White House hopeful Rick Perry has at least some supporters in the Democratic stronghold of Chicago — President Barack Obama’s Re-Election team. The Texas governor, a social and fiscal conservative, is seen by Obama’s top election campaigners and fundraisers as easier to beat than the more moderate Mitt Romney in the presidential election.
“I was praying Perry would get in the race,” said a former White House aide closely linked to Obama’s campaign.
While Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago will not talk on the record about possible election rivals, fundraisers, senior activists and influential Chicagoans close to the president say Perry’s more polarizing views make him a bigger target for the Democrat in a general election…
Michele Bachmann, a senior Tea Party figure, is the Republican contender the Obama campaigners would most like to take on in 2012, although she seems unlikely to win the nomination, according to several sources close to the Obama campaign.
Spin, spin and spin some more.
Every new candidate and we get to hear how pleased they are that they get to face him/her.
And the MSM just loves to help push this spin, with the help of anonymous “former” aides, that a conservative can’t win the White House. Last I looked 41% of Americans identified themselves as conservative:
Americans’ political ideology at the midyear point of 2011 looks similar to 2009 and 2010, with 41% self-identifying as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.
Last I looked Obama’s numbers were in the dumpster and falling fast:
A new low of 26% of Americans approve of President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, down 11 percentage points since Gallup last measured it in mid-May and well below his previous low of 35% in November 2010.
Obama earns similarly low approval for his handling of the federal budget deficit (24%) and creating jobs (29%).
…Obama earns scant support on the issues among Republicans, and does not do much better among independents. In contrast to Democrats’ majority approval of Obama on all seven issues tested, fewer than half of independents approve of the president’s handling of any of these.
…President Obama’s approval rating has dwindled in recent weeks to the point that it is barely hugging the 40% line. Three months earlier, it approached or exceeded 50%.
So the spin isn’t helping you President Obama. A conservative can most certainly be elected, and if your numbers continue their downward trend as the economy worsens a conservative WILL be elected.
See author page
Poll numbers like those posted are indicative of an even larger underlying problem for Obama.
It’s “The Energizer Factor”, or what level of motivation – to actually turn out and vote – Obama’s supporters will feel.
It is obvious from the last election that McCain supporters were not nearly as motivated to vote as Obama’s supporters were.
I seriously doubt Obama will enjoy such rabid and blind support this time around.
It’s why I posted on another thread that I believe “the clincher” could be who the Republican nominee chooses as his/her running-mate.
It’s also why I would advise Obama to ditch “Chuckles” Biden ASAP. “Joking Joe” is a liability, not an asset to the Obama ticket.
I just keep getting a visual of Marco Rubio totally destroying Biden in a Veep debate on National TV.
It goes something like THIS, and “Horse Head” Kerry was destroyed:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/marco-rubio-takes-on-hypocrisy-of-debt-rhetoric-and-john-kerry/
(And notice: No Teleprompter)
Curt wrote:
It is far worse than I ever thought, this msm bias.
Take a look at this story about the CBS NEWS online store.
Yes, they were openly selling Obama merchandise through CBS NEWS.
And they STILL ARE!
Scan down to UPDATE II for how to see it for yourself.
So Obama’s Peeps WANT to face Perry.
Got it.
I just wish they could face Perry right now! You know, as in a “Special Election Call” by the great one himself.
Obama: “I proclaim, by Executive Order, that the polls will open this Tuesday, as a vote of confidence for my Administration and its policies.”
I’ll bet my ’09 XR-1200 Sportster that Perry would whip Obama scarcely days after announcing his candidacy.
This is so funny it just has you welling up in tears.
Obama, meet your economy. Here we have huge lines of blacks trying to get jobs, meanwhile you are handing out amnesty to illegals, they just want a job. Where is your brain at hind end of an ass?
Just giving illegals the jobs Americans used to have … brain dead … Obammunism.
I wonder why the Soviets fell on their face?
Here are some other facts:
1. In the recently concluded Wisconsin recall elections, fought mostly in GOP districts, the Dems got the majority of votes. All the Dems fought off the recall. 2 of 6 Republicans lost and the margins in the GOP retentions were considerably closer than in the prior elections. This speaks to the issues of relative Dem vs GOP “enthusiasm” and on the popularity of a stridently conservative (as opposed to moderately conservative) agenda in a purple state.
2. In Ohio, where the GOP Governor and legislature rammed through a Wisconsin-style public union emasculation law, the issue will be going to the ballot; polling is currently 2 to 1 in favor of repealing the law; the GOP governor just offered to re-write the law as a bipartisan compromise (something he refused to do at the time the law was passed and signed — an offer which would have, at the time, been accepted). The Dems in the legislature turned him down, preferring to let it go to the electorate.
This is important, because Ohio is THE swing state. No GOP presidential candidate has EVER won the Presidency without winning Ohio.
Rick Perry is going to play very poorly in Ohio. Ohio is a state which strongly supports moderate conservatives. It doesn’t support stridently dogmatic, anti-union conservatives.
3. Despite Obama’s crushingly negative numbers and all the dissatisfaction (much of it richly deserved) he still holds the lead in head to head polling against individual GOP opponents.
I think that the White House has got it right. Obama would lose to Romney; but he’d win against Perry. And part of the reason would be the “energy” factor. I’m not sure that the average Dem would be all that energized to get out of the vote to defeat Mitt Romney. I think that the energy factor to defeat the likes of a Rick Perry would go through the roof. Every Rick Perry speech or interview is a ready made get out the vote commercial for Democrats. You can’t say the same thing for Mr. Bland, green-eyeshade-style Republican Mitt Romney.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
I would imagine that the story of the union-thug(s) shooting an unarmed business owner at home is going to change some minds in Ohio, Larry.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/08/17/non-union-business-owner-shot-in-michigan/
Do you think that this story will play well with those people on the fence about supporting unions?
Larry seems to want to ignore the facts. After two years of promises, and none kept, the troops Obama had going into the 2008 election are not there. What were the chances that Obama would have been confronted by an Iowa farmer in 2008 like he recently was? If you are a black/Hispanic who is out of a job since Obama took office, they may not vote for the Republican, they will just sit the election out. If you are a recent college grad who can’t find a job, like recent law grads in California, you are not going to vote for the guy who left you unemployed with massive student loan debt.
Larry points out Wisconsin, where Republicans still held the majority, inspite of the massive millions the unions spent there on recall elections. Wisconsin is also in play, having voted for Obama in 2008, but now predicted to to flip red in the 2012 elections. He also mentions Ohio, who has voted Republican in 6 of the last 10 elections, but who has also lost 2 electoral votes since 2008.
Just counting the high electoral vote blue states, they have lost 9 electoral votes while the red states have gained 6. Florida is going to the the state, once again, that will determine this coming election with its 29 electoral votes. If Florida goes red this election, along with Texas’ increase in electoral votes, they will literally cancel out California and off-set New York.
Now, Larry, with his Ebay purchased crystal ball, says Perry can’t take the election. But Florida is still basically a southern state, with a high rate of Jews who have retired there. If Obama continues to threaten Israel with his anti-Israel policies, Jews may come out of their stupor and pull that “R” lever.
This coming election is going to be all about Joe Biden’s three letter word; JOBS.
Hi Retire05:
That’s precisely my point. Obama’s nose dive in the polls during August has coincided with a flip in the generic congressional ballot from red to blue and a congressional approval rating of 14%. Obama still leads in the head to head match ups, despite all of his problems (many self-inflicted).
The Wisconsin and Ohio situation is a canary in the swing state coal mine. What electoral math gives the GOP a victory without Wisconsin and Ohio? Kerry would have beat Bush in 2004 by taking Ohio, despite losing Florida.
Now, there’s no way the 2008 “troops” would come out in the same number to re-elect Obama, but I am not nearly as certain that they wouldn’t come out in those numbers to defeat Perry.
Why do you suppose that Karl Rove is so anti-Perry, anti-Bachmann? He’s one of the great political strategists of our time. Rove’s opinion would seem to support the so-called “White House spin.”
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Hi John (#6): I would hope that voters wouldn’t base decisions on the basis of anecdotal misbehavior by miscreants such as this. In any event, we’ll find out soon enough.
By the way, I’ve stated many times that, like FDR, I’m opposed to public employee unions, although I generally support private sector unions.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
“Obama’s nose dive in the polls during August had coincided with a flip in the congressional generic ballot from red to blue”
What the hell are you smoking? RCP has the generic congressional vote (today) at Democrat 44.7% Republican 45.% from the August 14th high for Democrats at 45.3/44. How is that a flip from red to blue?
If the Republicans take Wisconsin, it basically cancels out Ohio, who, has voted 6 out of 10 times for the Republican candidate. That still puts Florida into play for the electoral votes.
Voters don’t come out to vote against someone, Larry. They come out to vote FOR their candidate. The come out to vote FOR their candidate because they are pumped up about them and it is an excitement that takes them to the polls. The apathy factor is going to hurt Obama, no matter who he runs against.
Now, as to head-to-head contests: the dust hasn’t settled with a Republican nominee yet. People are still making their choice, but continue to discount Rick Perry. That is what we are hoping you statists will do. We are counting on it.
As to Karl Rove: he is an outlier who hitched his star to the Bush family when Pappa Bush was running. Rove also campaigned against Perry’s last opponent for the governor’s office, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Rove and Perry are opposite ends of the spectrum. Rove is the genius behind “compassionate” conservative, i.e. spend all the money you can get your hands on if you are in the government. Now, considering that a major portion of the nation still has a dislike for George Bush, do you really think that a Bush hachet man is going to hurt Perry by slamming Perry? The more Rove shows the absolute difference between the Bush dynasty and Rick Perry, the better for Perry.
Hi Retire05: Thanks for the comments/opinions. With regard to what I was smoking in my “generic congressional ballot question” I was specifically referring to this, which did, indeed show a flip from Red to Blue at the conclusion of the debt ceiling debate.
Now, you’ve got other polling data – that’s fine.
Now, I’m sure that you probably don’t like Nate Silver, but he’s been uncannily accurate, since arriving on the scene (far more accurate than Rasmussen), and here’s what he wrote:
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/g-o-p-house-majority-at-risk/
My question was, where is the electoral math which gives the GOP a win if they lose both Wisconsin and Ohio (where, despite the totally rotten things happening to the economy, the GOP seems to be suffering more today than are the Dems)?
Were Romney to get the GOP nod, I’d seriously consider voting for him. As late as January, 2008, I was internet commenting that he was my choice for the Presidency. I personally think that he’d win, going away, against Obama, but I personally believe that Perry would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
P.S. You say that voters don’t turn out to vote AGAINST someone — but didn’t conservatives assert that the 2010 congressional result was a vote AGAINST Obama?
P.P.S.S. Interesting/useful electoral map –>
http://freedomslighthouse.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2012electoralmap123110large.jpg
http://freedomslighthouse.net/tag/2012-electoral-vote-map/
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Obam does not want to take on Perry, that’s a big fakeout by his handlers-whoever they pick is always the one the most fear!
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: You said:
I would say it says more about how the unions tried but failed even while bussing in the votes. What they thought would be a landslide all around turned out to be the people of Wisconsin saying enough is enough.
Besides, you miss the point Larry. The GOP candidate doesn’t need to concentrate on how many Dem voters he inspires. The GOP candidate needs to worry about how many Republican voters he/she inspires. When you begin to obsess over the other side, you lose. It is all about two things – 1. energizing your base to vote FOR you and 2. wooing the independents.
Reagan did that masterfully. Not only did he energize his base, but he created a whole new voting demographic. Remember the Reagan Democrats?
@Nostradamus: Thanks for providing that link. Rubio wiped the floor with the ketchup king!
LOL
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
I definitely recall a number of conservatives on FA alone talking about “holding their noses” to pull the lever for McCain not because they support him but because they were energized against the “socialist/marxist/Muslim/wright-church sitting/ayers-friendly/alinskyite/radical far left” Democratic candidate.
@Larry
You are clearly confused by your own rhetoric Larry. Karl Rove is an establishment Republican and it is his anti-Tea Party political stance that makes him anti-Perry and anti-Bachmann. Rove’s motivation is to block conservative Republicans from taking control of the Republican party back from the progressives and establishment Republicans. The “White House spin” has absolutely zip-0-nada to do with Karl Rove’s anti-Tea Party media mechanisms.
I think they all have the qualIfications to be in the race for the PRESIDENCY,
and PERRY is the one needed for this special next election,
which will demand extra energy to get to the end alone to confront the opposition,
after having gone through the race between each other,
the last one will still need to have the full battery charged to win the masses votes,
so they better spread that energy fuel ,and not burn it on small unimportant things coming their way, or small sharp knifes coming from the MEDIA WITH LIES AND ALL THEY CAN MUSTARD IN A POISONOUS SENTENCE FOR ALL PUBLIC TO HEAR INCLUDING THE ONE WHO DRINK THEIR POISON BEFORE.
they will have to become the SUPER PRESIDENT THAT DONALD TRUMP IS TELLING THAT IS NEEDED,
EMBODY HIM BEFORE THEY GET AT THE LAST PODIUM, SO THEY WILL BE ARMED WITH THE WISDOM AND POISE AND AFFIRMATIVE ANSWERS THAT THE POSITION WILL REQUIRE OF HIM OR HER TO HAVE ACCESS TO
THE MOST IMPORTANT GIFT GIVEN BY THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
TO THE LAST ONE TO STAND
till then, WE at FLOPPING ACES, WILL BE INVADED BY A COLONY OF LIBS TRYING TO SNEAK THEIR CONCRETE BLOCKS ON US, EACH ONE WITH THEIR FAMILIAR WAY OF DISRUPTING THE COMMENTS ON ANY POSTS, NO MATTER HOW COOL OR VICIOUS THEY ARE, IT WILL BE THE SAME ATTACK,
AND YOU MUST HAVE NOTICE IT LATELY,
LIKE AJ Hill mentionned to Wordsmith in his last comment,
he has been to many BLOG AND DISRUPT MANY OF THOSE WITH HIS HITLER TYPE, so he is a pro at it,
we will have to reduce him to dust.
I bet Obama’s approval rates go up after September–but will you report that too (for the sake of objectivity). Incidentally, recent statistics indicate that the percentage breakdowns of conservative, moderates, and liberals are always similar to the ones you quote–but some how, regardless of personal biases, Obama, a supposed liberal at the time, still got elected. So those statistics, by themselves, don’t prove anything.
Rick Perry is still an extreme right-wing theocrat, and I don’t think the majority of the voting electorate are going have anything to do with electing him.
@Liberal1 (objectivity): You said:
Why do you say that?
As for Perry being a “Theocrat,” that just shows how out of touch you are, lib-ob1.
@anticsrocks,
“Extremist, Right-Wing, Theocratic, Mean, Swaggering, Tea-Bagger, Racist from Texas” is how the Dems, and Establishment Reps are being ordered to portray Perry. That’s the ‘talking points’ I’m hearing, from nearly every direction. Had to ask one of my friends which laws Perry has passed mandating a theocracy in Texas.
The answer was along the lines of “Buh-buh-buh-but… he-he-he had that prayer meeting thing.”
Obama quotes a verse here and there.
I bet one set of them he knows is called “The Lord’s Prayer.”
When you pray, ”Our Father, who art in Heaven, Thy Kingdom Come…..”
You are praying for a theocratic government over all mankind.
I guess that makes Obama a ”theocrat,” too.
@ThunderGod: Gotcha Thunder. Thanks. As I have said, for me, the jury is still out on Perry. But that being said, it is terrible how the establishment Republicans think that for whatever reason, they get to choose who the nominee is.
That is why they, along with the Dems fear the Tea Party – takes too much power away from them.
@Liberal1
There is no “Supposed” about it, Obama was without a doubt one of the most liberal of Senators. However, both the MSM and his campaign sold Obama to an unaware public as a “moderate” Democrat who “wanted to bring the parties together”, and that his administration would be “the most open and transparent” in history. However throughout the election the MSM ran interference for his campaign, refusing to vet Obama, (all the while focusing their microscopes on only vetting Sarah Palin) and going so far as to call any who tried to bring up Obama’s past “racists”. In other words, they lied outrageously, demonized all critical examination of the Democratic Nominee, and sadly as a result fooled independent voter into give Obama the benefit of the doubt. The duplicity of the MSM has resulted in their losing a considerable amount of viewers to FOX News who at least “tried” to report on some of the controversy of Obama’s past. I fully believe that most of the polls are only reflective of public apprehension of being considered “racist” by pollsters, and that very many people who were fooled by the MSM, Democrats and the Obama campaign, realize that they were “had” and they will either not vote, or will quietly vote Republican to re-establish balance. I also don’t think the “race card” and “white guilt” will work this time around.