Perry’s credentials: As conservative as they come
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Should Rick Perry conclude that voter discontent has left him an opening to enter the presidential race, the longtime Texas governor would be among the GOP field’s most conservative candidates.
Primary voters would get a skilled politician with TV anchorman looks, a Southern preacher’s oratory and a cowboy’s swagger, matched by a disarming candor and sense of humor. The former cotton farmer from the village of Paint Creek in West Texas has never lost an election in nearly three decades as a politician.
What they wouldn’t get is a candidate whose politics are positioned to unite a Republican electorate that stretches from moderate pro-business fiscal conservatives to evangelical social conservatives, with the tea party falling somewhere along the spectrum.
Full Story Here:
Perry’s credentials: As conservative as they come
Rick Perry is NOT perfect, I think we all know that, but, who is?
I have had my issues with Rick Perry; they were made public on this blog during the 2008 Texas gubernatorial elections. Perry had plainly stated that he would not appear at ANY venue where his opponent, Bill White was appearing.
There were some personal feelings involved and I seriously disagreed with Perry on his reasoning, but he stood his ground and didn’t budge. THAT is something that I have to respect.
I have had other points of disagreement with Perry, this being one of the bigger disagreements;
Texas governor orders STD vaccine for all girls
AUSTIN, Texas — Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.
Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21. MORE
That decision by Perry left a lot of folks shaking their heads and wondering what we had developing with our Governor. After all, you can’t legislate common sense.
There are a number of other issues that Perry was involved in; imminent domain, Texas toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor being the biggest.
I am not going to judge Perry on these issues, pro or con, but I am pretty sure there will be those that DO make comments on one side or the other.
From the original story;
“Texans, God love them, have that bigger-than-life persona about politics and that doesn’t necessarily play everywhere,” said Christopher Nicholas, a Republican political consultant who has worked extensively in the Northeast and Midwest. “I haven’t heard a lot of Republicans call Social Security a disease.”
Perry has. He branded Social Security and other New Deal programs “the second big step in the march of socialism,” according to a book published last year. The “first step” was a national income tax, which he has said stands alongside the direct election of U.S. senators as a major mistake among the amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
I can’t disagree with Perry on his view of Social Security or the national income tax.
Social Security, in its original intent, may have been a big step in the march towards Socialism, but Americans were left with NO choice. That said, Social Security can be a good thing, or, I should say, WAS a good thing for Senior citizens and the disabled, in it’s original intent. As time went by Social Security became an easily raided source of *ready cash* for any administration that needed a cash infusion in a hurry.
In the just-completed Texas legislative session, Perry’s “emergency items” included laws that require a photo ID in order to vote, a sonogram before a woman had an abortion and enforcement of federal immigration laws by local police.
He rejects the idea of global warming and the theory of evolution, arguing for natural climate variations and intelligent design of the universe.
I can’t dispute one thing in that paragraph, not in any way. Although, I have seen some that are rumored to be human that DO bear a striking resemblance to the ape family. Just sayin’…
Perry doesn’t shy away from his deep conservatism. He embraces it with the same vigor with which he dismisses those who found his shooting of a coyote while the governor was jogging or spending tens of thousands of campaign dollars on a luxury rental home unbecoming a state chief executive.
Having a CHL (concealed handgun license) and shooting that coyote is a +10 for me. The luxury rental home? Not so much.
Working with the fundamentalist American Family Association, Perry urged people to participate in a day of prayer and fasting on Aug. 6, following the example of the Bible’s book of Joel. Courting evangelical Christians always has been one of his core campaign strategies.
“When it comes to conservative social issues, it saddens me when sometimes my fellow Republicans duck and cover in the face of pressure from the left,” Perry told the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this year. “Our party cannot be all things to all people.”
If you’re going to preach it, then have the courage to LIVE it. As far as I know, Rick Perry does just that.
And this line; “Our party cannot be all things to all people”, I have said that one a number of occasions. The GOP has this *BIG TENT* mindset and does indeed try to be all things for all people. You can’t do that. That premise is NOT what the GOP was founded on and is NOT what the GOP needs to do. The GOP needs to embrace solid Conservatism and lose the political correctness that it embraces.
Will the GOP offend a certain segment of the nation in doing so? Sure they will, but those are the people that need to be offended, that need to be slapped once in a while just to wake them up and get their attention deficit disorder back on course.
Rick Perry was, once upon a time, a Democrat, but thank God he saw the light and left *The Dark Side* in his conversion to becoming a real Conservative.
As I said, Rick Perry may not be perfect, and it’s a certainty that he won’t make everyone happy, I tend to like those qualities. If he made everyone happy, or way trying to make everyone happy, he wouldn’t be worth consideration. We don’t need the *BIG TENT* policy that the GOP embraces and we don’t need the liberalism that had led to Socialism that the Dems embrace.
And we don’t need any more RINOs.
The days of Jimmy Carter gave us a great, not PERFECT, but a great President, Ronald Reagan.
I’m not saying that Rick Perry is the reincarnation of Reagan, but a lot of Americans didn’t see Reagan as being the President he became either!
Can’t say as I disagree Fred. Earth to Perry: Get In Now! The time is right, the cause just and the right-leaning folk are looking for a leader.
Something you failed to mention in your endorsement of the Gov is:
Perry is WHITE… I simply can not stand idly by and let you get away without calling attention to his race. It must be FIRST on his application.
Perry is also a TEXAN which will pretty much guarantee the “Bush/Perry linkage in the media… ie “Do we really need another Texan in DC (Insert Bush’s picture here)
Perry is a Coyote Killer… PETA not happy at all about that and Obama will get the vegan vote….
Perry is a Christian. This means he’s an extremists in the eyes of our current administration and their media lackies.
I point these things out so that we may prepare for the liberpuke/progressifuck counter attack when Perry jumps in. He’s gonna run. He’ll get in about August 14th or so. Bank on it.
Damn… How DARE I forget to throw *The Race Card*…
Wonder who Rick Perry will pick for his VP running mate?
I would vote for him but I wouldn’t count on him entering the race…..I think that there are several potential candidates that are keeping their names going (Sarah Palin?) but are not going to run against an incumbent President and lose….it gives them the “loser” tag so to speak…..I am betting on Perry running next go around….
John — There may not BE a next go round… If Obama gets 4 more years, this nation is done for…
If Perry jumps in I will take a good, hard look at him. He probably is better than what we have in the field so far. I read somewhere on the internet that Perry supported the DREAM Act at one time. Is that true Fred, or is it part of a smear?
Steve — Yeah, he did, in 2001… He has since changed a lot of his positions… That is one of them I believe… At least, as far as I know…
Thanks for the low down on Rick Perry. You are right when you say no candidate is going to be perfect. I do worry about his once being a Democrat and his previous support for the DREAM Act. You say he is a man that stands by his principles. For now I’ll, I’ll take your word for that. I want to make sure he doesn’t just bend with wind. From the little I know about him, if he gets the nomination he will kick the crap out of Obeyme. Keep us posted, Fred, and again, thanks for the info.
Perry won me 1/2 of the way over when he refused to back down in the face of intense pressure from Obama & those who believe international law should trump the US Constitution and went ahead & executed the murderer Humberto Leal Garcia.
I wonder if the fact he hasn’t had to buck the Beltway will be a liability Probably at least a learning experience.
Perry often concentrates on the social conservative issues when he is out stumping. This is the year of the economy. This is the year we bury Socialism. I would be happier with economic conservative who has a vision of Capitalism and what it will do that he can explain.
You know what I think?
It’s gonna be a GOP run between these two candidates:
1. ROMNEY
2. PERRY
You are all going to have to decide where to place your money, your bets, your support.
BZ
Thanks for the info Fred.
As a fellow Texan, I agree with you 100% Fred. It’s not that Rick Perry is the best candidate ever; just that he is the best candidate available in this election cycle. I agree with all the flaws you raised about Perry, but would you mind me saying one thing in that context about our beloved Reagan? BRADY GUN BILL. In other words, as much as we remember Reagan with great affection (yes, we do), neither was he perfect. His compromises in order to get the tax cuts ended up with the largest spending bills ever seen to that time.
I think you’ve given a pretty good run-down of Gov. Perry. The good, the bad, and the ugly. This country has only elected someone directly from the House of Representatives to the presidency one time in its history. My point is simply that Michelle Bachmann and a snowball in Texas in August both have similar chances of survival. She doesn’t have the donor base. However, … the Tea Party.
At any rate, I posted on my facebook feed and twitter feed an article in which Perry is beginning to think he is “called” to do this. That makes me a little nervous. I’m not happy with a democrat messiah and probably would be just as nervous about one from the other side.
And for those who are still saying “too late” I would simply add that there are all manner of things going on behind the scenes to make sure that if Perry gets in (90% certain at this point) he is able to stay in. The last thing we need is a spoiler like Fred Thompson jumping in and out and assuring the McCain win by splitting the conservative vote. Perry will not get in as a spoiler. He’ll win if he enters the race. That has been my considered opinion for some time.
Looks like we’re on the same side again Fred.
Keep your powder dry
Texasperated — That point about Fred Thompson and Perry, that really bothers me too… Perry is running just like Thompson did, testing the waters, talking a lot, making people wonder what he’s going to do, no REAL commitment as yet, and that just isn’t sitting well with me…
A lot like Allen West, he TALKS a good game but refuses to get in the BIG fight…
And for the record, IN MY OPINION, if Thompson would have run in a serious manner he would be President Thompson today…
If West were to jump in, I believe he would be the hands down winner this go ’round…
In my personal opinion
Mr Perry is the best we got…
Allen West, as much as I like him, I think he does not feel, he is “known” enough to take the run away from obama….
maybe he is a patriot enough not to mess it up for another well known runner!!!
…maybe he knows, someone with more governmental experience will have a better chance to replace obama in the White House…
Like you have said time and time over:
no one is perfect, but aside of Perry I truly do not see another good candidate…
I also have a feeling that Mr West is little weary of Americans voters….
as ‘dance with the stupids’ American society ignorance, he might be taking into a consideration that once entered a voters booth many will stay away from another “black hope and change” President…
Rick Perry ordered the vaccinations? This vaccine is quite risky in my opinion. If I had a daughter, I’d protest against it. Teaching your teen some self respect can prevent many of the problems they face. I know nothing is perfect, but giving them the Fear of God is one of the best things a parent can do. I think it’s way too risky to infect a teenager with a virus…who knows what will happen with it?
As for Perry running for the GOP nomination, if he is meant for it, then God will make sure he gets in, and defeats Obama.