Why Aren't We Backing Rick Perry?

Ladies and gentlemen: We're in trouble.

Herman Cain's campaign- which I contended earlier this week was never going to bear fruit- is all but dead. Cain's staff were incompetent from the beginning, and his supporters supported him for the wrong reasons.

Newt Gingrich is emerging as the "not-Romney" candidate, and is currently leading the pack, despite the fact that his record closely matches Romney's on most key issues.

Gary Johnson and Ron Paul- not well-liked by some Republicans- have been marginalized.

Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum were never serious contenders.

Which leaves us one candidate: Rick Perry. He hasn't gained much support since his "and umm..." flub (which feels like ancient history now). It's amazing to me that Republicans are willing to ignore his ardently free-market, pro-gun, fiscally-responsible record over that gaffe, and instead back one of two candidates- Gingrich or Romney- who have personally participated in the ruination of our country. This just gobsmacks me!

A refresher about Perry:

1) Rick Perry's state has had the most job growth of any state during the 2000s;

2) He signed into law Texas' 'castle doctrine law', solidly cementing Texas as the state with the most permissive self-defense laws in the country; and he isn't just pro-gun, he has a CHL and carries a handgun regularly;

3) Perry's tax plan mirrors that of Hong Kong, the most economically-free place on Earth, while Gingrich's tax plan is a virtual carbon-copy of Perry's, and Romney's plan is just plain gobbledygook;

4) Nobody questions Rick Perry's sincerity when he speaks. One may not agree with him on a given topic- and I do disagree with him on some things- but when he states his position, there's no doubt he's calling it as he sees it. Considering the weasely-ness of Gingrich and Romney, this should be Perry's greatest selling point.

So, OK, 23 years ago he worked for Al Gore, back when Texas was the Democrat stronghold. By comparison, Gingrich called Paul Ryan a "right-wing social engineer" six months ago. And Romney's position on any given subject changes as often as his socks.

And on the subject of Gardasil: I was a harsh Perry critic on this subject. But let's face facts: The program was dead on arrival, and not a single dose was given. Let's also point out something else: The same governor who came up with this idea, also put more guns and more autonomy to use them into the hands of Texas parents- some of whom, undoubtedly, would have resisted this mandate with force if it had ever seen the light of day.

As for immigration: Unlike the vast majority of us, Perry is the governor of a border state. It's interesting that the two governors of border states in this election- Rick Perry and Gary Johnson- have somewhat similar immigration plans. On this subject, I agree with Perry. For those who disagree with him on this subject, refer back to Rick's greatest selling point I mentioned above: He has a consistent position on this issue and doesn't spin it, something we can't say for Gingrich and Romney.

Folks, this election is just too important to put it in the hands of either Gingrich or Romney. We on the right need to be putting attention onto Rick Perry, and putting our weight behind him. He's the best we've got.