8:35 PM: Romney camp just sent out email headed “Rick’s Retreat on Social Security” and the Perry campaign has a rival one in reporter’s inboxes too.
In Perry’s email his campaign flags this quote from Romney from three weeks ago …
“I don’t know of any Republican who’s running for office who said they want to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits to people who are retired or near retirement. Not one, I haven’t heard a word of it…so Republicans, like myself, are not gonna cut social security or Medicare for people who are retired or near retirement. And for the people who say we are, they are demagoguing an issue very much that harms America. Because we need to be truthful on this.” (8/24/11, Lebanon, New Hampshire)
That’s 11 days after Perry got in the race. So the Perry campaign does appear to have found Mitt on the record before he realized that Social Security was going to be a defining issue — and basically inoculated all his opponents. Sounds like a pretty direct hit on Romney. But it’s also a pretty convoluted point.
