate
- Caught Lying About HPV. Perry told a bold-faced lie while defending his HPV executive order, claiming to have been inspired by a cancer patient to push the vaccine mandata. It turns out that Perry didn't meet the patient until after the Legislature blocked his executive order.
- Fumbles Foreign Policy. When asked what he would do about a nuclear-armed Pakistan, Perry mumbled about building relationships in the region and criticized the U.S. for not selling more weapons to India. What?
- Immigration Insult. While defending his lenient-for-a-Republican record on immigration, Perry accused immigration hard-liners, many of whom are in the GOP, of being heartless. Whether you agree with Perry or not, this was tactless in a GOP primary.
- Awkward Attacks on Romney. While going after Romney, Perry seemed unprepared and awkward. He fumbled several punch lines with George W. Bush-level linguistic failure. Smirk included.
The reaction to Perry's debate performance has been overwhelmingly negative among conservatives. "The conservative commentariat spoke with near-unanimity Friday on Rick Perry's debate performance: The Texas governor didn't just lose, he bombed," Politico explained in an article titled "Web Verdict on Perry: Brutal".
Politico wrote this in an article titled "Texas Toast? Rick Perry Worries GOP": "The first line of Rick Perry's campaign obituary may have been drafted Thursday night...[A]fter a roaring August start, Perry's second consecutive lackluster debate performance will reinforce the growing view among some Republicans that he's not ready for the big leagues."
RedState editor Erick Erickson deemed Perry a "train wreck."
The American Spectator's Ross Kaminsky wrote: "People from Texas often say that, while they don't dislike Perry, he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. With every debate, that criticism has been validated, with Thursday night the most egregious example of Perry's intellect simply not being at the level of others on the stage. It's no coincidence that Perry's poll numbers have fallen after each prior debate, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Mitt Romney recover the lead in various GOP polls over the next several days following Perry's disastrous performance." |
| Today, Florida voters will consider Perry in the Presidency Five straw poll. Early this morning, he gave a speech to straw poll attendees worried about his debate performance in which he confided that he was "tired." This was probably not the best choice of words, especially since Perry also called the straw poll "very important."
As Perry tires of promoting his awful candidacy, his campaign is starting to nosedive. This is no longer a matter of debate. Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is now confirmed to be reconsidering whether to enter the presidential field.
Welcome back to earth, Governor Good Hair. |
