Perry sharpens opposition to abortion
OSCEOLA — Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on Tuesday said he had strengthened his opposition to abortion and now opposes the procedure even in the case of rape, incest or when the woman’s life would be at risk.
“You’re seeing a transformation,” Mr. Perry said while describing his views.
Mr. Perry said the change followed a meeting with a woman whose mother was raped and whose story was part of an abortion documentary screened by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Mr. Perry’s shift comes just a week ahead of Iowa’s Jan. 3 caucuses that launch the Republican nominating contest. Social conservatives hold great sway here and gave Mr. Huckabee an upset win four years ago.
Mr. Perry, whose polling has slid in recent months, is working to win over holdout caucus-goers and cultural conservatives. Time is running short, however, and he is trying to recapture the enthusiasm that greeted his entrance to the race in August only to see his luster fade after campaign fumbles and weak debate performances.
Kentucky Democrat: GOP losing payroll-tax debate
Rep. John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky Democrat, predicted Tuesday that the fight between Democrats and Republicans over the payroll-tax cut extension will continue throughout the year.
“I’m very confident we will be exactly in that place 60 days from now. This is a fundamental debate that’s been going on for all of 2011, and it will continue through the next election, for sure,” Mr. Yarmuth said on MSNBC. “This [debate] is basically about what you do to support people during a serious economic decline and how you pay for the assistance you provide. That is the debate we are having, and we will have it again.”
The Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate hammered out a two-month extension of the tax cut last week.
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RNC chief not worried about muddled primary race
The head of the Republican National Committee says nothing bad should be inferred from the party’s inability, so far, to coalesce around a candidate to challenge President Obama.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that it’s very early in what he called a “horse race,” but “we’ll get there and we’ll have a nominee pretty quickly.”
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