Ten Years Later: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Every time that the calendar flips to September 11, we take a moment to look back at the tragic events of that infamous day in 2001. As we look back, we remember not just the struggle of that day, but the countless examples of heroism and courage that we witnessed. We remember how we all united and stood strong together. This year, though, as a decade has passed and our world has changed, we have a particularly welcome opportunity to look forward. Ten years ago, Osama bin Laden became the face of the Islamic faith. For nearly ten years, he became a symbol of intolerance, hatred, and extremism that was unfairly linked to an entire religion. Today, though, is the first September 11th in which Osama bin Laden’s face is no longer on our Earth. And, as fate would have it, at the same time he was killed, myriads of new faces emerged to represent the Muslim world. The Arab Spring began in spring of 2011, as thousands – perhaps millions – of young Muslims took to the streets in a revolutionary spirit to tackle tyranny. Within a matter of months, the face of the Muslim world changed. Members of a religion that was marred by terrorism and oppression suddenly were fighting against terrorism and oppression. Yes, the part year marked a changing point for the Middle East and for the world. Here in America, it has been a decade since we lost our innocence. Children are entering our school system who were not even born on September 11. We are drawing troops down in the war on terror, and changing our approach to the remaining global threat. Perhaps the greatest thing to see is the work being done in New York City. In the place that the Twin Towers stood, there is an even larger building that is being erected. This tower is a symbol to the world: If you knock us down, we won’t just recover; we will rise up stronger than ever.

Thoughts on Bloomberg's exclusion of Prayer at The 9/11 Memorial Service

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week that there will be no “clergy-led” prayer at the September 11th memorial. The decision was made not only because of the issue of prayer alone, but the issue of appeasing all religions and not showing favoritism towards one.

This decision is a terrible one for a host of reasons. Most importantly, to deny prayer a place in the memorial service is to deny the events of September 11, 2001. As the towers fell and Americans were in a state of panic, they prayed. We’ve seen images of people banning together to pray in the streets of New York. When the rest of America returned home at night, many of them prayed with their families. Millions of Americans attended vigils at their places of worship during the evening. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani asked for people’s prayers, and President Bush ended his evening address with a bible verse.

The fact of the matter is that when millions of Americans could have turned to fear, they turned to God. I remember as a child on September 11th, feeling safe for two reasons: The might of our military and the faith in God that I witnessed around me. And as America healed, America prayed. You simply cannot recall the events of that terrible day without including the role that faith played. Whether or not you believe that there is a God who had a hand in America’s recovery, you cannot deny that millions of Americans do believe in God and did turn to Him as they healed. Simply put, you can deny the existence of God, but you can’t deny the existence of faith, and the role that faith played in the healing of America.

Additionally, as America continues to heal from the tragedy of September 11, there has been an important effort to protect and maintain the dignity of all religions in our country. With the controversies surrounding the mosque near ground zero, and with an emerging debate about the role of Shariah Law in America, many fear that that we may be taking a step backwards in terms of religious tolerance. Rather than ban prayer, Bloomberg should have brought all faiths together to pray. He could have united the faiths of America on one stage, for one event, for one prayer. It would be a symbolic gesture to the world – a renewal of the tagline that defined post-9/11 America, “United We Stand.”

The Pros and Cons of the Late Entry

Since Rick Perry announced that he was going to run for president, conservative and liberal activists have been dissecting his record. Many of them have not liked what they have found. This got me thinking, “Was it a good strategy for him to wait so long to get into the race?”

For starters, I take Perry at his word that he did not want to run for president when this race started. So, the speculation of what the best path to the presidency would be may be a moot point. However, for the sake of future campaigns it’s worth examining the strategy of the late entrance.

There’s a clear positive result to entering the race this late. For three months, conservatives have been waiting for a candidate to come in and save the primary. Unsatisfied with the current field, Republicans have been waiting for an outsider to come in and fire up the Party. Because of this, a late entrance from Perry immediately makes him one of the favorites for the nomination. If he had simply entered the race back in March or April, his name recognition would have been low and he may have been in the middle of the pack. Surely, he would fundraise well and move upwards, but he still would have started in single digits. By entering late, Perry was able to boost his name recognition without spending money, and was able to capture the title of “savior” before he announced his campaign.

There are some significant problems with the late entrance. If Perry had low name recognition and entered the race in April, there would have been an examination of his record at that time. The press would have found the bad spots in his record and would have reported on it, but none of the other candidates for the nomination would have. The Democrats would have put out an initial press release attacking Perry as a right-wing extremist, but wouldn’t have done much more. As Perry inevitably rose in the polls, the criticism would grown, but it would come out in small waves rather than the tidal wave we have seen over the past three days.

Since Perry announced his candidacy on the unofficial begin of the “real” campaign, in a span from Saturday to Monday people were overwhelmed with dozens of different criticisms of the Perry administration. They learned that he signed an executive order mandating that all girls be given HPV vaccine. They learned that he supported Al Gore in 1988. They learned that he was a bad student in college. From the left, he was criticized by people who claimed he didn’t deserve credit for the job creation in his state. As New Hampshire Young Republican Brinck Slattery said on his facebook page, “I feel like I’ve learned everything about Rick Perry in just two days – good and bad.”

Additionally, the other candidates in the race already have a loyal following – no matter how large or small. If Perry had entered the race early, he would have faced a field in which almost all Republican activists were still undecided. Instead, he enters a field in which a large chunk of the conservative base has already chosen a candidate, and they will go to great lengths to defend their candidate. So, as this immediate onslaught of negative information comes out, Perry doesn’t just have to face media scrutiny – he has thousands of Republican activists working against him. Rather than having these people defending his record, as they would have early on, he faced a large chunk of the GOP that wants to destroy him.

Within the next month or so, all of the legitimate criticisms of Rick Perry will be brought to the forefront of the political world. How he handles the criticism will determine whether he gets the nomination.

Ames Wrap-up

After the Ames Straw Poll this weekend, there are some serious shuffles in the campaign for the Republican nomination for President. Here’s my take, candidate by candidate:

Mitt Romney: Mitt Romney remains the front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination. He had a solid debate performance before “Ames” and his biggest critic is now out of the race. However, Michele Bachmann continues to rise and will likely fully eclipse him in Iowa polls within the next couple of weeks. With Ames behind him, he has to start putting a ground team together for January’s Caucus, and he needs to keep pushing hard in New Hampshire. Lastly, he has to prepare to the attacks that Bachmann and Perry will hit him with soon.

Michele Bachmann: She is riding high right now. She almost single-handedly knocked Tim Pawlenty out of the race and won the Ames Straw Poll. Her fundraising and credibility will see a boost over the next week. There may be trouble on the horizon for her, though. There’s a new Anti-Romney person out there, and he’s as strong of a social conservative as she is, and he’s got executive experience. Rick Perry will take votes from her. Additionally, Rick Santorum’s emergence over the past few days will also take a few points away from her. She may pick up some Pawlenty supporters to outweigh those losses, though.

Rick Perry: He’s finally in. The upside: He can start raising money and really getting his name out there. He can start campaigning. The downside: Here comes the vetting. In the coming weeks, Rick Perry’s name will be dragged through the mud by the Democratic Party, the mainstream media, and his primary opponents. There are two possible results: He emerges unscathed as a frontrunner for the nomination, or he fails to adequately defend himself and becomes the Fred Thompson of the 2012 election. This is a guy with a strong record, a ton of experience, and the “it” factor that the race has been missing. He’s likely going to be a force to reckon with in this primary process.

Rick Santorum: Outside of Michele Bachmann, he did more than any other candidate to help his cause this weekend. With Pawlenty out, Santorum is the 3rd-place winner in Iowa and finishes up a strong month of campaigning in that state. He’s got a legitimate ground came in that caucus state, and still has some grassroots support in New Hampshire. Early in the process, people in the early primary states recognized that Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum were the two people who cared most about New Hampshire. This could lead to some Pawlenty supporters flocking his way. He could use the extra hands. Two weeks ago, no one knew who he was. Now, he’s a legitimate candidate for president.

Newt Gingrich: He did poorly in the Straw Poll. If he’s going to make a move, it’s got to be soon.

Herman Cain: No one seems to care very much anymore. He was entertaining for a while, but there’s not much there.

Ron Paul: He’s still Ron Paul. He needed first place if he was going to get real credibility. He still can make a push, though.

Jon Huntsman: He’s happy the Straw Poll is over, because he wants the focus on New Hampshire. He has a real chance in the Granite State, and continues to work hard to get the independent Republican votes.

Tim Pawlenty: He’s a wonderful man and a strong conservative, and it was kind of sad to see him quit his presidential run. Is there anyone better positioned to take on Al Franken in 2014?

Potential Problems for Romney

During the 2008 election, when it became clear that John McCain and Mitt Romney were going to be the frontrunners for the GOP nomination, it also became increasingly clear that the rest of the field was rooting for McCain. Rudolph Giuliani declared that if he wasn’t a candidate himself, he’d be endorsing McCain. Mike Huckabee said, “If anyone in this race knows the word ‘honor’, it’s John McCain.” Huckabee also took relentless shots at Mitt Romney throughout the campaign, while leaving John McCain largely unscathed. As candidates began to drop out, many of them endorsed McCain. Additionally, they all seemed to view Mitt Romney with some bit of animosity.

Tim Pawlenty’s exit from the race today reminded me of this fact. As this race goes on, candidates who drop off will still play a pivotal role. Hard-working New Hampshire activists like Jennifer Horn, Linda Twombly, and Sean Van Anglen are now looking for a new candidate, and Pawlenty will play a major role in who that candidate is. If he harbors the same feelings toward Romney that the field did in 2008, he could really make a difference by backing Rick Perry early-on (I wouldn’t hold my breath for an endorsement of Bachmann).

Romney also has a lot to worry about as far as Rick Perry’s announcement. Many activists, like me, have seen him as an inevitable frontrunner. Many of the old-time party faces and moderates cringe at the thought of a Bachmann nomination, which has increased the notion of Romney’s inevitability.

Perry’s entrance immediately ends that notion. And so, many voters who were reluctantly moving toward Romney have now stopped in their tracks. There’s no reason for anyone to hold their nose any longer. Granted, Romney is still a strong candidate, a great speaker, and the smoothest person in this race. He has a loyal following. But many people speculate that he has reached his peak in the polls, and if Perry or Bachmann passes him he will be in serious trouble.

Don't Mess With Bachmann

If any lesson is clear from Governor Tim Pawlenty’s announcement this morning, it’s this: Don’t mess with Bachmann. Early in the race, when Governor Pawlenty was largely considered the #2 man in the Republican race for president, Michele Bachmann leapfrogged him with ease. Since then, he continued to trail and she continued to move upward.

It took her just one debate to become the anti-Romney candidate that conservatives had been waiting for. She snatched that role from Pawlenty on the day she announced her candidacy on live television.

Then, last Thursday, a desperate Pawlenty tried to gain ground and take her head-on. He said that she had a “non-existent” list of accomplishments during her time in the U.S. House. In response, she pummeled Pawlenty on his record and completely turned the tables. Although her attacks were completely false, they stuck. On the most important night of Pawlenty’s campaign, his offensive was stopped by the first commercial break.

The next few weeks will be interesting. Bachmann is establishing herself as the anti-Romney candidate, and has easily defeated the person who was once the only clear challenger to that role. She delivered a solid one-two punch to Pawlenty and also one-upped Ron Paul in the Straw Poll this week. She still has a long way to go, but Michele Bachmann made one thing very clear: She’s here to stay.

It will be interesting to see where her campaign goes from here. There’s a new anti-Romney candidate in the race, and he is a ruthless campaigner and a favorite of social conservatives. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the gloves come off very soon.

There's Something About Perry

There’s simply something about Rick Perry. He’s got a commanding presence. He draws people in and captures their attention. This is an element that has been greatly missing from the race for the Republican nomination so far.

It’s difficult to put a finger on exactly what makes Perry special. He is a talented orator, but he’s no Barack Obama. He’s solid at answering questions, but he’s not terribly impressive. He has effective policy positions, but nothing that’s very revolutionary. Perhaps Rick Perry is the perfect combination of simplicity and extravagance, two words that haven’t been combined in such a commanding fashion since Sarah Palin took the national stage in 2008.

When you watch Rick Perry, you see nothing but extravagance. He’s a buff, good-looking man with “perfect hair.” He wears big gold cuff links, and his fingers are covered with giant golden rings. His pants are held up by a belt that’s filled with silver notches. He is the personification of the term, “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”

When he speaks, though, there’s a sense of simplicity. He talks a lot about common sense. He preaches common values. And as he makes his speeches, he doesn’t use a teleprompter – he actually looks people in the eye. Look closely, and you can see him actually connect with people. He nods; he points; he winks.

And there are certain times in his speeches that Governor Perry can combine the energy and simplicity. It is in these moments that his Presidential campaign will be made. On multiple occasions last night, he would deliver a strong line, pump a fist with his large hands, or wave his arms toward the crowd. He takes his simple message and elevates it, sweeping loud applause across the crowd.

It’s not easy to say what makes Rick Perry so commanding, but it is easy to see that he is going to have a major impact on this nominating process.




Chris Crawford is chairman of The New Hampshire Conservative Future PAC. He has not endorsed any candidates for the Republican Nomination for president.