Rick Perry’s Got It in the Bag

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a staunch conservative and evangelical Christian from the right side of the Mason-Dixon Line, may just be the most “electable” candidate the Republican establishment can nominate for president.

In an Op-Ed for Business Insider, John Ellis argues that all that stands between Perry and a presidential nomination from the GOP is a series of five debates, during which he needs to perform only moderately well to blot out Mitt Romney completely. Although for a long time Romney was considered the only “electable one,” he’s also a Mormon from New England with close ties to Wall Street. And, as Ellis argues, the Republican base would much rather vote for one of its own. –BF

John Ellis in Business Insider:

The Republican “establishment,” such as it is, is quickly coming to the realization that the 2012 GOP presidential nomination is Texas Governor Rick Perry’s to lose.

He leads in Iowa and he hasn’t even really campaigned there yet. He’s running second in New Hampshire, which is all he needs to do. And he’s running comfortably ahead in South Carolina (again, without much campaigning), which is the gateway to the South.

The South is the base of the modern Republican Party. Perry has become, in less than a month, the Southern states’ de facto favorite son.

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