Perry slams "Romneycare" as he seeks to revitalize campaign

Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is out with a new video slamming his GOP opponent Mitt Romney for the health care policies he implemented as governor of Massachusetts.

The attack against "Romneycare" -- which President Obama's team has cited as the inspiration for Mr. Obama's signature 2009 law -- is well known by this point, and the ad serves as a reminder that Romney is largely a known quantity among Republican voters. It shows that as Perry seeks to reignite his campaign, one of his main tasks will be to emphasize why so many Republicans dislike what they know about Romney.

The video uses ominous music and quick cuts to portray Romney as a flip-flopper on health care. Words on the screen read, "America's most damaging prescription: Obamacare." The word "Obamacare" is replaced with "Romneycare."

Romney spokesperson Gail Gitcho responded to the video by calling Perry "a desperate candidate who will say and do anything to prop up his sinking campaign."

For a brief period, Perry topped Romney in some Republican polls, but the former Massachusetts governor is once again leading the field. He has a series of new endorsements, including a couple out of the critical state of New Hampshire: former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg and state Sen. Gary Lambert.

The latest WMUR poll out of New Hampshire, shows Romney with 37 percent support in the Granite State, against a field of seeming also-rans. Businessman Herman Cain is the only other candidate to break into double digits in the poll with 12 percent.

But if Perry wants to revitalize his campaign, that will have to start in New Hampshire, the first state to hold presidential primaries, where the GOP candidates will meet for their next debate on Tuesday. Perry is also delivering a policy speech on enery and job creation on Friday, which could help the candidate refocus his campaign on the economy and away from controversial issues like his immigration policies in Texas.

Well aware of the significance of these upcoming events, the Perry campaign is preparing diligently. His camp has staged mock debates for the governor, complete with a Romney stand-in, the New York Times reports, and is requiring Perry to get more sleep on the campaign trail.

If Perry can deliver a strong performance in the next debate and in his policy speech, he could break out from the rest of the "anti-Romney" candidates. As it stands, there are plenty of Republican voters who are dissatisfied with Romney -- keeping the former governor from breaking past 25 percent support in national polls -- but voters have yet to coalesce around another candidate.