The Hill News

“ … states' rights, states’ rights, states' rights!” â€" Rick Perry at the Alamo, June 15, 2009

Until you get higher in the hills, Laconia might be considered the vortex of New Hampshire redneck politics, heavy into the Tea Party. The Lakes Region Tea Party is small but might be indicative of how things will go. A straw poll on Nov. 16 gave Newt Gingrich 49 percent while Cain tied with Ron Paul at 15. Romney 12 percent and Rick Perry 0. Similar results in a straw poll at a Republican club in Alabama on Saturday: Newt 45 percent, Cain 13, Paul and Romney both 11 and Perry 3. Interesting because Perry first gave national credence to the Tea Party when he chanted for states’ rights at the Alamo. But with the sudden rise of Newt, the consummate Washington insider, the Tea Party is no longer really about states’ rights and specific issues. It’s about passion.

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