http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71081.html Perry surprises staff, stays in raceBy: Jonathan MartinJanuary 4, 2012 12:33 PM EST Surprising some members of his own staff, Rick Perry announced via Twitter Wednesday morning that he would stay in the GOP presidential race despite a disappointing finish in Iowa. And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State Here we come South Carolina!!! Perry Tweeted just after 11 a.m. EST from his personal account, linking to a picture of him in Texas A&M jogging shorts and a thumb up. Perry campaign manager Joe Allbaugh confirmed to POLITICO that the governor is going forward. Staying, Allbaugh wrote in an email when asked if Perry was remaining in the race. A source close to Perry said he decided to make a stand in South Carolina because he is not a quitter and really is the only true conservative in the race. Records matter, start comparing, the source said. Perrys decision to campaign in South Carolina is a major blow to Rick Santorums hopes of consolidating conservatives behind his candidacy. If Perry and Newt Gingrich are still in the GOP race when it heads south on January 21st, the base will likely be divided between conservatives. The Texas governors decision to stay in initially caught some of his own staff off guard. His long-serving press secretary, Mark Miner, said he didnt know what the plan was and only said he was checking on it when asked about Perrys Tweet. Miner confirmed that Perry handles his own Twitter account. After taking just 10 percent of the vote and finishing in a distant fifth place in Iowa yesterday, Perry told supporters that he would return back to Texas to reassess whether there was a path forward. Some of his campaign advisers made clear that they wanted him to drop out last night and, following his speech, thought that his reassessment language was merely a prelude to a formal withdrawl. It seemed like everything was going to wind down and life was gonna be good and now theres an expolosion and I dont know whats going on, said one of the strategists, noting that some of Perrys Texas backers were urging him to go forward. Another adviser confirmed that the decision was a close hold, and that members of the team were caught by surprise. As for Perrys announcement via Twitter, one strategist said: Welcome to Campaign 2012. Maggie Haberman contributed to this story -- Larry C. Lyons web: http://www.lyonsmorris.com/lyons LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/larryclyons
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as you ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:345109 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
