Rick Perry

Perry Backs Radical National Sales Tax Plan To Starve Federal Government

Brian Beutler | August 23, 2011, 6:30AM

Rick Perry speaks at a campaign stop in Florence, SC, August 19, 2011.

Rick Perry's recent political manifesto Fed Up doesn't just hint that Social Security should be privatized. It also advocates for a farther-reaching overhaul of the tax code than most conservatives support.

Perry says that government's access to new sources of revenue should be fundamentally limited -- either self-imposed by Congress, or by the Constitution itself. "One option would be to totally scrap the current tax code in favor of a flat tax, and thereby make taxation much simpler, easier to follow, and harder to manipulate," Perry writes.

"Another option would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (providing the power for the income tax) altogether, and then pursue an alternative model of taxation such as a national sales tax or the Fair Tax. The time has come to stop talking about fixing the broken and burdensome tax code and to take bold action to replace it with one that is not a burden for the taxpayer and that provides only the modest revenue needed to perform the basic constitutional functions of the federal government."

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Ames Straw Poll

Perry, Palin, and Polls: The GOP Primary's Wild Weekend

Benjy Sarlin | August 12, 2011, 5:16PM

Ames, Iowa. 2011. Ron Paul Supporters

Saturday is easily the most important day of the Republican primaries so far as the candidates face a major test in Iowa -- and a new challenger enters the arena.

The bulk of the field has been gathered in Iowa all week mingling with locals and noshing on corn dogs as crowds of national reporters follow their every move. The big show is Saturday afternoon as candidates make their final appeal for votes in the Ames Straw Poll, with the ballots closing at 4 PM.

Candidates are already planning all sorts of stunts to attract supporters. Rick Santorum is handing out free jelly. Tim Pawlenty invited Christian rockers Sonicflood. Herman Cain will sing gospel. All three will receive a visit from 2008 Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee, who will play bass at their booths.

The poll is totally unscientific, but a strong showing can give candidates a nice shot of positive press. And every candidate besides the state-leading Michele Bachmann is in desperate need of some help in that category. The only other heavyweight in the national polls, Mitt Romney, is not participating (although he's spent the last few days in Iowa). Tim Pawlenty is staking big money on Ames to jolt his lackluster campaign back to life and said on Friday that a flop would require him to "reassess" his approach. For some of the less establishment candidates, like Ron Paul and Herman Cain, a straw poll win could vault them back into the national conversation, much like Huckabee's second place finish helped draw new attention to his campaign and built momentum for his eventual upset victory in the state.

For the middle of the pack candidates, that boost is especially important given who isn't at Ames. That would be Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is expected to announce his presidential campaign in Charleston, South Carolina at a convention organized by right-wing site RedState.com. Perry's perfectly timed entrance threatens to squash contenders' straw poll gains by dominating the news cycle. If they don't break out soon, they could become buried as the race turns into a top-heavy war between frontrunners Bachmann, Romney, and Perry.

As if Perry's announcement isn't enough of a news suck, candidates in Iowa will also have to share headlines with Sarah Palin, who's in Ames. Although there's little evidence Palin is still seriously preparing for a presidential bid at this late stage in the game, she's still doing her best to convince her supporters not to rule her out. "There is still plenty of room in that field for a common-sense conservative," Palin told state fair-goers on Friday. "Watching the debate, not just last night, but watching this whole process over the past year, it has certainly shown me there's plenty of room for more people."

Ames Straw Poll

No Favorites: Huckabee To Join Cain, Santorum, And Pawlenty At Ames

Benjy Sarlin | August 10, 2011, 9:26AM

Mike Huckabee

Not one to play favorites, Mike Huckabee will play bass for not only Herman Cain but Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty as well at the Ames Straw Poll this weekend.

The news takes some of the thunder out of Cain's earlier announcement that Huckabee would back him up while he sang gospel himself at the event. The former Arkansas governor won the state handily in 2008 and it was considered his to lose in 2012 if he had decided to run. He has yet to endorse any of the candidates.

Huckabee's daughter, Sarah Huckabee, is a top aide to Pawlenty and tweeted on Wednesday that her father would play bass with the bands Sonicflood and the Nadas, who are performing at Pawlenty's booth. As for his Santorum appearance, the Des Moines Register reports he'll play Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" and "Peggy Sue."

2012

Mike Huckabee To Jam With Herman Cain At Ames

Benjy Sarlin | August 9, 2011, 5:05PM

Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee, who won Iowa in 2008, will join Herman Cain at his Ames Straw Poll booth this weekend to lay down some bass grooves behind Cain's gospel vocals.

While not billed as a formal endorsement, Huckabee's appearance is a major boost to Cain, who has been counting on a strong performance at Ames to rocket him into the top tier of GOP contenders.

"I am honored to have the Governor join me on stage for this historic event," Cain, who like Huckabee is a Baptist minister, said in a statement. "We share many commonalities, including the deepness of our Christian faith and our love of music. I am humbled by his graciousness to share his musical gifts with me and I hope Iowa voters will enjoy the show."

Cain will also appear on Huckabee's FOX show the day after the straw poll.

Mike Huckabee

How Bush Killed Bin Laden: What's Really In Huckabee's 9/11 Cartoon

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 4, 2011, 2:45PM

TPM watched Mike Huckabee's new children's educational video about 9/11 so you don't have to. What's inside? A lot of talk about how "most Muslims" aren't terrorists, a reference or two to The Kite Runner, more than a couple scenes extolling America's commitment to Israel -- and no mention whatsoever of President Obama authorizing the mission that took out bin Laden.

Plus there's a really weird plot-line centering around a pre-teen girl never having known that her mother, with whom she lives in an archetypal American small town, was the town's mayor just a few years ago. But that's not even the strangest hole in Huckabee's telling of the 9/11 story.

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