Following the CNN Tea Party GOP debate on September 13th, the issue of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s executive order mandating the HPV vaccine has come front and center. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has opened up a large window of attack on the Governor now referring to his legislatively-overturned mandate as “PerryCare.” Bachmann, along with the other candidates, have long went after former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney over the health care plan in his state by coining it “RomneyCare.” Both of these labels are spin-offs of “ObamaCare,” the term used to describe President Obama’s nationalized health care plan signed in 2010.
Report from The Brody File:
She went there. In her just released campaign ad, Michele Bachmann officially invoked the term “Perrycare” by saying she opposes, “any governor or president who mandates a family’s healthcare choices.”
It’s a reference to Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to require the state of Texas to vaccinate 11-year-old girls against a sexual transmitted disease known to cause cancer.
Perry now says he would have gone about it differently and does point out that there was an opt-out clause for parents. Still, Bachmann is on the prowl.
Memo to Rick Perry: The next move is yours. The ball is in your court. Bachmann is a fighter and is playing for keeps.
Anyone who thinks Perry is going to win Iowa hands down might want to rethink that opinion. Evangelicals DEEPLY care about this issue, especially in places like Iowa and South Carolina.
If Perry and Romney is the main fight, I would suggest Bachmann/Perry in Iowa is the undercard boxing match.
Sounds like “Game on” to me.
Meanwhile, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is apparently upset at Bachmann for taking this line of attack in the wrong direction. Report on this from The Corner:
Sources close to Rep. Ron Paul tell NRO that the Texas congressman is frustrated with Rep. Michele Bachmann for “fumbling” her attacks on Gov. Rick Perry’s vaccination policies.
“We are pretty pissed off about it,” says one confidant. “She messed up, making it harder for other candidates to speak up. Taking on Perry on this front, with serious arguments, could have been a long and very successful line of attack. She went a step too far and embarrassed the field. She polluted the issue.”
Paul aides note that the congressman, a physician, is concerned about vaccines, but would never take Bachmann’s approach. “He is very cautious about vaccines, especially federal mandates. But he is ultimately pro-science,” the source continues.
Indeed, campaign sources don’t expect Paul to say much on this front in coming days, mostly due to Bachmann, in their view, having already exhausted the topic, at least for many primary voters.
The bottom line: Expect this issue to come to a head next week in the Fox News/Google GOP debate on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011. I’m predicting an opening question to Rick Perry as to whether he’d like to respond to Bachmann’s coining of the term “PerryCare.” I could be wrong but we’ll see what happens.
