Donald Trump Likes Perry, Romney Not So Much

When people heard that Rick Perry's 2010 gubernatorial campaign wouldn't have yard signs, political wonks considered it a form of heresy. Supporters could buy yard signs for $7.99, just like they could buy buttons ($2.89) and bumper stickers ($1.99). But the campaign hardly cared if supporters chose to give a a few dollars to show some support.


Instead, from beginning to end, the entire race focused on turnout. Rather than making phone calls and wearing Perry t-shirts, would-be supporters were asked to do something very, very specific: turn out 12 Perry votes from their friends and family.


Only two years before, Barack Obama's campaign revolutionized politics, using its website and social media sites like Facebook to gain support and promote fundraising. Instead of making very specific requests, Obama's site allowed supporters to set their own fundraising goals. The campaigns pushed supporters to help with get-out-the-vote efforts and offered a multitude of ways that people could do so. Compared to Obama's a la carte options, Perry's campaign was prix-fixe.


Both strategies were ultimately successful, destroying a lot of the common wisdom around campaigns. But while Obama's techniques have a lot of copy-cats, few people seem to have noticed Perry's playbook. It's especially odd because Perry's strategy may have some particular advantages in presidential primaries.


Back in 2010, Perry was in the toughest race of his career, running in a primary against the wildly popular and well-funded U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Politicos had assumed Perry could only win if turn-out was low; if more people came to the polls, it would mean more moderates were coming to the polls—presumably to vote against the more extreme candidate, Rick Perry.

Trump added about Romney: “But if you look at his record as governor, it wasn't totally stellar. His job production was not great at all. In fact, it was the third worst in the nation. There are some pretty negative things with respect to Mitt Romney, which frankly he's going to have to overcome.


However, he is impressed by the latest entrant, Texas governor Rick Perry.


“I've spoken to him a number of times. He's going to come and see me next week. And I think he's a very impressive guy with a very good record. So it'll be interesting to see how he does under the spotlight. It's a big spotlight. But Texas is a big spotlight, also. I think he's going to do very well. I think he is going to be very interesting. And I think he's going to do very well.”


Trump defended Perry from the flack he received over making comments that Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke is “treasonous” for printing too much money. Trump further said Perry is ready to be president.


“He's been governor of Texas for a long time,” he said. “Texas has done very well. I think he's very ready. No, he's a tough guy. He's a smart guy and he wants to-- hey, he's like everybody else in this country. We're all frustrated. He's very frustrated and he's probably angry. So I think he has the right to show some emotion.”


Trump also responded to the recent hubbub over Warren Buffet declaring that the wealthy should pay more taxes.
“I can also tell you that a lot of people will go elsewhere to do business if you start taxing them,” Trump said. “You already have an exodus out of this country. But you’re going to have a mass exodus of business out of this country when you start taxing too high.