Republican candidates turn attacks on each other

Video: Palin, Bachmann criticize Perry

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   >>> welcome back to "hardball."

   >>> it's becoming an old story. texas governor rick perry leads the pack of republicans for president. 's in a new fox poll, he's well ahead of challengers. even when you only poll for candidates who officially announced they're, when they're running, he still remains number one. but here's the new story -- with that front-runner status comes something else. criticism. tea party favorites michele bachmann and sarah palin are both launching attacks on perry . perhaps they feel their appeal slipping as they try to appeal to the same crowd. the president of the bernard center for women politics and public policy and both are msnbc political analysts. i've got to show you this. a pro- bachmann super pac called keep conservatives united. keep that title in mind. keep conservatives unite.

   >> yeah, right.

   >> started running an attack ad against rick perry in the early voting state of south carolina . here it is.

   >> rick perry says he's one tough ombre on spending.

   >> number one is don't spend all the money.

   >> but what's his record? rick perry doubled spending in a decade. and this year rick perry 's spending more money than the state takes in. covering his deficit with record borrowing. and he's supposed to be the tea party guy? there is an honest conservative, and she's not rick perry .

   >> not surprisingly a perry spokesman pushed back saying "governor perry is a proven fiscal conservative having cut taxes, signed six balanced budgets and led texas to become america's top creating state. and bachmann 's front-group ad is patently and provably false." if i'm mitt romney i'm loving this. what i was hoping for.

   >> yes. we'll talk about mitt romney 's attack on rick perry , too. mitt romney would want sarah palin fumy in the race. right now rick perry has leapfrogged over mitt romney . front-runner status. he is the tea party candidate that's getting michele bachmann and sarah palin worried, and it's worrying mitt romney , because he thought he would have already won tea party votes. if he gets in the race, sarah palin shooting at each other with that saloon music behind him. i tlauv in the ad, it's going to help mitt romney . he'll get the non-crazy republican vote, which is not a majority but maybe a plurality and enough to win the contest.

   >> it suggests the debate next week, maybe the fireworks will really begin?

   >> i think the fireworks are going to fly. it will be very interesting to watch the dynamic between the candidates, particularly the male/female dynamic. this is still new to us. hillary clinton and sarah palin on the ticket in 2008 , and then this year going forward for 2013 12. it will be very interesting to see how the males and females relate to one another in the debate and quite frankly interesting to see how rick perry does bp i suspect he's going to do very well if he is your cup of tea and pun is intended there, if you can get it, hombre. put it if he is your cup of tea , he's folksy, articulate, he's a good campaigner. people seem to really, really like him. as soon as he entered the race, he just jumped ahead of the entire pack, but then the question is, even if he's a tea party candidate, the big question is, winning the primary is very different than winning a general election and all of this, i think, prnl personally goes to the benefit of mitt romney .

   >> if i can add, michael. right now the idea of rick perry is what's polling well.

   >> yes.

   >> he hasn't campaigned much. he hasn't had a single debate. he's done well in politics. he's, you know, political juggernaut down in taxes. on the national stage, he could wellf up. he still that a way to go -- remember fred thompson .

   >> a lot of time on the clock.

   >> you mentioned male/female concept. a report this weekend in an iowa speech, "palin will lean on loaded phrases like crony capitalism and permanent political class in laying out her view of the u.s. political system 's deep-rooted ills though she will not call out perry by name, her rhetoric will leave the attention she may soon draw more overt attention to one of the texan's pore tebl me a sexist. i thought what motivated her on the bus, she couldn't stand michele bachmann getting all the spotlight and notoriety. for her now to go after perry if in fact she does it that will be a surprise to me i. disagree with you. i won't call you a sexist. i can understand how you'd make the connection, but i disagree. personally, i feel that sarah palin has always been motivated by the same things that motivate male politicians.

   >> what?

   >> it's power . power . power , power , power . and look at all --

   >> money. it's money, money, money power .

   >> look at all the money she's making. sarah palin -- for the people who members of the tea party , they love her. they feel that the earth oui revolves around sarah palin . she didn't possibly win a general election f. it were about power she would have kept the job she had and continued to serve in that regard.

   >> is they more powerful, frankly, running or not running, whatever you want to call it she's doing, on a national ticket, rather than being governor of alaska ? she's got a national voice now.

   >> right now she has the power of celebrity which is the no the same thing as the power of government or politics. i will say this about sarah palin . when she attacks being part of the permanent political class, she has lots of standing because she left that before her job was even over.

   >> let me ask, we love playing palinologists. trying to figure out what motivates her. is it bhoopossible what motivates her is because she regards herself as the mother of the tea party movement?

   >> and the queenmaker.

   >> the idea the support from the tea party could so quickly go to rick perry a newby in this regard, she can't take that?

   >> there's a poll out today on another network, which will go unnamed that says that 71% of republicans, of republicans, do not want her to run for president.

   >> but it doesn't matter.

   >> it doesn't matter to her.

   >> it doesn't matter.

   >> she can get in the race and see her standing even with the tea party folks fall, which would be less money and maybe less power for her.

   >> i say it never happens but i wonder what it does for the brand, if in the end she doesn't do it.

   >> this divide and conquer . she will plit the tea party vote and all of this will be wonderful for mitt romney .

   >> listen, dick cheney weighed in on sarah palin on the laura ingram program and here's what he had to say about the former alaska governor .

   >> well, i've never gotten around to question of her having left the governorship of alaska mid-term. i've never heard that adequately explained, so that i could understand.

   >> confusing.

   >> that first term, she decided to step down, and still be -- i'd like to know more about that.

   >> i never understood it either.

   >> no one understood it. actually, i can give you weren't very, very simple explanation. she left so she could earn a lot of money, and that's what she's done. she's been highly successful, when it comes to pocket change in the purse, but, you know, for a politician, for someone who maybe aspires to be the leader of the free world , she does have a lot of explaining to do that goes beyond the power of the purse .

   >> after she left, one reason she gave, in an interview was, that the media attacking her all the time, it was lard to do her job. so itbetter for the people of alaska for her to leave. what would that say of her being a presidential candidate or the president? you don't think the media will take a few shots at you? it showed a real lack of spine, a misjudgment. i don't think she's ever recovered from it, except when it comes to her bank account .

   >> absolutely.

   >> it will be interesting to watch all of them, but in particular, i'm watching mitt romney next week, because if there are fireworks between, say, bachmann and perry , then he can sit back and allow them to do his dirty work . but if they don't if they dough pawlenty in the debate, then he's going have to step up and bring the lumber, or it's going to continue to be rick perry .

   >> michael, he may not have to do it just yet. he can wait to see how perry does in the first debate or two, but pretty soon, if there's no change here, and he's in second place, he's going to have to take him on directly, which means taking on the tea party .

   >> david corn , thank. michelle bernard as well. appreciate seeing both

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