During the last Tea Party debate, sponsored by CNN and Tea Party Express was, as our friend Melissa Clouthier stated, a “bloodbath”. She went on, “Everyone got dinged tonight. It was a bloodbath against each other rather than against Obama. Newt is the only one who brings the conversation around to Obama.”
Of most interest to us at ConservativeINSIDER is the dynamic that Rick Perry’s entry into the race has had on the other candidates, notably Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. To our eyes, Perry with his immediate entry as a frontrunner has driven a wedge between the two, pushing Romney to the left and Ron Paul even further towards the fringe. Neither have substantially changed their message or positions, (at least this week, in Romney’s case), but the arrival of Perry has certainly sucked up a lot of support that both candidates were counting on in their path to the nomination.
The early arguments between Romney and Perry centered largely around Perry’s job record in Texas. As in the previous debate, Perry emerged from this encounter on top, and Romney, clearly intent on getting something to stick, ended up looking somewhat shrill and childish.
Romney’s appeal to the soft right of the GOP is under attack. Perry has captured the majority of Mitt’s supporters in the Tea Party wing of the GOP, and we expect him to start making a push for the more moderate voters.
On the right, Perry has moved in on Ron Paul. Paul’s constituency has always been a rather odd one, with his left-wing anti-war supporters and the far right libertarians. His appeal to the grassroots GOP had grown since 2008 as the party moved right on fiscal issues. Perry’s entry has largely taken these supporters from Paul, and left him again on the fringe. Cowboy's Comment: I see Perry as taking support from all Candidates: Business/Economy/Jobs oriented voters from Romney; Tea Party advocates from Bachmann (and Paul); and voters looking for a bonafide leader from Rick Santorium. It remains to be seen if Perry can hold on. He does have a lot of baggage,...different issues that pisses both Conservatives and Liberals off.
It remains to be seen, of course, whether Perry will withstand the pressure he faces going forward. Nonetheless, he is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the Tea Party sentiments in the GOP. With his conservative bona fides and his record in Texas, this primary election seems almost tailor made for him.
