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Subscribe to RSSRick Perry thanks his supporters in Iowa and announces he is reassessing his campaign and heading home to Texas.
This story was updated at 1:25a.m. ET
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Texan is going home.
After a disappointing fifth place finish in the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, Gov. Rick Perry announced that he will return to his home state to assess the future of a campaign that remained stalled for months despite prolific ad spending and a frenzied eleventh hour bus tour in the Hawkeye State.
"With the voters' decision tonight in Iowa, I decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race," Perry told several hundred supporters gathered in the West Des Moines hotel that served as the team's nerve center this week.
Perry briefly choked up when reading aloud a letter from a supporter who drove from Texas to Iowa to support him.
Unlike his final Iowa campaign events - when he surrounded himself with loyal endorsers - Perry was joined only by his immediate family on stage as he thanked his supporters.
"You've made every minute of this worth it for ourselves," he told backers. "And with a little prayer and reflection, I'm going to determine the best path forward, but I want to tell you there has been no greater joy in my life than being able to share with the people of Iowa that there is a model to take this country forward and it is in the great state of Texas."
Aides said that Perry discussed the decision with family, senior aide Joe Allbaugh and communications director Ray Sullivan in his hotel suite after the fifth place finish was projected. Perry himself pushed to make the announcement of his return to Texas on stage rather than through a paper statement.
The next step for Perry will be a powwow with family and advisors as well as a data dive by aides into Perry's performance in the Iowa contest.
"It's going to come down to a calculus of what the Iowa results really said beyond the first snapshot, what resources we have available financially and otherwise and how we read South Carolina and the potential there," communications director Ray Sullivan told reporters.
In the waning days of the Iowa race, the campaign hoped that its ground game would propel the candidate to a surprise third place finish or a close fourth place showing. But public polls and internal surveys saw a stubborn lack of momentum despite more than 50 public appearances for the candidate since Dec 14.
In addition to the weak debate performances and embarrassing gaffes that haunted his campaign, the campaign was also plagued by infighting between its old guard Texas loyalists and more recently added political consultants.
A public announcement of Perry's next step will come no earlier than Thursday, Sullivan said.
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I'm surprised. Really thought Perry would keep going. Bachmann's speech was an absurd, rambling mess, and she may just be crazy enough to keep going. Gingrich sounded like he was giving a victory speech, which makes sense since he never really planned on winning this thing anyway.
Gingrich is sticking around to savage Romney and savage him he will.
Exactly what we want to happen...
Romney will never get more than 25% of repub vote after declaring by his own mouth: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMcjJEXt9To"), cap and trade promoting, individual mandate imposing, bailout supporting, tax raising on small businesses ("http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2011/dec/22/rick-perry/rick-perry-says-governor-mitt-romney-raised-busine/").
who wants to bet he is going to conclude he just didnt pray hard enough??
Or maybe God is just not that into him.
Rick Perry is like the pony that somebody keeps betting on to win the race and never wins. Pouring money down a losing cause. I don't believe he was serious. He said from the beginning going back 2 years he didn't want to run for President, but some Texas big shot probably put some money in his pocket and a buzz in his ear and he ran. I just hope the good folks of Texas(?) start to see this buffoon for what he is: ignorant and practically illiterate. His transcripts were put online and he's a C-D student, didn't do well in college at all. I guess the Neocons (or whoever put Perry up to this) just wanted another puppet they could string along and it backfired.
Perry should assess whether he wants to join humanity,at this point he doesn't qualify
When is Michele Bachmann going to talk to you know who? I'm sure He is telling her to go home. All she has to do is answer back with; yes I will. This is more proof this woman just doesn't get it.
America is a funny place. I'll bet 85% of Iowans would watch a sex tape of Perry and Bachmann if one existed; but only 15% of people in their own party would choose one or the other of them to be President of the United States. What does that say about our society?
To me, it says maybe some Republicans would be better suited to the entertainment industry.
You see the losers go home with their tails between their legs....Perry....Bachman and Gingrich are next. Why look foolish ? they are used to it. Failure is part of their drill.
Perry could not recover after displaying his compassion for illegal immigrants in front of the Tea Party Lunatic Fringe. He compounded that mistake by seeking the endorsement of the Clown Sheriff from Arizona, Joe Arpaio. It didn't help that Joe's in hot water with the DOJ over his civil rights violations - that so-called "civil rights crap", as he so eloquently stated on TV. Nor did it help that Joe insulted the locals by referring to them as "Buckeyes". Perry tried to defend his buddy Joe, but admitted that he was "unaware of the details". Indeed.
It seems that Rick does have problems with details. Like knowing what the federal department that he wanted to get rid of actually does. Remember his famous Oops moment? That third department he wanted to eliminate (but couldn't remember its name), the Department Of Energy, is responsible for all nuclear weapons research, cleanup of legacy nuclear waste as well as basic science research. Does Rick, a so-called conservative, really want us to get out of the nuclear weapons business? I don't think so.
Then, of course, there was that lame "war on religion" ad - an obvious attempt to pander to the evangelical fringe; even they could recognize if for what it was.
So now Rick is coming back to Texas. Don't expect a big Welcome Home party!
No surprises here, Perry doesn't resonate outside of Texas. He can go home, lick his wounds and shut his campaign down. There is no way he will play in New Hampshire...
This has got to be a bitter pill for Governor Goodhair. He's not used to losing, hasn't lost an election in Texas. He's not used to voters who think.
Maybe Rick wants a parade when he arrives back? Probably no one will show up and he'll still ask the feds for money to clean up his mess!
I'm hoping he comes home to a recall campaign.
Well ... now he can return home to his old (N Rock) self!!!!
Still a whole lot of suckers to be fleeced in Texas!!!
The Republican party is divided , one faction wants a ultra Conservative riding a white horse and carrying a flaming sword charging into Washington; the other wants a moderate , businessman who will work with both sides of the aisle;
Romney won over a field of 5 firebrand Republicans, Santorium is the least of the firebrands, ; the American people will not vote to change one leftist extremist for one far right extremist; Romney will probably be their final choice, if they want to take back the White House.
Isn't this the second time he went back to Texas to assess what he's doing?
Give it up cowboy...the USA is sick of having a Texan as president!
Poor Perry...God just lied to you.
Oops....
The Winner of the Iowa Republican Cauceses is " President Barrack Hussein Obama"!
Occupy SoggyBottom !
Right on, Rick!! OBAMA/BIDEN '12
...and you almost spelled his full name correctly, too - good effort.
Geesh, Perry was the one everyone was afraid of. He was thought to be a real threat to the other GOP contenders, and to President Obama. At least that's what everybody thought.
And now here it is January 4, 2012 - and he's done.
Gov. Perry. He was fun to listen to I have to admit.
Rick Perry is the Governor of Texas. Why he would even want this demotion, I have no idea.
@Pat Boston MA.
haha. want to know something hillarious? find a speech by perry. close your eyes. who comes to mind?
on several occasions i had a video or tv on but was only listening, i mistook him for another texan. made me go, whoa, you finally decided to crawl out whatever hole you've been hiding eh?
too funny.
He's ignorant and practically illiterate and I cannot believe Texans voted for him. He's also receiving a pension while he's running for nomination. What state is that generous?
texans love ignorance. that's why they're racist redneck @!$%#s they can't even farm anything anymore.
The big question - why did this clown even leave Texas! He is 100% clone of G. W. Bush! No, we sure as heck didn't need another one. I heard McDonald's is hiring in his hometown and they might give him a job. Toot, toot tootsie, goodbye, toot, toot tootsie, don't cry. Bye, bye now.
JessK88 --- No. That's why they tolerate ignoramuses such as yourself. Now. Shut your fat piehole, twit.
Actually, Perry is much less intelligent than GWB. Perry is so stupid that he makes George W. Bush look like Stephen Hawking by comparison. And Bush was stupid -- seriously, tragically stupid.
capt america II A little touchy this morning?
He's just mad because he's not the original Captain America.
Wow ..... his first loss ever !
Before the GOP took over the South, there was a very common breed of Texas voter known as the "Yellow Dog Democrat" -- they'd vote for a yellow dog if it ran as a Democrat.
These days, the label's switched parties, but the same kind of thinking (or lack thereof) prevails in Texas. All it takes to win is an (R) after the name. Perry's ridden to victory on that for years.
He's learned that it doesn't work outside Texas.
Going back to Texas? They don't want him back.
I am a native Texan, and I don't agree with all his policies but I'd say that Rick Perry is a good person, and he's done a decent job overall of being Governor of Texas. Obvious as he has been re-elected multiple times. The truth of the matter is - Governor Perry is amply qualified, but would not be appreciated as President because being President is a THANKLESS job. Those who love you, typically in 2 years hate you when you hold that office.
Well Lynna, you and the rest of your state are showing people you arent that bright...Thanks to Perry Texas is in the top 5 of state debt...maybe second, i forget....Perry took your state and is almost bankrupting it...
yeah, good job
I agree with Dan. If Lynna is rep of what Texans think and vote, then I have a low opinion of him. I guess Lynna didn't see Perry's transcripts online and all the C's and D's he got in college. The man can't string two sentences together when he talks. He would have been an embarassment to this country.
What other governor do you know who can run for nomination and receive a pension at the same time?
Perry got C's and D's? Wow how does that compare with Obama? Oh yeah I forgot he won't release his transcripts. But his kool-aid drinking cock sucking retards....er I mean his supporters don't need to know who he is, they only need to know Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house.
rainman-2112589
Perry got C's and D's? Wow how does that compare with Obama? Oh yeah I forgot he won't release his transcripts. But his kool-aid drinking cock sucking retards....er I mean his supporters don't need to know who he is, they only need to know Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house.
rainman
You don't need to see the President's transcripts. It's obvious from the way he speaks and his mannerisms he is intelligent. On the other hand, immigrants and 2 yr olds speak better English than Perry and Palin.
i think any intelligent person knows that the republican party is all about ignorance, fear, and hatred. it has nothing to do with the fact that sarah palin is so retarded that she doesn't even understand basic geography that's taught in middle school. oh wait, she probably went to private school to "learn about god". sorry but if you read the constitution it's clear that our forefathers wanted seperation from church and state. it's also why so many people fled from europe during those times. oh wait, you're republican and probably don't even know basic history. but you know about god. awwwwwww. too bad he isn't real.
Some do....they are the ones who liked GBW...they are almost identical.
Jonathan Reid - You are right, we don't want him back. But there may be a silver lining in this for Texas. He may have made a big enough fool of himself on the national stage, that he is unelectable even in Texas.
@rainman...Obama may not feel the need to release his records to satisfy dimwits like you, but he was president of the Harvard Law Review. They don't give that title to D students. You don't need to be a kool-aid drinker to figure that out...just have a little common sense.
Hell, Perry would be lucky to spell Harvard correctly.
Perry should quit and stop embarrassing the state of Texas. Bachmann is done. Huntsman will soon be finished. Newt and Paul will continue for some time yet. Both are turning a profit on their candidacy's. Romney and Santorum will continue their claims as the 4th man of the bibilical "fiery furnace".
Going home to reassess a campaign means deciding how one will bow out gracefully, or not. Same thing as when Cain bit the dust. He decided to spend more time fixing his family. Ole Rick's just gonna pray his way out of it. Bye, Bye, it's been unreal.
Going home to await God's phone call telling him what to do. You see God doesn't have his cell number.
remember when ol' hermie decided to re-assess his campaign? that was fun to watch!
Is reassess another word for "admit defeat"? I was hoping he would stay in. Not because I hope he wins mind you, but because his presense and Bachmann's would draw tea party support away from the real candidates and force them to appeal to moderate voters to make up the loss.
I'll help you out Perry and give you the answer to your 'is there a path forward for me in this race' query...NO.
You can thank me later.
Is it over or is it just a bad dream? Never have the American people been subjected to so much lunacy by so many wack-a-mole nut cases as this crop of GOP candidates.
Thank god! Perry is a nothing more than a money grubbing flake sell out who will say and do anything to get a vote. He would have been the absolute worst possible thing that could happen to this country if he were to get elected.
Narcist, Jon Kim Gringrich would the second worst thing.
The best possible thing would be Paul but he's not willing to moderate his stances even a little, but Romney wouldn't be all bad
That's because Paul is crazy. That's why he won't change his stance on anything. The others won't because they claim God picked them so they can't change. If they did that would make God wrong for picking them.
You @#$% #$&%$ have to remember Ron Paul will must have the help of congress to accomplish his more extreme positions. Since he will not be able to get full cooperation from congress we will end up where we should be that being somewhere between what we have now and his more extreme positions.
Oh great, he's headed back here. The one downside to him not winning.
Look at it this way, Sean:
Rick Perry is coming back, albeit more humbled than usual, AND, as a bonus, he can raise the white flag on his "Family Vacation Ranch".
Y'all birthed that baby now y'all gots to take care of it.
Devil's Son:
NOW is NOT the time to heap more suffering on the People of Texas any more than they already have!!!!
Have a heart!!!!
Exactly - they have to keep covering for that pathetic little Dallas Toad on a daily basis, already.
Like, you rang?
I was hoping he'll be hanging around. It was so much fun watching this guy debates.
Now you understand how I felt when Herman Cain quit. Remember: He stated that I (being a black man) was brain washed into voting the Liberal ticket AND not considering a Conservative point of view, ON TOP OF being a racist if I didn't vote for him.
<sniff>DAMN YOU!!! Now you got me all misty-eyed!
Y-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ay-y-y-y-y!! Thank God and Greyhound he's gone!
DAMN, Governor Perry, where is all that @!$%#-talking you made about Iowa being Omaha Beach?
Looks like you got your ass SMOKED!!!!
But don't feel too bad; at least you beat out Michele Bachmann and John huntsman.
It was his Omaha Beach. Perry's just one of the guys who never made it to shore.
Well he is a beached whale on that shore....
I see this joke is going to run on all night long...
It was Omaha Beach. He but he was one of the Wehrmacht.
See what I mean?
Perry attempted a version of "Pickett's Charge" , but ended up like Napoleon at Waterloo.
Sorry Texas but you get to keep him.
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
But wait wait it can't be true.....Rick told us that God instructed him, directed him, told him personally to run for President......is he now saying that he is going to go against the word of God, that can't be right?
He's going back to Texas with his tail between his legs.....maybe God does work in strange ways. God told him to run knowing he would just make a fool of himself so the people of Texas would see what a lying crook they had for a governor and they might kick him back to Huntsville at the next election......God is looking after Texas..... Hmmmm I wonder.....didn't help Dallas on the weekend....God does work in mysterious ways. He is a bit of a practical joker sometimes too.....Bachman only got 5% and she's gonna keep going forward, some people are just to dumb to know when they have reached the end of the noose.
Actually Perry told God he was going to run for president and God rolled his eyes and said "What Ever" and ricky took that to mean please do so.
The way you look to justify a supposed non-existence of God makes absolutely no sense.
Best news in months. After LBJ & the Bush's, we don't need another Texan in the white house.
bob - LBJ - the only best President from Texas
Hey, you left out Eisenhower. We have enough for our own Mount Rushmore, right here in Fort Worth, Texas. If only we could find a mountain more than two feet high.
Dear Mr. Rick Perry,
Hey listen, i'm not gonna charge you one cent for my consulting fee...but let me give you some advice. Pull out now. You're wasting your money. You're not gonna win. It's a waste of time. Why? Go look in the mirror. Listen to recordings of your speeches. You are and idiot.
bye bye,
bda
Just like his daddy he doesn't know when to pullout.
Dear Mr. Perry,
There is something I want to tell you. There is something wrong with your face. You look like you are made out of plastic.
sincerely,
bda
Who's the babe over his right shoulder?
Didn't you all kind of think that Perry might be out of his element when he suggested that there should be a "no fly zone" over Syria. (and that Willard had to remind him that Syria doesn't have an air force).
Actually Syria does have a air force. They just aren't using it to kill their people. Papa Assad was air force.
I wish he would just go away. Far away from Texas. Any chance we can exchange him for some good Tequila from Mexico.
Send him to Mexico. For good!
Watch.
He is going to blame god.
Well he won't blame God but he will say it's God's will. The same old religious excuse denying responsibility for ones self and ones actions.
Well, those voices in his head must not have been god.
Did you see the movie "Saving Private Ryan"? Perry is the guy walking around dazed looking for his arm. We just dont want him to come back to Texas though.
Nice try Rick. Give it up. The primary objective is to send obama the clown back to chicago where he can focus his talents on organizing a community. He was good at that right? ANYONE BUT obama IN 2012!
By the way, since Obama came in to office, he got us out of Iraq, the unemployment rate has gone down over the last couple of years, he made sure our taxes didn't go up starting this past weekend, he got bin laden, 2.8 million jobs in the private sector have been created, he got healthcare reform passed, he got regulations passed on Wall Street so that the Republicans can't put us into the mess they got us in over Bush's years in office, he put the automotive industry back on it's feet and those companies have repaid the loans back with interest.
Anything else you need some facts on moron?
Ok, on IRAQ and Bin Laden, +2
Forcing throught legislation that a national average of people over 60% didnt want, only to lose your choice with his healthcare plan,-1
unemployment is still hoovering around 9% (and thats not counting the 99ers that fell off the unemployment rolls. -1
2.8 million jobs? can you please document those?
Then subtract the lost jobs (layoffs, closed business, the new job seekers (graduates etc.), and the % of people who went off unemployment past the 99 weeks)
The Auto Industry while I can't deduct from Obama completely for this as it takes time to repay loans of this size, perhaps researching your facts prior to speaking on them.
www.thecarconnection.com/news/1047754_obama-auto-industry-bailout-to-be-repaid-to-taxpayers
Might want to be careful with the name calling, the Vine Police might get you on rule #1, respect to others, hope the information has been helpful in your research on President Obama's relative value for re-election.
F**K the Vine "Police" I've been banned from better sites in my life. By the way, the majority of people want the healthcare reform. Stop watching Fox News for your info.