Posted on 09/15/2011 8:29:54 PM PDT by Borough Park
In an interview with Time magazine, Gov. Rick Perry showed that he had no intention of softening the cactus-thorned rhetoric he developed during his decades in Texas politics, notably repeating his characterization of President Obama’s policies as “socialist.”
“Look, when all the answers emanate from Washington, D.C., one size fits all, whether it’s education policy or whether it’s health care policy, that is, on its face, socialism,” Mr. Perry told Time’s Richard Stengel and Mark Halperin.
In 2009, Mr. Perry told a Republican group in Texas that the Obama administration is “hell bent on taking America towards a socialist country.” This year, as he faces charges from his rivals for the Republican nomination that his positions are too extreme to win the general election, Mr. Perry said he will not change the way he speaks to appeal to the nation as a whole.
He also refused to back down from his characterization of Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.”
“American citizens are just tired of this political correctness and politicians who are tiptoeing around important issues,” he said. “They want a decisive leader.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com ...
If ObamaCare and the redistribution of wealth AREN’T socialist policies, what are they?
http://gunsnplanes.blogspot.com/2011/08/jewish-cowboy-on-texas-governor.html
Take it from a former opponent, Kinky Freidman:
“Rick Perry has never lost an election; I’ve never won one. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with the world. On the other hand, I’ve long been friends with Bill Clinton and George W., and Rick Perry and I, though at times bitter adversaries, have remained friends as well. It’s not always easy to maintain friendships with politicians. To paraphrase Charles Lamb, you have to work at it like some men toil after virtue.
I have been quoted as saying that when I die, I am to be cremated, and the ashes are to be thrown in Rick Perry’s hair. Yet, simply put, Rick Perry and I are incapable of resisting each other’s charm. He is not only a good sport, he is a good, kindhearted man, and he once sat in on drums with ZZ Top. A guy like that can’t be all bad. When I ran for governor of Texas as an independent in 2006, the Crips and the Bloods ganged up on me. When I lost, I drove off in a 1937 Snit, refusing to concede to Perry. Three days later Rick called to give me a gracious little pep talk, effectively talking me down from jumping off the bridge of my nose. Very few others were calling at that time, by the way. Such is the nature of winning and losing and politicians and life. You might call what Rick did an act of random kindness. Yet in my mind it made him more than a politician, more than a musician; it made him a mensch.
These days, of course, I would support Charlie Sheen over Obama. Obama has done for the economy what pantyhose did for foreplay. Obama has been perpetually behind the curve. If the issue of the day is jobs and the economy, Rick Perry is certainly the nuts-and-bolts kind of guy you want in there. Even though my pal and fellow Texan Paul Begala has pointed out that no self-respecting Mexican would sneak across the border for one of Rick Perry’s low-level jobs, the stats don’t entirely lie. Compared with the rest of the country, Texas is kicking major ass in terms of jobs and the economy, and Rick should get credit for that, just as Obama should get credit for saying “No comment” to the young people of the Iranian revolution.
More to the point, could Rick Perry fix the economy? Hell, yes! Texas is exhibit A; Rick’s fingerprints are all over it. He’s been governor since Christ was a cowboy. The Lone Star State is booming. The last time I checked, Texas is kicking in a hell of a lot of the U.S. GDP. Unemployment is lower than the vast majority of the other states. Hell, we could probably even find a job for Paul Begala.
As a Jewish cowboy (or “Juusshh,” as we say in Texas), I know Rick Perry to be a true friend of Israel, like Bill Clinton and George W. before him. There exists a visceral John Wayne kinship between Israelis and Texans, and Rick Perry gets it. That’s why he’s visited Israel on many more occasions than Obama, who’s been there exactly zero times as president. If I were Obama I wouldn’t go either. His favorability rating in Israel once clocked in at 4 percent. Say what you will about the Israelis, but they are not slow out of the chute. They know who their friends are. On the topic of the Holy Land, there remains the little matter of God. God talks to televangelists, football coaches, and people in mental hospitals. Why shouldn’t he talk to Rick Perry? In the spirit of Joseph Heller, I have a covenant with God. I leave him alone and he leaves me alone. If, however, I have a big problem, I ask God for the answer. He tells Rick Perry. And Rick tells me.
So would I support Rick Perry for president? Hell, yes! As the last nail that hasn’t been hammered down in this country, I agree with Rick that there are already too damn many laws, taxes, regulations, panels, committees, and bureaucrats. While Obama is busy putting the hyphen between “anal” and “retentive” Rick will be rolling up his sleeves and getting to work.
A still, small voice within keeps telling me that Rick Perry’s best day may yet be ahead of him, and so too, hopefully, will be America’s.”
He'll say whatever he thinks you want to hear.
Sen. Demint just came right out and called him a “venture socialist” yesterday. He can no longer hide his record. Keep in mind this is his ONLY record.
I tend to think of the current Admin and D.C. apparatus as “statist” rather than “socialist.”
Socialism, per the Euro model, is the re-assignment of confiscated money by the government per the latest public voting results. What we have in D.C. today is the re-assignment of confiscated money by simple bureaucratic assessment. No word paid to the will of the people. Rather, benefits paid per the imperial machine.
Socialism by the Euro model is gobs swallowed and then apportioned per the last election. The current U.S. Admin is gobs swallowed and then allotted per the best interests of the bureaucracy.
He has been a pretty even handed Governor for a long time.
News? What’s next? Man discovers fire?
WOW. Great article. Thx!
Take one to know one...
"Perry the Parrot. He'll say whatever he thinks you want to hear."
What E. Pluribus Unum means:
"Oh No, Rick Perry might be the nominee and leave my beloved Saint Sarah out in the cold. I better get on as many pro-Perry threads as possible to trash him in my twisted and fruitless effort to make my beloved Saint Sarah more appealing to voters!"
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I did notice that the pro-Palin thread today had nothing but pro-Palin posts, and EPU was all over it. Now, imagine this, he’s here to trash Perry.
They’ll be very disappointed once they realize Palin isn’t running. All their Perry attacks will just be used to benefit Romney.
He’s desperate. They all are. The woman is going to run and pull less than 15% in any given primary. My prediction is she won’t win a single primary or caucus in any state.
And to make matters worse, if Sarah doesn’t run, then all the bashing has done is help hand the nomination to Mitt Romney — who none of us can stand.
Look where that got them.
You’ve got to be in it to win it and Palin isn’t in it.
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