By Bud Kennedy
bud@star-telegram.com
Now that the hog farmers have had their say, one Texan is going on to a winter tour of South Carolina.
But it's not Gov. Rick Perry. That's where his cakewalk to the White House was supposed to begin, at a now-canceled stop today at an Aiken, S.C., store named The Gun Rack.
Instead, Perry is going home to Austin, and the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21 will be a test for Texan Ron Paul, arguing that he's the only "anti-Romney" who can unite libertarians, evangelicals and Kelly Clarkson fans against the former Massachusetts governor.
For what little it's worth, Paul did well in Iowa's cornfields Tuesday night. Perry did not.
But when it comes to politics, Iowa is the baby corn on the salad bar. That whole state has only as many Republicans as Tarrant and Denton counties combined.
Perry had been saving his real campaign bankroll for South Carolina or TV-heavy Florida. All he had to do Tuesday was beat Newt Gingrich, or at least Rick Santorum.
Yet he came nowhere close.
SMU political science professor Cal Jillson foresaw the end: "No candidate has finished out of the money in Iowa and New Hampshire" -- that primary is Tuesday, and Perry is far behind -- "and then played a significant role."
Still, backers such as state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, wanted Perry to plow on.
"This is a campaign of attrition," King said from Sioux City, Iowa, before Perry's announcement.
"This is going to be about who's the last conservative standing, and the others falling by the wayside."
He pointed out that Perry was only 15 points out of first place.
From Mitt Romney's home state, political science professor Jeffrey Berry of Tufts University agreed that a conservative could beat Romney.He just didn't see it being Perry or Paul.
"The Republican Party doesn't seem to want Mitt Romney, but it can't make up its mind who it wants," he said.He derided Paul's combination of evangelical and independent voters as a "sect of libertarians."
If Paul's evangelical voters could join up with Santorum's, Perry's and Gingrich's, "then that candidate could defeat Romney," Berry said. "But that vote is far from unified." Lurking on the fringe is a third-party surprise.
A Houston Tea Party leader filed paperwork Friday to lead a petition campaign for Donald Trump in Texas as the "Make America Great Party."
Party "Chairwoman" Rosie McDuff, 47, didn't return a call.
But one of her fellow Tea Party voters did. Her response was brief.
"Oh, no!" said Felicia Cravens of Houston.
"The last thing we need right now is more candidates."
At least we've sorted out the Texans.
Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538Twitter: @budkennedy
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