While Team Perry is working aggressively to depict Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper, the Romney campaign is striking back by arguing that the Perry campaign is presenting false cases by editing Romney’s statements misleadingly.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that Rick Perry has problems with the truth,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul in a statement. “Each of Rick Perry’s attacks has been proven false. Instead of dreaming up phony attacks on Mitt Romney, Governor Perry should explain why he encourages illegal immigration, why he wants to dismantle Social Security, and why he accepted billions of dollars of stimulus to cover up his massive budget deficit.”
The statement was in an e-mail headlined, “PERRY’S PROBLEM WITH THE TRUTH.” The e-mail shared news reports that called the Perry ads and comments misleading, including this Washington Post piece calling Perry’s ad ‘Romney’s Race to the Flop’ “misleading campaign advertising.” The campaign also cited this Politifact report, which argues that Romney did not change his position on whether the nation should adopt Romneycare between the hardback and paperback editions of his book, as Perry suggested that he had during the debate last week. Also up for criticism was the Perry team’s decision to only use a partial quote of Romney’s in the ad about the stimulus released today.
When I e-mailed the Perry campaign to see if they had any comment about the Romney campaign’s allegations, Perry spokesman Mark Miner responded, “The next time Mitt Romney writes a book he owes it to the public to disclose that his policies are subject to revisions due to changes in the political climate.”
“Last week Mitt Romney stressed that he is ‘very careful’ about his choice of words in his book because they could come back to haunt him,” Miner added. “The truth is he wrote in his book that the stimulus would accelerate the start of the economy. Then he flip-flopped and called it a failure.”
Romney campaign alternate email subject: "PERRY'S ADS ARE DEVASTATING, LET US CALL ATTENTION TO THEM!"
The Perry ads go straight to the heart of why GOP voters just can't pull the trigger for Romney.
I'm not saying they are 100% accurate or fair, but besides Barack Obama in his childhood sandbox, whoever said life was fair?!
I sure hope Perry is attending some Toastmasters classes while his staff works on these ads...
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"I sure hope Perry is attending some Toastmasters classes while his staff works on these ads..."
Amen!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseATTACK WAAAATTTCCCHHH!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo 'lifelong hunter' mitt romney attacks perry. Perry attacks romney.
Hopefully the use car salesman and the flash in the pan can knock each other out of the race.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseUm, Ms. Trinko, the mighty Drudge has a whopper:
"IOWA: Romney 21%, Bachmann 15%, Perry 14%, Paul 12%."
The fashion may just might blow a fuse.
We all know polls are silly at this point - but Iowa?
Romney?
The denial is going to get worse, far worse, but something suggests folks are going to come to the voting booth and absolutely not want to risk on RICK or the other truly questionable offerings.
And Perry's campaign is getting so deeply irrational and dishonest, they are heading towards further embarrassment. It was one thing when Rick was peddling class warfare with his demeaning of "Wall Street", but now they seem obsessed with Romney. It is almost as if they realize Perry's awful offering in reality on the Stage, has perhaps given Mr. Romney the opportunity - and they don't want him to seal it.
But it looks as if the more Perry's camp puffs, the worse it becomes.
We shall see...
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseright ... and the Romney campaign didn't really mean to say Perry would end Social Security ...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney started with the liberal talking points ... now he wants to act like he's the one being smeared ...
Perhaps Mittens could tell us why, when he had the opportunity to nominate conservative judges to the Massachussets bench, he chose 14 Democrats (including two gay lawyers who supported same-sex marriage in MA) and only 7 Republicans?
Or perhaps he can explain the reason he, as a Republican governor, had the influence to move his state further into the red column, it remains a liberal (blue) state whereas Perry gave Texas the first Republican filibuster proof majority in the Texas Congres for the first time since Reconstruction?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBut Perry did say he wants to end Social Security as we know it.
Aren't you even trying to pay any attention to the basis?
Did you even bother to study Perry's book when he entered the Race?
How he envisions Social Security being handled by the States, thus "ending" the Federal Program as we know it?
Hello?
Has the fashionable identity folly simply rendered the once powerful "conservative" movement into a realm of not having one bit of basis?
Do the most passionate really type without confirming their assumptions?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSocial Security as we know it needs to end. Anyone serious about the issue will admit it. Anyone wanting to be a leader should be willing to stand up, say it, and then debate solutions. The fact that he thinks it's a sound bite winner, and treats it as such, says a lot about his character.
He's more invested in winning at all costs than solving problems. Find the best poll tested answer and spew it until the next controversy comes up. Then poll test that, and spew it too. (See his Masscare/Obamacare changes in his book). The problem with Romney isn't that he can't win. It's that we can't be sure what we're buying with our vote and this is the most critical election in many of our lifetimes. Is anyone really willing to risk getting a RINO McCain clone without a spine when some of the other candidates can beat Obama too? And come with better conservative bona fides to boot?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell Rick BlagoPerrych did said SS is unconstitutional in other words if one thing is unconstitutional should be eliminated.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney won't win Iowa, or the nomination. He's running as the champion of the New Deal and the defender of government by stimulus. In today's GOP that's a nonstarter. He may get some promising polls for a time, but he is destined to flop like Giuliani in the last cycle.
You really need a new candidate.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAt this point Romney will be the nominee, choosing Rubio as vp. Formidable.
Perry has done everything possible to lose the nomination. This is regrettable, because it was an easy lock for him, and he couldn't even string 3 coherent sentences together in 3 consecutive debates. Now it is more likely we will have a long and protracted battle, the main beneficiary being Obama.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseuh, yeah...
The denial raising it's head, getting nervous reality is not going the way the fashionable devotees wish.
"New Deal"?
Did you just make that up?
Or have you intentionally not studied Romney's platform from 2008 or 2012?
Just blowing by image?
Here is a question for you...
Did you vote for the Maverick Ticket the last time around?
The one which pushed Cap and Trade folly, nearly identical to Mr. Obama/Mrs. Clinton?
I totally opposed John McCain, couldn't have a bigger mistake - a guaranteed loss as a Nominee, but I still voted for him. And now, at least I can be pleased that the GOP offering will be vastly improved over the dreadful Maverick.
However, it looks, if we were to select Mr. Perry, we will all be endorsing the 'dream act' of some kind, because we don't want to be "heartless". We will just have to smile and pull the lever for the former Al Gore employee who praised Hillary Clinton for her efforts to Nationalize US Health Care.
Classic...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI thought your definition of "whopper" and "fuse-blowing" was something along the lines of, say, meeting with Trump.
Did you happen to see the poll Drudge linked RIGHT ABOVE THE POLL YOU LINKED AND I WISH I COULD MAKE THESE WORDS LARGER AND MORE GAUDY BUT IT'S THE BEST I CAN DO SORRY where it said this in puke green letters at the top of the page: "Rick Perry Ahead of Mitt Romney for Republican Nomination"
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLOL!
HEY, try using all caps...
classic.
Puke green letters?
You just jumped into the childish range.
You do realize we are talking about IOWA?
Or, can't you grasp the enormity of this concept?
Hello?
Do we really need to explain it to you, or do you want to rethink it over?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLOL Old Fan. I'm hopeful that conservatives will awake to what a false prophet the Al Gore-stimulus-illegal alien-luvin Rick Perry is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe puke green letters are what the Harris Poll used to say Perry leads Romney - not me:
External Link
I know you were talking Iowa. Sorry, I don't see the whopperness of it because:
1.) The poll you didn't bother to mention, which, on Drudge, is right above the one you linked to, and I don't even know if you'd notice if the font was 90 point hot pink Franklin Gothic Heavy, renders your poll impotent.
2.)The Iowa caucus doesn't happen until 2012.
3.) You repeatedly dismiss polls as silly unless Romney is in the lead. Only then is it time to sober up and face the unfashionable facts.
The main reason I like polls now, and link to them, is to show people how polls now are often full of it. I'm a fan of real elections.
You're also misusing the word "enormity" but I won't hold that against you.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis kind of stuff, from either side, is not helpful and will not advance the ball.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe back-and-forth sniping of the two campaigns is diminishing both candidates. It's the Obama, stupid!
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“The truth is he wrote in his book that the stimulus would accelerate the start of the economy. Then he flip-flopped and called it a failure.”
... and the truth is "the stimulus would accelerate the start of the economy[sic]" and "the stimulus [is] a failure" are not contradictory statements and are both absolutely correct.
The truth is the stimulus did accelerate the "start" of "the recovery" -- it's almost impossible for it not to due to the asinine way government spending is counted dollar for dollar as part of GDP.
The truth is it was also a miserable failure because it did so at the expense of reducing productivity elsewhere in the near and not so near future.
To accept Perry's claim is to, like him, play fast and loose with the meaning of words for your own political purposes.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse