Rick Perry has Distanced Himself from George W. Bush's Brand of Conservatism

Washington Post ^ | August 29, 2011 | Perry Bacon Jr.

[DRey]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, like most of the other the GOP presidential hopefuls, says his campaign is about undoing the decisions of President Obama. But Perry also presents a stark alternative to the last Republican to occupy the White House, his fellow Texan George W. Bush.

In his writings and speeches before he entered the race, Perry shared the view, widely held among conservatives, that Bush’s government spending habits in office were a betrayal of the GOP’s core fiscal principles. But Perry went further, dismissing “compassionate conservatism,” the central tenet of Bush’s domestic policy, as just more overreach by the federal government.

[DRey]

Oh, thank goodness. I was starting to feel naked (and bored) without our resident Perry haters on the thread.

[Texas Eagle]

But I have no doubt the establishment class would prefer Rick Perry over Sarah Palin, because they know they could keep him in line.

Perhaps. Don't take this wrong, but if we're pinning our hopes on who or what The Establishment Class controls, we've alreadly lost the fight.

It's up to us to keep our elected officials in line.

[lahargis]

lol

[cripplecreek]

What’s the matter boy, afraid people will look to closely at people like Dave Carney?

[reasonisfaith]

How can you “water down” something merely by reminding people what it is?

If your claim is correct, you should never refer to the United States as the greatest nation in history. You should never refer to football as a rough sport. Or to deer meat as having a gamey flavor. Or FreeRepublic as one of the the foremost conservative websites.

To avoid “watering down.”

[gogogodzilla]

Where is the article at the Washington Post? All I got was a title and one sentence.

[noinfringers2]

I can go that path with you. For me there must be someone down the path that doesn’t have the social linen to clean that Perry must do.Perhaps some Cain, some Bachmann, some Palin and even some Trump can be used to make a platform for even Perry. I do like much of what Perry is showing.

[TomGuy]

...but I cannot condone or let pass his stance on the immigraion issues...

The problem is that most of the contenders are pro-illegals. Yes, they use the 'secure the border' canard, but most are on to same page -- can't deport 20 million illegals, yada yada yada {although Mexico did}.

[ilovesarah2012]

You said “We might as well just get used to it: President Perry” as if it was a bad thing. He isn’t my perfect candidate by a long shot, but if he can beat Obama, I’m in.

[reasonisfaith]

“It’s up to us to keep our elected officials in line.”

That’s exactly the point. Palin is the only one who would keep herself in line.

And yes, to gauge a candidate by the reaction of an opposition group is not only appropriate, it’s necessary.

[shield]

You are kidding aren’t you...the narrowness of his statement is quite glaring. None of the declared and/or undeclared have ever lived in a border state. They have never had to deal with that issue. Perry has done an outstanding job with this one issue. The negatives pushed are taken out of context, misleading and flat out lies. Comparing apples to oranges comes to mind.

[Sudetenland]

You're right about Perry and his weakness on illegals, but like it or not, they're here and we have to deal with them in some way. I would like to see them all carted up and shipped back home, but it's very clear now that no one is going to advocate that--at least no one who will ever get near the Oval Office--so we are left with how to deal with them.

Perry wants to lock down the borders to stop both the drug traffic and the coyotes smuggling illegals, I'm pleased with that. He is for some sort of permitted work status for illegals; not great, but better than leaving them completely undocumented and still within the borders.

. . . And then there's the Texas Dream Act . . . again, not what I would want, but better to have them educated and literate than ignorant and on welfare--and the Texas Dream Act is not the total sell out that the Democrats "Dream Act" is.

Yeah, illegal immigration is his weak point, but he is strong in so much else in which I believe, that I must support his campaign.

Perry is by far the most electable conservative in the race. He is capable of galvanizing the American electorate behind the right like no one since Reagan.

[Servant of the Cross]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I would LOVE to hear Hillary re-enact this speech mocking TOTUS right about now.

[DRey]

Err...that would be “what’s the matter woman...” and I didn’t know Carney was running. As far as I know, the guy knows his way around a campaign, though.

[normy]

Palin also supported Tarp

[DRey]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rick-perry-distances-himself-from-george-w-bush-in-gop-presidential-race/2011/08/24/gIQAyChdlJ_story.html

[shield]

Done. Thanks.

[Texas Eagle]

Answer your own question.

Why DON'T we call The United States "The Compassionate United States Of America" or "The Common Sense United States Of America"?

Why doesn't The NFL call itself "The Rough National Football League"?

Why don't hunters call deer meat "gamey flavor deer meat"?

Why doesn't FreeRepublic.com call itself "One Of The Foremost Conservative Websites.com"?

[DRey]

Even Palin says we can’t deport them all.

[BillyBoy]

Not to mention the Texas state budget went from $49 billion to $90 billion under “smaller government” Rick Perry’s watch, when the population only increased by 25% in that same period.