Am I the only one who thinks, the more we hear from Rick Perry…The LESS we’re GOING to be hearing from Rick Perry? It’s because we’re learning more and more about candidate Perry and we’re learning it from HIM and this guy, every time he speaks, seems to be taking direct aim at his own foot.

Perry’s demise is going to come at the hands of his own policies and chief among them, his stance on illegal aliens.

Perry stands WITH the idea of allowing those in our country, specifically in Texas, to receive in-state tuition breaks and that is a direct salvo fired at a very stout Tea Party tenant. Perry can’t back away from this issue, even though now, I’m sure he would like to. Perry made this a law in Texas – and now, he’s stood firmly behind his policy on the debate stage. He went so far as to state that anyone against such a policy is heartless.

Mr. Perry…you couldn’t be more wrong on this and you know it. You’re pandering for the Latino vote and you know that too.

The proof that Perry now wants to distance himself from this policy and from his previous statements regarding it came over the weekend when he said he would consider placing the military along the border.

Sorry, Mr. Perry…You can’t have it both ways.

With this policy, Perry, and anyone who advocates such measures as giving in-state tuition to illegals or providing an accelerated path to citizenship, aka amnesty to illegals,  is rewarding those who have broken the law and THAT isn’t going to get them far with Tea Party voters in 2012.

I have asked liberals before, just how they believe such a policy will stop, or even slow the flow of illegals entering our country. Not one of them can provide an answer and the reason they can’t is because it simply WON’T slow or stop that flow, it will INCREASE it and they know it.

Let’s look at it this way.

Following the rewarding of those who break the law policy, should we also:

1)      Provide those who rob banks with lower interest rates on loans?

2)      Excuse those who receive speeding tickets from paying for their next 5 years of auto registration or lower their insurance premiums?

3)      Give those arrested for assault a free membership to a boxing gym.

There was a time, not so very long ago when I would have thought these suggestions to be ludicrous – but now, we have to remember that our current administration has:

1)      Promoted easy amnesty for those in our country illegally

2)      Promote extending all our citizen’s rights to enemies caught on our war’s battlefields

3)      Promoted a tax cheat to the position of Secretary of the Treasury.

Rick Perry is right in line with our current administration with his illegal alien policies and he’s running for OUR side? While he has other issues not in line with Tea Party values, it is his in-state tuition for illegals which will sink him in his run for the nomination.

Perry isn’t the only one with such issues making a run for the GOP nomination.

IF Chris Christie DOES decide to get in this race, HIS issues are going to catch up to him even faster than did Perry’s – and Christie should be looking very hard right now at how Perry is fading fast.

Among Christie’s issues is his stance on illegal aliens and his non-stand against Sharia law – but while those will certainly play against him, it’s another issue which will sink him.

Chris Christie is against assault weapons and in favor of banning them.

I don’t own such a weapon personally and have no direct intention of getting one – but, that’s MY decision and it should stay that way. According to Christie, that decision would be made FOR me and not BY me and the Tea Party is NOT going to agree with THAT position.

The 2^nd Amendment gives us the right to bear arms but does NOT give the government the right to tell us what guns we can or cannot own. Gun control is, in reality, not about guns at all. It’s about control – and Chris Christie has made it clear that, in this regard, he is for governmental control.

The Constitution is clear, We the People have the right to bear arms and any infringement upon that is going to pull the Tea Party’s “trigger” and anyone who advocates against the 2^nd Amendment is essentially shooting themselves in the foot before the race even gets started.

Ron Paul and his insistence that the U.S. stop all foreign aid and his insistence that he would not defend Israel are non-starters for the Tea Party.

Yes, we must be more careful of who we offer assistance to and we need to exert more control and careful diligence over that aid – but, to state more than once, publicly, that you believe Iran should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons is foolish at the very best.

Paul’s stand against any form of foreign aid, had that been our policy over the last decade, would have rendered it impossible to get Awlaki. Yemen, even with all their internal strife, as been a primary ally in the war on terror and it was the Yemenis who provided the intel pinpointing Awlaki which led to his demise.

Without our providing foreign aid to Yemen, they would NOT have been assisting US in our efforts – and Awlaki, for one, would continue to be a clear and present danger.

Ask the overwhelming number of Jewish residents in New York’s 9^th District what THEY think of Obama’s policies toward Israel, and they will answer in 2012 as they did just weeks ago, with their ballots. Ask them what they think of Ron Paul’s anti Israel stand and do you really think they’re going to vote for him?

Mitt Romney has an anchor that’s 3 times heavier than his boat and the chain attached to that anchor is way to short to reach the bottom.

Romney Care is the weight which will sink HIS run. Yes, as he has said, he signed a STATE law which was never intended to be as far reaching as is Obamacare – but, Obamacare WAS indeed patterned on Romneycare and guess what?

The Tea Party doesn’t want any part of either care package. Try as he might, Mitt Romney’s anchor has been pitched over the bow and it’s getting near the end of that short chain.

As far as the run for the GOP nomination is concerned, those who are in this race who are bent on trying to poke holes in other GOP potential nominees are going about this all wrong and their own candidacies are doomed because of it. In doing so they are wasting OUR time and theirs.

Romney, Perry and a potential run by Christie are all self destructible and they don’t need anyone but themselves to assist in their downfall.

So, who IS capable of winning?

As Herman Cain has said, it’s the message not the money – and Cain is carrying the right message. Critics and liberals will point out that he has no experience having never held public office – when in fact, Cain’s lack of experience may well be his best asset. If you don’t think so, take a look at the approval ratings of today’s congress. THEY have experience don’t they? How do you think THEY’RE doing? How’s that working out for YOU?

IF Herman Cain stays on point and resists the temptation to attack others in the race, he will remain a solid 1^st tier candidate and has a real shot at it.

Newt Gingrich has NOT been attacking his fellow candidates and HAS given a good account of himself during the debates. Clearly, he’s the smartest kid in class and he DOES have experience. Has he always been on point with the Tea Party? No, and he does have a couple of stinky shoes in his closet – BUT, it’s going to take some drastic measures and some outside the box thinking to extract this country from the mess made by Obama, and Newt seems to have some very specific and in depth plans to accomplish that.

While not in the top tier right now, I believe, in the next couple of months, he will be and therefore, because of his consistent message and his ability to focus on that message rather than on his fellow candidates, Newt’s going to be one of the last 3 standing for the nomination.

Is there still room for someone to jump INTO this race? Is there still TIME for it? Yes, but that window is closing fast. There are a few things anyone considering the move to be aware of and those things are things that we as voters must also keep in mind.

With several states now moving up their primaries to January, the thought that one could, potentially, get into the race as late as December is now gone. Whoever gets in this late must have several assets already in place.

A new candidate in the race now MUST have the ability to raise money FAST.

A new candidate in the race now MUST have the tried and true ability to take the stage by storm and there simply is no more time for a learning curve.

A new candidate in the race now MUST have an organization already in place nationally as the time frame for creating such is down to zero.

A new candidate in the race now MUST have the proven ability to withstand the rigors and attacks of a national campaign not for the nomination but for the office of President.

Right now, at this late date, there is only one potential candidate who meets all 4 criteria and can add to them success in small business and experience in the public sector.

Sarah Palin.

By waiting this long, Palin has stayed above the fray while staying relevant on the political stage which allows her a great strategic advantage.

IF Palin gets in, she needs to do it in the next couple of weeks in order to establish her place at the head of the pack before those first early primaries. Only Palin has the ability to do this as quickly as it MUST be done.

As for the others now IN the race, the time has come for them to take a bow and leave the stage. Huntsmann, Santorum, Paul, Bachman, and Johnson all need to step away from the podium. It’s over as their chances of success have faded away.

Romney and Perry are sinking their own battleships.

In a 3-way race to the nomination, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Sarah Palin can offer their own brands of solutions to the voters.

As voters, we can no longer afford to be distracted by the newest shiny ball to roll past us. WE must now spend OUR time on deciding who has the best overall solutions to the problems our nation faces.

Not that Tina Fay needs any career help – but, if Palin gets in before the end of this month, Tina could very well be very busy for at least the next 4 years and her writers will be very busy trying to spin against Palin.

Does the GOP need a game changer or a game winner? Newt has changed the game before and Cain is changing it now – but can either of them be a game winner?

If Sarah Palin gets IN this race, she could do both.