Bachmann, Paul, Pawlenty...and Perry

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll today with 4800, or 27%, of the 16,790 votes cast. Congressman Ron Paul was second with just under 4700 votes. Third, surprisingly, was former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Mitt Romney, the so-called frontrunner for a year now, garnered fewer than 500 votes, because he chose not to participate in the straw poll. Newt Gingrich, with 69 votes, can go back to preaching Georgia conservatism on Fox News.

But, the real political news today was Texas Governor Rick Perry’s announcement in a South Carolina speech that he is now a candidate for the 2012 presidency. With Perry’s hat in the ring, Mrs. Bachmann has the kind of competition she has so far lacked. Perry is what Americans call a “social conservative.” He supports the GOP conservative wing’s platforms of pro-life, and the importance of a religious presence at the heart of the GOP’s conscience, as well as fiscal conservatism’s low taxes and balanced budget goals.

Michele has had these key GOP ideals, in a bundle, all to herself until now. But, with Perry’s entry, she will have to deal with someone who has the social conservative credentials to match hers, and who also can boast about being governor on one of the few states that has added jobs in his state during the recent recession and who has actually managed a political entity, unlike Mrs. Bachmann whose congressional experience, while important, is a lot like the experience Barak Obama brought to the presidency with miserable results.    

So, the race is engaged and now we will listen and weigh the words of the real frontrunners - Bachmann, Perry, Paul, and Romney (I’m not so sure he really has a future, but he does have a lot of money in his presidential war chest and can cause trouble for those trying to unseat him as frontrunner).

However, it would be wise to remember that Romney won the 2008 Iowa straw poll, only to fall flat as Huckabee beat him in the real Iowa caucuses that decided how the Iowa GOP would vote at the convention that nominated the 2008 GOP candidate.

So, Romney may not be dead yet, and there just may be someone besides Michele Bachmann to beat him. Someone like Perry.