Rick Perry’s campaign strategy is looking for new ways to continue his campaign by focusing on interaction with voters instead of participating in debates. With disappointing performances in the past few debates, this may be the best alternative to boost his support.

Perry’s communication director, Ray Sullivan, has discussed Perry’s weakness in debating. “It’s not his preferred venue,” Sullivan said. He continued to say, “But we respect the process and intend to participate and are confident that he will have a solid performance.”

Sullivan also said that the debates take away valuable campaign time, especially because candidates only have a meek 30 seconds for a response, which is not as effective as alternative campaign tactics. He said it was important for Perry to concentrate on spending time in the town hall in Iowa with voters since the primaries are only a few months away.

Dana Loesch of the St. Louis Tea Party thought that it would not be wise for Perry to skip the future debates because it is the best opportunity to unleash many of his plans, which the public wants to see. Perry is already playing catch-up because he started late in the debates, making it to the last five out of eight debates.

According to CNN, over 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the debate in Las Vegas sponsored by CNN and YouTube, breaking the record in cable news history. The debates are probably the most important time for the candidates to get their messages out, but it also has brought criticism to some candidates, such as Perry.

These debates have significantly helped and hurt candidates, as seen with Herman Cain, who has risen to the top of the leader board most certainly because of his ease and likeability during the debates. Mitt Romney has also gained a spot in the lead because of his debate techniques and strategies. With Cain on top and Romney not far behind, it’s not too late for Perry to make it back into the top two.

If Perry does not show up at the next debate, it could hurt his image. Ed Rollins, the former campaign manager for Michele Bachmann said, “It makes him look like he’s not ready to be president.”

Perry will be at the next debate held on November 9 at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. It will be sponsored by CNBC, the Michigan Republican Party, and Oakland University. However, it has not be confirmed if Perry will appear at the debates before the primaries in January.

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After two Republican debates, Texas governor Rick Perry is having some difficulty. Other candidates have attacked Perry for his stance on the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Perry issued an executive order in 2007 to mandate HPV vaccination for sixth-grade girls in his state.

He allowed parents to opt-out of the order; however, that hasn’t stopped the other GOP candidates from pouncing on the issue. Other Republican voters and pundits have questioned the governor’s character. Craig Robinson, a former Iowa Republican Party official who is now a full-time political blogger, wrote about the problem on his blog, the Iowa Republican.

“What the debate over Perry’s HPV mandate has really done is brought in to question Perry’s character and convictions,” wrote Robinson on his blog.  ”That is why the HPV issue has gained more traction and attention in recent weeks than Perry’s comments about social security.

Perry may want to put this issue to bed, but by the looks of things, his proposed HPV mandate could haunt him throughout the nominating process.” Perry was defensive during the first two debates but stated his goal was to prevent cancer.

When he first entered the race, Perry stated that he should have provided an opt-in for parents instead of an opt-out. But in both GOP debates over the past week, Perry pointed to the opt-out clause as a positive component of the executive order he signed. “I don’t know what’s more strong for parental rights than having that opt-out,” Perry said at his first debate in Simi Valley, Calif., last week.

Asked directly on Monday night, during his second debate in Tampa, Fla., whether the executive order he signed amounted to a mandate, Perry said it was not — because of the opt-out provision.”No, sir it wasn’t. It was very clear. It had an opt-out,” Perry said. But later in the week, Perry was back to stating that he should have had an opt-in instead of an opt-out.

This proves to be a difficult issue for Perry who, like other Republicans, believes Obama’s health care overhaul is unconstitutional. If Perry can force residents in his state to have a vaccine, then how can making people have health care be unconstitutional?

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As Rick Perry’s campaign gains momentum, a jittery Mitt Romney has attempted to target the issue most likely to be his opponent’s weakness: immigration.

Speaking to Republican Hispanics in Tampa, Romney said that “we must stop providing the incentives that promote illegal immigration.” He reminded his audience that, as governor, he vetoed legislation to provide in-state tuition to illegal immigrants and worked to make it easier for state troopers to enforce immigration laws.

Although Romney did not mention Perry by name, it was clear he had the Texas governor in his sights. In 2001, Perry signed a version of the “Dream Act” that allowed illegal aliens to obtain in-state tuition. And although he calls for a crackdown on illegal immigration, he shows little enthusiasm for Arizona-style legislation.

The issue of illegal immigration has become a hot button issue for the GOP in recent years, which presents the party with something of a problem as they attempt to woo Hispanic voters. In the run-up to the last election, Mitt Romney took a hard line on immigration and, as a result, he won just nine percent of Florida’s Cuban vote and twenty-one percent of the non-Cuban Hispanic vote in the Florida Republican primary.

In recent remarks to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Romney said that he was “a great proponent of legal immigration.” “Many of you are living proof of the unique strength of America that is constantly renewed by new Americans,” he added.

Romney’s attack comes as a recent poll by Magellan Strategies shows Perry with a five-point advantage among Republicans in Nevada, a state that backed Romney in the last election. Romney has also come under sustained attack from certain elements of the Tea Party.

Many Tea Partiers view him as ideologically suspect because he signed Massachusetts’ 2006 health care reform, a law that provided inspiration for President Obama’s own health care reforms. Consequently, some of their activists have taken to protesting Romney’s attendance at conservative functions and are actively working to undermine his campaign in battleground states.

However, this opposition has set off something of an internal struggle within the Tea Party movement, as many local groups object to the idea of outsiders coming in and telling them who to support.

In a belated bid to court Tea Party votes, Romney will address some of its members in New Hampshire on Sunday, September 4. The next day, he will take part in gathering hosted by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), a prominent supporter of the Tea Party.

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Texas governor Rick Perry has a target on his back. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s super PAC- Keep Conservatives United, released a 30 second ad earlier in the week said that Perry took spending from $45 billion to $90.4 billion between 2000 and 2010.

“Rick Perry doubled spending in a decade,” says the ad. “And he’s supposed to be the Tea Party guy?” The ad will begin airing Monday in South Carolina.

Perry’s spokesman Ray Sullivan called the ad “patently and provably false,” and cited numbers showing that spending in the state budget that is paid for with state taxes and other state revenues has gone down since Perry took office, if the figures are adjusted for population and inflation. Perry’s campaign explained that general revenue spending was $55.7 billion for the 2000-2001 budget and is $80.5 billion for 2012-2013.

Keep Conservatives United PAC obtained their numbers from a Texas State Comptroller’s report issued one year ago. Perry’s campaign took its numbers from the state legislature’s budget board report in May.

Bachmann is not the only candidate that has begun attacking Perry. Mitt Romney criticized “career politicians” earlier in the week, a clear dig at Perry who has held an elected position since 1984. Fellow Texan Ron Paul also had some sharp words for Perry during an interview on Friday. The Republican congressman was on a stop in New Hampshire when he called Perry the “candidate of the week.”

“He was the one saying, ‘Oh yeah, I’m all for secession,’ and that kind of talk,” Paul told The Associated Press. “The only thing I would advise is looking into him, looking at his record, and not just taking him at face value. Texas has had a lot of changes in these last eight years, not exactly positive either.”

In a 2009 interview, Perry said there was no reason for Texas to secede from the union, but suggested it was a possibility if Washington political leaders continued to “thumb their nose at the American people.”

Paul suggested he was not worried about Perry’s rapid rise. “There are a lot of candidates who climbed real fast and went down real fast,” Paul said. All this is building up to the GOP’s next debate. Next Wednesday will be the first debate since Perry has joined the republican candidates.

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The federal courts could be in for a dramatic change if Texas governor Rick Perry wins the presidency. The Republican presidential hopeful is looking to curb the court’s alleged ‘judicial activism’ by ending the practice of appointing justices for life.

Under the US Constitution, federal judges (including Supreme Court justices) hold their seats for life and can only be removed after an impeachment trial in the Senate. Because their extended tenure allows them to shape judicial policy long after the president who appointed them has left office, their confirmation hearings in the Senate have become increasingly bitter in recent years.

In his 2010 book Fed Up!, Perry describes the Supreme Court as “nine oligarchs in robes” and calls for measures “to restrict the unlimited power of the courts to rule over us with no accountability.”

One of the measures that Perry briefly discusses is stripping justices of their life tenure. Instead, he supports a system where terms are staggered so that there is a retirement every two years or so. Each justice would serve for eighteen years, which would prevent any one president from being able to appoint a majority of the court.

Although Perry has cast his argument in terms of restraining judicial activism, others have called for an end to life tenure on medical grounds. In a January 2011 article on the the independent news site ProPublica, Joseph Goldstein highlighted the effect of senility and dementia on the federal bench.

He revealed that the percentage of octogenarians and nonagenarians hearing cases in federal courts has doubled over the past twenty years. Furthermore, forcing a debilitated judge off the bench is incredibly difficult. At present, it is usually done by behind-the-scenes peer pressure from fellow judges.

The last impeachment for mental incapacity was in 1803, and while it is possible for a federal judge to be forcibly retired due to permanent disability, this has only happened twice in the past twenty years.

Currently, there is a form of semi-retirement in place for federal judges. If a judge has reached the age of 65 and has served for at least fifteen years, they may elect to assume senior status, which entitles them to work part-time even though they have vacated their seat. They also continue to draw their full salary.

Although the scheme is designed to let elderly judges step aside with dignity to make room for new talent, its voluntary nature may undermine its effectiveness. Also, the idea of a judge handling any cases while suffering from a cognitive impairment tends to undermine confidence in the judiciary.

Although the majority of octogenarians and nonagenarians on the federal bench are almost certainly fit to serve, the question of what to do with judges who refuse to resign due to their declining faculties is one that will assume new urgency as the average lifespan increases.

In the end, it may be biology, not politics, that lends credence to Perry’s plan.

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Republican front runner Rick Perry was quick to criticize another stimulus plan, while offering no suggestions on how he plans to boost the economy. The Texas governor said on Monday in Tulsa, Oklahoma that no new economic stimulus package is needed to “get America working again.”

Perry said he would let his “guiding principles” as a fiscal conservative inform his policies if he were elected president. But, when asked for details, Perry resorted to general statements he has often repeated on the campaign trail.

“No. 1 is don’t spend all the money, you can figure out what that means,” Perry said at the Tulsa Press Club event also attended by U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. “You won’t have stimulus programs under a Perry presidency. You won’t spend all the money.”

Despite Perry’s strong stance against federal funds, his state benefitted greatly from the last economic stimulus package. Texas has used $17.4 billion in federal stimulus money In fact, Texas used the federal stimulus to balance its last two budgets.

Perry said the nation’s “entrepreneurial spirit” would create jobs and that his tax policies would allow Americans to keep more of what they earn. He said his tax system would be “light on job creators” and called for a more predictable legal system “that doesn’t allow for over-suing.”

“We have seen a clear thirst for leadership in this country,” Perry said. In his book — titled Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington — the Texas governor writes, “We are fed up with bailout after bailout and stimulus plan after stimulus plan, each one of which tosses principle out the window along with taxpayer money.”

Earlier on Monday, Perry’s focus was foreign policy. He said American military commanders should always control U.S. military forces abroad. “It’s not our interest to go it alone,” he said. “We respect our allies and we must always seek to engage them in military missions. But at the same time, we must be willing to act when it is time to act.

We cannot concede the moral authority of our nation to multilateral debating societies, and when our interests are threatened American soldiers should be led by American commanders.”

Although Perry did not say, he seems to be referring to NATO operations in Libya. The Libya operation is being run by a Canadian general from a NATO headquarters in Italy, but an American officer is the top NATO commander.

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Texas governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry continued his criticism of social security at a campaign stop on Saturday. In Iowa, Perry called the entitlement program, “a monstrous lie.” In his 2010 book, “Fed Up!” Perry compared social security to an “illegal ponzi scheme” and suggested that it was unconstitutional.

While on the campaign trail in Iowa, Perry warned that President Obama has driven the nation’s economy into a ditch, arguing that his own record as governor qualifies him to lead the way out. “Instead of eliminating our economic crisis, he worsened it,” said Perry. “Instead of addressing the debt, he exploded it.” Perry stated that he has created 1 million jobs while he has been the leader of Texas. Of course, he did not mention that the majority of these jobs are minimum wage or government jobs. So much for limited government, huh?

Perry pointed out recent comments made by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that food stamps were helping to improve the economy by getting buying power into people’s hands.”Food stamps are not a solution, they are a symbol of the problem,” said Perry. “Today’s leaders see it differently.”

Perry sought to drive the problem home, noting that Iowa has suffered as well under the Obama administration.”Today, one in eight Iowans is on food stamps,” said Perry. “That is a testament to the widespread misery created by this administration.”

“It’s a statement that the state that feeds the world has so many people dependent on the government for food,” said Perry. “You have lost 12,000 jobs since the current resident of the White House took office,” said Perry. He again pointed out his allegedly superior record as governor.”Since I’ve become governor, Texas has created more than 1 million jobs, while the rest of the country has lost 2.5 million jobs,” said Perry. “We’ve got to stop spending money we don’t have,” said Perry. “I promise you this, I will work every day to make Washington, D.C., as inconsequential to you as I can.”

Four hundred activists attended the picnic in Iowa. Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan also attended the event, but Perry received the most attention.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry’s campaign is barely one week old, but has already seen its share of problems.  He used his book, “FED UP!” to answer a question at a campaign stop on day 2 of his new presidential campaign. However, the book with its radical ideas has plagued the presidential candidate on the campaign trail.

So, now his spokesman states the book is not a look forward to the future, but rather a description of the past. That is some interesting twisting.Last weekend, Perry did some more twisting at a campaign event in South Carolina comparing the Republicans struggle to lower taxes with the civil rights movement. Sigh.

“Listen, America’s gone a long way from the standpoint of civil rights and thank God we have,” Perry said. “We’ve gone from a country that made great strides in issues of civil rights, I think we all can be proud of that.

And as we go forward, America needs to be about freedom. It needs to be about freedom from overtaxation, freedom from over-litigation, freedom from over-regulation.

And Americans, regardless of what their cultural or ethnic background is, they need to know that they can come to America and you got a chance to have any dream come true because the economic climate is gonna be improved.”

Heading back to Texas for the first time since declaring his candidacy for president of the United States, Perry reportedly encouraged Texans to push back against criticism of the Lone Star State. According to the Associated Press, Perry said, “When the liberal pundits start trashing Texas … I want you all to stand up and say that dog won’t hunt.”

Meanwhile the Governor Rick Perry is sort of doing his governor type job by blocking Obamacare from being implemented in his state, a state with the highest percentage of uninsured residents. Now, there is a governor for you! Although Perry has stated that he supports a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, he is less clear about what alternatives he would support.

Texas has received various grants under Obama’s health care law to implement the health plan. But, when Republican state Rep. John Zerwas tried to move legislation to set up an insurance pool required by the national overhaul, Perry threatened to veto the legislation.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry has been everywhere recently, trying to convince the Republican Party that he would make a good leader. He uses his record as the longest continuously serving current U.S. governor, in Texas as proof for his case.

Perry states that the Texas economy is better than the national economy and that he would be able to fix the recession. Texas currently has an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, while the national unemployment rate is 9.1 percent.

Perry’s state is in the middle of the ranking, 25 states have lower unemployment rates than Texas and 25 other states and Washington D.C. have higher unemployment rates. Between June 2009 and August 2011, 237,000 jobs were created in Texas but most of these jobs were in the government.

Although Texas is better than the national average in unemployment, the type of employment offered in Texas is poor. Texas has the highest percentage of workers paid at or below minimum wage at 9.54 percent. Texas ranks near the bottom of the union for healthcare. Twenty-two percent of children in Texas are without health care and 26 percent of all residents are uninsured. The national average is 17 percent.

Despite all of Perry’s outrageous comments and the poor ranking in his state, his limited plans for actual policy are a bit scary. In his book, “Fed Up!”, Perry suggested dismantling social security, calling it a ponzi scheme.

He thinks the federal government should not run Medicare and allow each state to decide if they want to have insurance for senior citizens or not.

Perry has suggested that the 16^th amendment be repealed which would no longer require Americans to pay income tax. Eighty percent of the government revenues comes from income taxes so without the 16^th amendment, it is unclear how Perry would pay for things like the
infrastructure, military or even the salaries of his employees.

In his book, he also criticized the 17^th amendment which allows for the direct election of U.S. Senators. His contradiction goes even farther when you investigate social issues. After New York legalized same-sex marriages, Perry said it was fine for New York because it should be up to each state.

However, he supports a federal marriage amendment which would outlaw same-sex marriages. So much for state’s rights and limited government. He is pro-life and, under his watch, Texas has made abortions harder for women to obtain.

He signed the Prenatal Protection Act in 2003 which defines a fetus as “human life.” He has limited late-term abortions and requires parental consent for minors to get an abortion. Just this May, Perry signed into law legislation requiring women to have a sonogram and hear the heartbeat before every abortion.

There are more Rick Perry social issues to examine. We will return to this matter another day. I am sure, in the meantime, he will keep us busy threatening government officials.

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Texas governor Rick Perry wants to be known for saying outlandish things. Trying to rival Rep. Michele Bachmann, Perry is quickly earning his title. However, when trying to be a serious contender in the populated Republican field for president, I am not sure the “shock” approach will work.

We don’t have to be shocked that Perry wants to lynch the Federal Reserve Chairman. There are enough of his actual policy ideas to be shocked about.

In the past, Perry has made such colorful remarks as considering that the BP oil spill could have just as likely been an “act of God” instead of corporate error. He discussed secession as an option for Texas. Even though the Civil War was 150 years ago, that is still kind of a sore point. And since launching his presidential bid, Perry has not toned down his Texan rhetoric.

His most recent gaffe was suggesting that if Fed chairman Ben Bernanke prints more money, it is a “treasonous” act and suggested he would be treated “pretty ugly” back in Texas.

Perry has brought back that whole “does Obama love America” thing that was pretty quiet after Obama ordered the killing of bin Laden. Perry suggested that the military does not respect Obama and would have more respect for Perry as commander-in-chief because he served in the military.

Obama was asked about Perry’s comments recently on CNN. “I think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn’t like running for governor or running for Senate or running for Congress,” Obama said. “You’ve got to be a little more careful about what you say.”

Perry said he would be a president who was “passionate about America — that’s in love with America” earlier in the week. He was then asked if he was suggesting that Obama didn’t love America. Perry responded, “You need to ask him.”

Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs hit back Tuesday. “The statements that Perry makes are remarkable in that just two years ago, the governor of Texas openly talked about leading Texas out of the United States of America, and now this campaign has caused him to profess his love to the United States,” Gibbs said during an appearance on MSNBC.

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Presidential contender Rick Perry has expressed his beliefs about intelligent design before, supporting  creationism as a theory taught in Texas classrooms. However, on Thursday, he was specifically asked his feelings about evolution during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

“How old do I think the earth is? You know what, I don’t have any idea,” said the Texas governor when asked about his position on the issue by a woman and her son. “I know it’s pretty old so it goes back a long long way. I’m not sure anybody actually knows completely and absolutely how long, how old the earth is.”

Perry regarded evolution as “a theory that’s out there” and one that’s “got some gas in it.” He mentioned how both creationism and evolution are taught to students in public schools. He explained, “I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.”

Perry is not the first presidential contender to express doubt over a theory that most scientists believe. Earlier this summer, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann expressed doubt about the theory of evolution.

“I support intelligent design,” she said after speaking at this year’s Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. “What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide. I don’t think it’s a good idea for government to come down on one side of scientific issue or another, when there is reasonable doubt on both sides.”

In 2006, Bachmann stated that some within the scientific community discredit the theory of evolution. “There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design,” she said.

Governor Perry was also asked about global warming. He wrote in his book, “Fed Up!” that doctored data was behind global warming. ”They know that we have been experiencing a cooling trend, that the complexities of the global atmosphere have often eluded the most sophisticated scientists and that draconian policies with dire economic effects based on so-called science may not stand the test of time,” Perry wrote.

He called former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his call to action on climate change, of being a ”false prophet of a secular carbon cult,”

In Bedford, New Hampshire on Wednesday, Perry suggested that politics is playing a large role in the global warming debate.”I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized.

I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects,” Perry said. “I think we’re seeing it almost weekly or even daily, scientists who are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change.

Yes, our climates change. They’ve been changing ever since the earth was formed. But I do not buy into, that a group of scientists, who in some cases were found to be manipulating this data.”

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Texas governor Rick Perry, a newcomer to the presidential race, spent Sunday courting Republican leaders in South Carolina. Perry assured the leaders that he would be a frequent presence in their state.

“You are going to see me, see me, see me,” he said at the gathering. He assured the attendees that they would all soon be on a “first-name basis” with him. The closed door reception took place at the RedState Gathering, a conference being held at the Francis Marion Hotel in downtown Charleston and attended by more than 400 conservative activists.

South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad Connelly advised Perry to visit the state often. “Because we’re a carve-out state, we’re small, we’re easy to get around and we’re an inexpensive media market to campaign in, they can really get to know people,” he said.

“They can go to the small diner for breakfast in one corner of the state, they can be in the midlands, they can be in the low country, they can be all over the place. So that’s my advice: Come and meet the [voters], get to know them and answer their questions.”

Florence County GOP Chairman Bill Pickle said while it was still “too early” for him to endorse a candidate, he was impressed that Perry chose to come to South Carolina to make his announcement on the same day as the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa.

“It was an outstanding move,” he said, adding that it could significantly help him win votes in this first-in-the-South primary.

Later in the day, Perry traveled to Iowa to attend an event at the National Cattle Congress in Iowa. Even though GOP rival Michele Bachmann was also at the event, the two did not directly face off. However, the event did allow potential voters to compare the two candidates. Their campaign styles were quite different.

Perry arrived early, hanging out with supporters and appearing relaxed and casual. Bachmann, on the other hand, arrived late just minutes before her scheduled speech. She stuck to her talking points but did hang out after her speech to sign autographs and answer questions.

Perry is expected to travel to New Hampshire before returning to South Carolina next week for another event.

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A spokesman for Texas governor Rick Perry confirmed on Thursday that the governor is running for president in 2012, adding more drama to the already overcrowded field of candidates on the GOP side.

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the governor would formally announce his candidacy on Saturday while visiting South Carolina and New Hampshire just as most of his presidential rivals compete in a test vote in Iowa.

Although the news isn’t much of a surprise, the timing is crucial. Just hours before the Republican debate and two days before the all-important Ames straw poll in Iowa, Perry decides to make if official.

Perry has appeal for many different factions of the GOP’s primary electorate. He is strongly pro-business fiscal conservative. He also has ties to the nation’s Christian leaders and is a social conservative.

But, Perry is not without problems. His views are extreme, even among the Tea Party. He will likely face opposition from secular groups that believe his religious rhetoric violates the separation of church and state. He has suggested that Texas secedes from the country if “governmental overreach” continues.

Perry supports states rights over federal government, angering members of his party when he believes that states should decide things like gay marriage and legalization of marijuana. However, Perry is very pro-guns which will help him appeal to his base.

Perry last year told an Associated Press reporter that he carries a laser-sighted pistol while jogging, and that he used it to shoot a coyote that threatened his daughter’s dog that came along one day for a run.

Texans touted what they called a heroic act, and gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. issued a “Coyote Special” edition of its Ruger .380-caliber pistol complete with “A True Texan” emblazoned on the side.

In a recent interview with Time magazine, Perry said that former President George W. Bush — who preceded Perry as Texas governor — has been advising him on the decision.

“He said, ‘You’ll do what’s right,’” Perry said, of a June conversation with the former president. “He said, you don’t want to wake up when you’re 70 and go, ‘I wish I had tried that. I wish I had done that.’”

Questioned about the strength of his conservative credentials, Perry said he didn’t think there was “any doubt” that he was at least as conservative as every other candidate in the race – if not more so.

“I’ve got a record. And that record, particularly when it comes to the most important issues in this campaign, which is creating the climate of America that gives incentives to job creators to risk their capital and create jobs for our citizens, I will put that up against anybody who’s running and particularly against this President we have today, whose jobs record is abysmal,” he said.

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In Ames, Iowa, Tea Party representative Michele Bachmann won a symbolic straw poll at a political festival held at the campus of Iowa State University. The vote was held on the same day as Rick Perry announced his candidacy and comes five months before the first official Iowa primaries, according to the BBC.

The Ames straw poll was a vote by attendees over the age of 18 and by the end of the day, Bachmann had received 4,823 of the 16,892 votes. Runner-up Ron Paul took a close 4,671 votes in the non-binding contest while former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlentry finished third with 2,283.

The straw poll is expected to give Bachmann’s campaign a boost and in her speech to the crowd after the count, she states “This is the first step towards taking the White house in 2012 and we have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president.” The Boston Globe could report that the victor, who is the first female candidate to win the informal contest, had broken down in tears and hugged her husband after learning the result.

Despite the poll holding no official significance, observers agree that the poll has symbolic significance for the candidates. “It’s a big boost for her,” said Mike Huckabee, former winner of the caucuses, to reporters. “Whoever wins or comes in second, they get gas for their fire. Whoever doesn’t, they get water for theirs.”

Fire is definitely burning in the Republican camp where the race for a chance to challenge President Obama on key issues such as the recent downgrade, unemployment, health care and Wall Street will be critical in the bid to convince voters of what camp can best resuscitate the ‘ailing America’ as the Huffington Post puts it.

On the day of the straw poll, thousands of GOP activist gather at the Iowa State University campus to enjoy the festival that also serves as a fundraiser for the state GOP. Despite the attempt of several candidates to sway voters, Michele Bachmann stole the show. Her rhetoric and energy was noted as the important ingredient in her triumphant day.

In her speech, she emphasized her connection to the state and her opposition to abortion and gay marriage. Later, she danced on stage with her husband before 3,000 supporters and hundreds more who had gathered outside in hopes of catching a glimpse.

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