Category: Rick Perry

Buzzard Bait: Rick Perry’s Immigration Blunder Took Him From Hero to Zero

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Donald Douglas at American Power links an important story from the Los Angeles Times:

Perry has “a surprisingly tin ear” on the immigration issue, said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican strategist who is unaligned in the presidential contest.
To most Republicans, denying tuition subsidies to illegal immigrants “is a question of fairness,” said Fabrizio. He added that Perry, in portraying his critics as heartless, is making Republican voters wonder whether he shares their values. . . .
Charlie Gerow, a Republican consultant from Harrisburg, Pa., said initial excitement over Perry’s entry into the 2012 race had entered a new phase.
“People were looking for something different,” he said. “Now it’s a question of what [Perry’s candidacy] is going to look like when it’s examined under the microscope.”

Yes, we have “entered a new phase,” the phase where talking heads on the Sunday morning shows will be discussing the first draft of Rick Perry’s political obituary. Didn’t I try to warn everybody about the “Phantom Menace”?

Don’t doubt my Jedi senses on this one, folks. I’m getting spooky vibes.  . . .
Yeah, I know political journalists aren’t supposed to believe in “omens.” Still, there’s something vaguely . . . hinky about the way Perry’s stealth campaign has been operating here in Iowa.
Call me crazy. Attribute my forebodings of doom to irrational prejudice. Say what you will, and I don’t care, but I felt a need to put on the record my instinctive sense that there’s something fundamentally wrong about the Perry campaign.

That was on Aug. 9, four days before Perry officially announced.

Now here we are, six weeks later, and the Perry bandwagon is inarguably in the ditch — thanks to Perry’s own “tin ear” blundering and the triumph of my man Herman Cain:

The Georgia businessman won more votes than the Republican primary’s frontrunners — Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — combined.

Where is my vindication? Where are those who scoffed at my prophetic foresight? And why haven’t you hit my freaking tip jar?

UPDATE: Straw-poll delegate tells Politico: “We can get that liberal guilt trip stuff from someone else.” They also interview state Rep. Scott Plakon, whose Friday night endorsement of Herman Cain was described as “crucial” by Cain spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael.

ORLANDO GOP STRAW POLL RESULTS UPDATE: Herman Cain Beats Rick Perry

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We will have results of the important crucial life-or-death world-historical cosmos-shifting Florida Republican P5 Straw Poll within mere moments.

UPDATE: HERMAN CAIN WINS WITH 37.1%

UPDATE II: The St. Petersburg Times calls the results a “stunning upset,” as Rick Perry finished a distant second with less than 16%!

UPDATE III: Dave Weigel:

By failing so convincingly, Perry’s ensured that the weekend’s “trouble for frontrunner narrative” will be plated in gold and frozen in amber.

Or as he put it earlier: “shadows of vultures” are all over the Perry campaign.

UPDATE IV: The results, with nearly 2,700 delegates voting:

CAIN . . . . . . . . . . . 37.1%
PERRY . . . . . . . . . 15.4%
ROMNEY . . . . . . . 14.7%
SANTORUM . . . . 10.9%
PAUL . . . . . . . . . .  10.4%
GINGRICH . . . . . . 8.4%
HUNTSMAN . . . . 2.3%
BACHMANN . . . . 1.5%

“A total embarrassment for Perry,” says Allapundit.

UPDATE V: Just got off the phone with Cain campaign spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael, who informs me that the candidate is flying back to Atlanta to prepare for a trip to New York, where he will appear Monday on Fox & Friends to promote his new book, This Is Herman Cain!

A quick survey of headlines:

Cain upsets Perry at Florida straw poll
— USA Today

Cain wins GOP straw poll; result could
carry weight in presidential race
— Tampa Tribune

Hermain Cain wins Florida
straw poll in stunning victory
— Miami Herald

He’s definitely come a long way since the days of “Herman Who?”

UPDATE VI: Here’s one to save for your scrapbook, kids:

The link is to Seth McLaughlin’s Washington Times story:

ORLANDO — Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll here Saturday, delivering a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s frontrunner status and a victory for a candidate who has struggled to transform his grassroots popularity into strong showings in national polls. . . .

UPDATE VII: Don Surber of the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail:

Reeling from poor performances by Rick Perry in the CNN and Fox News debates, conservatives flocked to the Godfather — Herman Cain — as he swept today’s Florida Straw Poll with 37% of the vote. Trailing badly were Rick Perry 15%, Mitt Romney 14%, Rick Santorum 11%, Ron Paul 10%, Newt Gingrich 9%, Jon Huntsman 2%, and Michele Bachmann 2%.

Permit me humbly to suggest that this puts a decisive end to all that Chris Christie talk. I mean, how bad would it look if Republicans brought in a new candidate because they were afraid a black man might win the nomination?

UPDATE VIII: Press release from the Cain campaign:

Cain Sweeps Presidency 5 Poll,
Garners Florida Endorsement
(Orlando, FL)- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain swept the Republican Party of Florida’s “Presidency 5” straw poll today in Orlando, capping off his strongest fundraising and grassroots week since the establishment of his campaign in May 2011. . . .
This week, Governor Rick Scott pointed out that the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll would go on to win the nomination. He explained that former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, plus 1995 GOP nominee Bob Dole all won Florida straw polls.
“Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today,” Cain said. “This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of ‘common sense solutions’ across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election.”
On Friday evening, Scott Plakon, the Americans for Prosperity- Florida Legislator of the Year who represents the state’s 37th district, endorsed Herman Cain in front of more than 1,000 cheering supporters at the Rosen Center in Orlando, Fla. Scott is best known as the sponsor of the Florida Health Care Freedom Act, slated to be Amendment 1 on Florida’s 2012 general election ballot.
“I’m proud to support Herman Cain. Our country is suffering right now from bad ideas, bad policies and bad leadership. Herman Cain has the right ideas, the right policies and is a proven business and conservative leader,” Scott explained. “Over the last few days at the Orange County Convention Center, I’ve seen him connect with Florida voters like few candidates I’ve ever seen. I look forward to working with Herman Cain to see him win Florida and to become the next President of the United States.”
In addition to being named the victor of Thursday night’s FOX News/ Google/ RPOF Republican presidential candidate debate and the straw poll, Cain spent the entire week in Florida, touring the Sunshine State on his nationwide “Common Sense Solutions Bus Tour,” addressing CPAC Florida and speaking at the Presidency 5 festivities.

I’m told that people trying to make online donations at Herman Cain’s Web site have reported difficulty getting through because the traffic is so heavy. So while you’re waiting, how about hitting my tip jar instead?

PREVIOUSLY:


Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Republican Nightmare Campaign Tour

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“Empty feelings present themselves, and grief enters our lives on a deeper level, deeper than we ever imagined. This depressive stage feels as though it will last forever.”
— Professor William Jacobson

“The only thing worse than going out on the campaign trail and getting hauled around in a booze-frenzy from one speech to another is having to come back to Washington and write about it.”
— Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72

Yesterday afternoon my editor at The American Spectator called, wondering if I was in Orlando, and my answer was a long explanation of “no.” As I had explained at some length Sunday, the requisite trip to Ohio after the Tampa debate spoiled my plan to spend two uninterrupted weeks covering the campaign in Florida, and simultaneously deprived me of funding necessary to return in time for the Orlando debate.

Keeping Mrs. Other McCain happy is Job One, the Ohio trip was an inescapable duty, and so I had to cover last night’s debate from here in my basement office and skip CPAC Florida. This feels like abject professional failure, and the only way to recover my sense of dignity and purpose is to get back on the road as soon as possible. So please hit the freaking tip jar. Speaking of abject failure . . .

Perry’s Awful Night
— John Tabin, The American Spectator

Perry Delivers an Unsteady
Performance at Republican Debate
— PBS Newshour

Web verdict on Perry: Brutal
— Politico

Wow, Rick Perry really stunk it up in Orlando, didn’t he? Continue reading Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Republican Nightmare Campaign Tour →

RICK PERRY IN FREEFALL?

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Three headlines after last night’s debate:

Perry is blowing it
— Philip Klein, Washington Examiner

Orlando GOP debate: A strong
night for Santorum as Perry fades
— Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

Rick Perry Blindsided Again In Debate On
Immigration, Rick Santorum Has Big Night
— Sam Stein and Jon Ward, Huffington Post

Now, those are different writers with different perspectives. Klein really hates Romney, because he fears Romney won’t repeal ObamaCare and Klein hates ObamaCare like God hates sin. Rubin’s OK with Romney. Stein and Ward are reporters rather than pundits.

My point is that there is universal agreement among them that Perry stunk up the place in Orland0 last night, and there is a majority view that Santorum did well. Let’s quote Stein and Ward:

What was clear is that Santorum gained enormously from another strong performance. He has gathered momentum with every debate — speaking with authority and expertise on policy and with obvious passion on issues in a way that resonates with the conservative grassroots. With Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) fading as voters question her electability, Santorum may be putting himself in a position to make some real noise in Iowa, which goes first in the primary process. Depending on how Perry does over the next few months, that could elevate the Pennsylvanian significantly.

Now, let’s go back to something I wrote Wednesday:

I also feel that more attention is due for Rick Santorum, whose fourth-place finish in the Ames Straw Poll would have been heralded as a newsworthy miracle, but was overshadowed by Perry’s entrance into the 2012 field and Tim Pawlenty’s exit the next day.

See? Santorum’s got a hard core of support in Iowa, and he seems to be picking up steam in the debates. Meanwhile, Bachmann’s campaign is reportedly experiencing financial difficulties.

Perry looked like a loser last night: “Cringeworthy.” We’ll get the results Saturday of a Republican straw poll in Florida, and if Perry doesn’t win that, the “Anybody But Romney” vote may start looking around for another horse to ride. Santorum might get a second look, and also I noticed that Michelle Malkin had warm praise for Herman Cain last night.

Nearly all of this is cited in my American Spectator column today:

Rick Perry may have forfeited his lead in the Republican presidential field during Thursday night’s debate in Orlando when he declared that those who oppose subsidizing college education for illegal immigrants are heartless.
“If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they have been brought there by no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart,” Perry said, after being criticized by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for a Texas policy providing in-state tuition for illegals.
Romney, who vetoed a similar tuition bill in Massachusetts, pointed out that this amounts to a $22,000-a-year discount for illegal aliens, as compared to the tuition that would be paid by U.S. students from the other 49 states attending universities in Texas. “That doesn’t make sense to me,” Romney said.
It didn’t make sense to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum either. “You’re sort of making this leap that unless… the taxpayers subsidize it, [immigrants] won’t be able to go [to college].… The point is, why are we subsidizing it?… And why should they be given preferential treatment as an illegal in this country?” . . .

Read the whole thing. It’s still a long way to the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 6.

Perry Boomlet Already Fading?

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In a comment on my own post Aug. 9, I wrote:

There have been a few little things . . . that lead me to think Perry is a lot less certain ultimately to win the nomination than some people seem to think. What I fear will happen is that Perry will spend several months sucking up media oxygen and burning through GOP donor cash, only to collapse early next year. This will have the effect of suffocating other conservative candidates, and thereby lead to … Romney 2012.

And now we learn that, after Rick Perry’s first two debates, polls show his early popularity waning:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary voters shows Perry with 28% support and Romney capturing 24%. Before Perry entered his first debate, the Texan held an eleven point advantage over Romney, 29% to 18%.

That’s a seven-point shift in Romney’s favor in the span of five weeks, and I know: It’s just one poll and it’s still early. But six of the first eight polls taken after Rick Perry’s Aug. 13 announcement showed Perry with a double-digit lead over Romney, whereas the past five polls show Romney within single digits. If Perry doesn’t shine in tomorrow night’s debate . . .

Well, don’t say you weren’t warned. And if Perry can’t go the distance as the “Anybody But Romney” candidate, what then?

What will the bandwagon jumpers do, if the bandwagon on which they’ve jumped ends up in the ditch? I sincerely wish conservatives would take a second (or perhaps third) look at Herman Cain, who keeps chugging along. I also feel that more attention is due for Rick Santorum, whose fourth-place finish in the Ames Straw Poll would have been heralded as a newsworthy miracle, but was overshadowed by Perry’s entrance into the 2012 field and Tim Pawlenty’s exit the next day.

Whenever I mention Cain or Santorum, the response is always the same circular “can’t win” arguments, but if Perry can’t put Romney away, why not take a chance on a long shot? Because I think whoever gets the GOP nomination is going to get a huge boost next summer in Tampa when the Republican ticket becomes “[BLANK]-RUBIO.” With Marco Rubio as a running mate, I’d say any Republican would be at least an even bet against Obama.

And now it’s time to take notice of another fact: Last night on Sean Hannity’s show, Sarah Palin — having previously specified September as the deadline for her to enter the 2012 field — appeared to extend her timeline to November. That alone is enough to make all the pundits groan at the prospect of another two months of will-she-or-won’t-she drama, but what do you make of this?

“This is going to be such an unconventional election cycle. … Mark my word, it is going to be an unconventional type of election process.”

Is Palin hinting at a possible third-party campaign? I strongly doubt it, but neither would I rule it out, and I’m also thinking about the possibility that the changes to the delegate apportionment rules — no “winner-take-all” primaries in March — could lead to a brokered convention at Tampa. Whatever the tea-leaf readers see in Palin’s comments, I think she’s absolutely right: 2012 has already been an unconventional election cycle, and people should be skeptical about bandwagon organizers who think they can predict events many months in advance.

UPDATE: On Twitter, Jerry Wilson reacted to this story by saying “@AceOfSpadesHQ hardest hit,” which is perhaps a bit unfair. Yes, Ace jumped on the Perry bandwagon, but he’s honest enough to admit: “The Perry erosion I believe a little more — it’s been a not-terrific two weeks for him.”

Ace keeps bashing Bachmann over the Gardasil thing (and more) as if destroying Bachmann will help Perry, which I think is mistaken. Perhaps this is the best place to point out something I think has been under-appreciated: Bachmann’s claims last week about Gardasil have exposed her to much criticism, but she had less to lose than Perry did.

Bachmann’s highest national poll rating — by Rasmussen, in the immediate wake of Bachmann’s strong performance in the June debate in New Hampshire — was 19 percent. Her highest RCP average was 14% on July 20, and as soon as Perry got in, Bachmann’s support dropped rapidly, so that her current RCP number is 7.7 percent. And here’s the lead of my American Spectator column last week about the Tampa debate:

Rick Perry came into last night’s debate here with a target on his back, leading in the polls only a month after his late entry into the Republican presidential campaign. His fellow GOP candidates fired at the Texas governor all night, but it wasn’t until Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said the phrase “innocent little 12-year-old girls” that he suffered any serious wound. . . .

Without regard to whether Bachmann helped herself, she hurt Perry with that phrase. It hurt him with the Traditionalist Mom (and Grandma) Vote, who are an important segment of GOP primary voters. You can say Bachmann hurt Perry unfairly, and suffered damage herself as a consequence, but you cannot deny that she hurt him. So if Ace wants to get some payback on Bachmann, that’s his choice, but I don’t think hurting Bachmann will help Perry.


Republican Debate Reaction Round-Up: Romney vs. Perry; Huntsman WTF?

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From my point of view, the two biggest questions about last night’s Republican debate were, (a) why was Jon Huntsman on the stage and (b) why did he get so much time? It is absurd to include the man I’ve dubbed “Governor Asterisk” — denoting his status as an irrelevant footnote to the 2012 campaign — while excluding, inter alia, Thad McCotter and Buddy Roemer.

Huntsman represents the “re-elect Obama” wing of the Republican Party, so the MSM types consider him legitimate, and therefore his inclusion is not questioned while all the media focus on the “fireworks” between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) began sparring over their respective jobs records less than 10 minutes into Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate.
The highly-anticipated fight between Romney and Perry, the two front-runners for the GOP nomination, largely lived up to expectations, with extended spats between the pair throughout the debate. . . .

(“Highly-anticipated” by whom? The media, of course.)

[Romney] saw his opportunity to pounce later, when Perry doubled down on remarks in his book calling Social Security a “monstrosity,” and likening it to a Ponzi scheme.
“The issue in the book ‘Fed Up,’ governor, is you say that by any measure, Social Security is a failure,” Romney said. “Our nominee has to be someone who isn’t committed to abolishing Social Security, but who is committed to saving Social Security … I will make sure that we keep the program and we make it financially secure, and under no circumstances would I ever say by any measure it’s a failure.”

Here’s video of that exchange:

Here’s the lead of the New York Times front-page story:

The fight for the Republican presidential nomination began narrowing into an intense and ideological battle at a debate here Wednesday night, with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Mitt Romney sharply clashing over Social Security, health care and each other’s long-term prospect against President Obama.
A series of spirited exchanges between the two men, which revealed differences in substance and style, offered the first extensive look into the months-long contest ahead. They traded attacks on each other’s job creation records and qualifications to be president, overshadowing their opponents in the crowded Republican field.

Never mind, of course, that the fight between Perry and Romney was incited by Brian Williams of NBC ahd John Harris of Politico like a made-for-TV spat on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Let’s just pretend the televised drama was spontaneous and cover it as a preview of a “months-long contest,” because the media have decided it’s now all about Perry and Romney, just like they’ve decided that Governor Asterisk is a legit Republican candidate.

Stanley Kurtz at NRO proclaims Perry the winner. But a Romney adviser sees it otherwise: “[Perry] has lost. No federal candidate has ever won on the Perry program to kill Social Security. Never has. never will.” So Rick Perry has either (a) indisputably triumphed or (b) failed disastrously.

Governor Asterisk, meanwhile, played the role of liberal stalking horse:

Reviving a minor debate with his Republican presidential primary opponent, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman warned Wednesday night that the GOP shouldn’t “run from science.”
“Listen, when you make comments that fly in the face of what 98 out of 100 climate scientists have said, when you call into question the science of evolution, all I’m saying is that, in order for the Republican Party to win, we can’t run from science,” Huntsman said at a Republican debate.

Might as well invite Al Gore to the GOP debates.

A press release from the Herman Cain campaign notes: “During the 1 hour and 45 minute debate, Cain received a total of five questions for less than six minutes of speaking time.” But Cain is an actual Republican, whereas Governor Asterisk worked for the Obama administration and favors gay civil unions, so we know who gets the media love, right?


GOP Debate at Simi Valley, California

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9:49 p.m. ET: And it’s over! Let the spin begin. If you’re watching this on MSNBC, you’ll get to see Rachel Maddow hosting the post-debate show with Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton and Lawrence O’Donnell. I think I’ll skip it myself.

9:47 p.m. ET: Brian Williams references LBJ in asking a question of Ron Paul about school lunches.

9:46 p.m. ET: Hey, a question for Herman Cain at last! Cain once again promotes his “9-9-9” tax plan.

9:45 p.m. ET: Another question for Perry. Death penalty.

BTW, it’s been 30 minutes since we’ve heard from Herman Cain. We’ve heard from Governor Asterisk twice during the past half-hour. Because NBC is racist.

9:42 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney gets a tax question and turns it into an attack on Obamanomics. Agrees with Gingrich that Bernanke should be fired.

9:40 p.m. ET: Newt would fire Ben Bernanke tomorrow. Wants to audit the Fed.

9:38 p.m. ET: Bachmann wants to drill in the Everglades. Why doesn’t everybody else want to drill in the Everglades?

9:37 p.m. ET: Rick Perry hates him some science! Why doesn’t everybody else hate science?

9:35 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk loves him some science! Why doesn’t everybody else love science?

9:33 p.m. ET: Santorum gets a question on Libya. Criticizes what he calls the “isolationist” stance of Huntsman and Paul.

9:31 p.m. ET: Bachmann’s turn at foreign policy. Praises our troops. Criticizes Iran, supports Israel. Gets a follow-up and bashes Obama on Libya.

9:29 p.m. ET: Perry is offered a chance to criticize George Bush. Declines, and instead praises Obama on foreign policy, then denounces Obama’s Keynesian economic policy. Even when offered a follow-up chance to criticize Bush directly, he declines.

9:27 p.m. ET: Governor Romney says the economy sucks. Figures the guy in the White House is the problem.

9:26 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk is against signing pledges and gets a follow-up question. Another minute of my life I’ll never get back.

9:25 p.m. ET: The Smilin’ Minnesotan. Bachmann likes Ronald Reagan. Controversy ensues?

9:24 p.m. ET: Smilin’ Texan time again. He’s for the Balanced Budget Amendment.

9:23 p.m. ET: Romney’s pro-Tea Party.

9:22 p.m. ET: We’re back after a commercial break. Now the “Lightning Round” that’s not a lightning round.

9:18 p.m. ET: Ron Paul wastes another minute of my life I’ll never get back.

9:16 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk wastes another minute of my life I’ll never get back.

9:15 p.m. ET: Herman Cain: “Empower the states to do what the federal government hasn’t done and won’t do.”

9:14 p.m. ET: Bachmann loves her some Cubans!

9:12 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum brags about being the son of Italian immigrants.

9:11 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich brags about his own record of support for amnesty.

9:10 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney talks tough on immigration.

9:09 p.m. ET: Perry advocates using Predator drones on the Mexican border.

9:08 p.m. ET: Brian Williams introduces a token Hispanic to ask a token question about immigration.

9:07 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich talks about supporting Obama’s education policy. No cheers.

9:05 p.m. ET: Brian Williams lectures Perry about how stupid Texans are.

9:04 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk again.

9:03 p.m. ET: Herman Cain agrees with Ron Paul!

9:02 p.m. ET: Ron Paul points out that we didn’t have FEMA until 1979. Good point — it’s a Carter-era agency.

9 p.m. ET: Ron Paul calls TSA a “monstrosity,” wants to privatize airline security. Blames government for 9/11 — not in a “Truther” way.

8:59 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich talks about the Department of Homeland Security.

8:57 p.m. ET: Santorum also uses parental rights to attack Perry.

8:56 p.m. ET: Perry talks about the “opt-out” on the HPV mandate. “I will always err on the side of saving lives.”

8:55 p.m. ET: It seems to be open season on Perry now. Bachmann bashes the HPV vaccination mandate as an infringement of parental rights.

8:54 p.m. ET: Ron Paul goes after Perry on the HPV vaccination mandate. “He did it with an executive o0rder!”

8:52 p.m. ET: Herman Cain jumps in without waiting to be asked, endorses the Chilean model to “eliminate the current system.”

8:51 p.m. ET: Perry: “Maybe it’s time to have some provocative language in this country.”

8:50 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney defends Social Security, attacks Perry.

8:49 p.m. ET: Now Rick Perry is asked about his book’s slam on Social Security. Still the smilin’ Texan. “It is a Ponzi scheme . . . a monstrous lie to our children.” He doesn’t back down or apologize.

8:44 p.m. ET: Obligatory video tribute to Nancy Reagan.

8:43 p.m. ET: In non-debate news, Mila Kunis is beautiful. And stupid.

8:38 p.m. ET: I’m back. Did I miss anything important? Now Rick Perry and Ron Paul are going at it. Rick Perry’s got that smilin’ Texan thing down cold, doesn’t he? And now — a commercial.

8:35 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk again. This looks like a good time to take a break.

8:35 p.m. ET: Mitt Romey talks energy. Then Michele Bachmann talks energy. Speaking of energy, when’s the commercial? I’m about ready for a cigarette and a cup of coffee.

8:33 p.m. ET: Rick Perry is asked stupid question about income disparities between blacks and whites, doesn’t even pretend to answer it. Nobody seems to mind.

8:31 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum brags about his role in passing Welfare Reform, and says we should apply the same principle to food stamps and other programs.

8:29 p.m. ET: Herman Cain adds a denunciation of RomneyCare to his denunciation of ObamaCare.

8:27 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich just won the “Let’s Denounce ObamaCare” Derby.

8:26 p.m. ET: Michele Bachmann says she wants to repeal ObamaCare. And will take in all the uninsured as foster children.

8:25 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk again. He looks like a game-show host, doesn’t he?

8:23 p.m. ET: Now healthcare. Perry bashes RomneyCare. Romney bashes ObamaCare. Now it’s back to Perry again. Politico editor John Harris messes with Texas. Perry bashes Washington, D.C.

8:19 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich reminds us of his claim to being a Reaganite.

8:17 p.m. ET: Ron Paul, who placed second in the Ames Straw Poll, is the seventh candidate who gets a question in the debate. Paul gets a follow-up question, rambles about bureaucracy and lobbyists.

8:15 p.m. ET: Took them a quarter-hour to get to Michele Bachmann who — it’s important to remember — actually won the Ames Straw Poll three weeks ago. Bachmann plays the “I’m a mom” card. Nobody else on stage can challenge her on those terms, after all.

8:13 p.m. ET: Now the question for Jon Hunstman, a/k/a “Governor Asterisk.” Question is about China, answer is about something else.

8:11 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum says “I’ve done things” and recites his record in Congress. Herman Cain talks about his “9-9-9” economic plan. Interrupted by spontaneous applause.

8:09 p.m. ET: Brian Williams follows up with a question to Romney about “career politicians,” then goes to Perry for a “rebuttal.” Now back to Romney. Now back to Perry. Now back to Romney. So we’re nine minutes into the debate and have heard from only two of the candidates.

8:05 p.m. ET: Now Mitt Romney’s turn to talk jobs. His message: “Elect the smilin’ Mormon.”

8:03 p.m. ET: First question to Perry. Brian Williams messes with Texas. Perry smiles and deflects the attacks. His message: “Elect the smilin’ Texan.”

8 p.m. ET — We’re live! With Brian Williams and a snappy special-effects intro!

PREVIOUSLY: Yes, I’m live-blogging tonight’s Reagan Library debate — 8 p.m. ET on MSNBC — from here in my basement, which offers a significant savings in terms of travel expenses.  The New York Times offers its “Five Things to Watch” debate preview, with such questions as “How Does Perry Perform?” Because you needed the New York Times to tell you to keep an eye on that, right?

Dave Weigel offers suggested anti-Perry attacks for the other GOP candidates.

Ace of Spades HQ is doing their usual debate thing.

I’m sure Vodkapundit will be drunk-blogging the debate.

Allahpundit has an open thread at Hot Air.

I’m watching the MSNBC pre-debate coverage hosted by Chris Matthews. Lotta talk about Jon Huntsman. Liberals  just love that guy, don’t they?