Seeking redemption in 2016, Rick Perry...
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:58 pm
. . . finds power
in immigration standoff
Perry used his executive authority to activate up to 1,000 National Guard
troops to help secure the Texas border region against "criminal alien" activity.
By Philip Rucker
The Washington Post
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — He came here for redemption. At the Clear Lake Evangelical Free Church, Rick Perry held his arms across his torso and swayed as the choir sang during last Sunday’s morning service. He bowed his head while the pastor preached about “God’s perfect plan of salvation.”
Three years ago, the Texas governor blazed a trail across Iowa to become the instant Republican presidential front-runner. Perry had a solid record and signature bravado. (At the Iowa State Fair, he blew a kiss to the cameras and mockingly said of rival Mitt Romney, “Give him my love.”) But after humiliating fumbles, Perry’s 2012 campaign became a death march: He finished fifth in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses and dropped out soon after.
This summer, Perry, 64, is back in the game. What he lacks in sizzle from 2011 he’s making up for with newfound substance on issues ranging from the economy to turmoil in the Middle East. And with tens of thousands of undocumented immigrant children streaming into Texas, the border crisis gives Perry an animating issue placing him at the forefront of Republican politics.
MORE
in immigration standoff
Perry used his executive authority to activate up to 1,000 National Guard
troops to help secure the Texas border region against "criminal alien" activity.
By Philip Rucker
The Washington Post
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — He came here for redemption. At the Clear Lake Evangelical Free Church, Rick Perry held his arms across his torso and swayed as the choir sang during last Sunday’s morning service. He bowed his head while the pastor preached about “God’s perfect plan of salvation.”
Three years ago, the Texas governor blazed a trail across Iowa to become the instant Republican presidential front-runner. Perry had a solid record and signature bravado. (At the Iowa State Fair, he blew a kiss to the cameras and mockingly said of rival Mitt Romney, “Give him my love.”) But after humiliating fumbles, Perry’s 2012 campaign became a death march: He finished fifth in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses and dropped out soon after.
This summer, Perry, 64, is back in the game. What he lacks in sizzle from 2011 he’s making up for with newfound substance on issues ranging from the economy to turmoil in the Middle East. And with tens of thousands of undocumented immigrant children streaming into Texas, the border crisis gives Perry an animating issue placing him at the forefront of Republican politics.
MORE
