Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry ratcheted up his assault on rival GOP hopeful Donald Trump another notch during a speech in Washington, D.C. today, calling the ex-reality TV star “a cancer on conservatism,” comparing his views on Mexican immigrants to that of the Know-Nothing Party, and saying his political tactics were reminiscent of Joe McCarthy.

The former Texas governor spoke before a sober crowd of around 100 Republican dignitaries at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in D.C., discussing the power of conservatism to induce economic growth and criticizing the field of Democratic contenders for the White House.

But when Perry shifted from policy to Donald Trump, his staid speech turned passionate. “He offers a barking carnival act that can be best described as ‘Trumpism,’” Perry said of the real-estate mogul. “A toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued.” “Let no one be mistaken,” Perry said. “Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised, and discarded.”

Source: Brendan Bordelon, http://www.nationalreview.com