Follow the money
Big money still rolling in as Perry falls in the polls
Unlike Texas' public school system, Rick Perry's campaign is well funded.
The Drudge Report reported Wednesday morning in an exclusive:
Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry raised over $17 million in 49 days, DRUDGE has learned. $347,000 per day; 20,000 unique donors from all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. With more than half of donors living outside of Texas."
Of course, it turned out that Perry's campaign leaked the information to Drudge, with analysts speculating that the campaign is trying to woo the conservative web giant — one that's run some negative Perry stories.
Upon entering the race mid-August, Perry's charisma and rhetoric pushed him to the top of the GOP running, so contributing to his campaign may have initially seemed like a good investment. Perhaps those 20,000 donors now feel that their hard-earned dollars were misspent, as Perry's poll numbers are sharply declining.
The latest poll numbers show that Perry has fallen from 23 percent to 12 percent over the past two weeks, and now rests below a steady Mitt Romney and Herman Cain (who is rapidly gaining ground) — each at 17 percent among Republican primary voters.
Perry looks great in photos and promising on paper to Republicans, but the past three GOP debates have raised empty talk concerns. Perry also seems to have alienated large portions of the conservative base with what's being perceived as contradictory views.
Plus, the Texas governor just can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth — or certain unfavorable pieces of his family history out of the national spotlight.
The Washington Post seems to think that the announcement of these funding numbers will give a boost to Perry's campaign. Do you believe money — which translates to support, or at least the appearance of it — will power Perry back up the polls?
