Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry takes a photo with supporters as he campaigns at the Blue Strawberry Coffee Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa December 29, 2011. REUTERS/John Gress
Posted on 12/31/2011 1:55:13 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
........There remains no one in the GOP field quite like Perry, a plain-speaking governor from a sprawling, Southwestern state who, when he says he's never been a creature of Washington, is telling it straight. With the debates behind him, he's been able to play to his strengths, his record as an 11-year governor, his anti-government attitude, and his capacity to bond with voters through allusions to faith, farm work and military service.
But there's no doubt he has altered his approach. Gone are the days when he tried to stand toe-to-toe with front-runner Mitt Romney and boast about his job-creation record in Texas. Instead, he's running a campaign that offers large portions of red meat: border control, balanced-budget amendments, states' rights, flat taxes, abortion.
His new approach has given him a shot at finishing near the top Tuesday and perhaps moving on, but he'll need a few breaks to come his way. "I'm going to feel good about our performance regardless of where we come in in Iowa," he told Fox News on Friday. "People are giving us a second look."........
...."He could do it," said Wes Dunbar, 63, of Indianola, who also liked the idea. "It would take six years, but he could do it." Why Perry? "He's the only conservative with experience in the public sector," Dunbar replied.
.....Supporter Bill Thomas, 63, of Indianola was impressed, saying Perry had overcome his debate foibles. "Yeah, he's getting better," Thomas said. "It's not so much what they say; it's what they've done."
An undecided voter, Cole Converse, 21, was impressed that Perry had secured the endorsement of Arpaio, the tough-talking sheriff from Arizona brought on to buttress Perry's position on illegal immigration. "That was big," Converse said....
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry takes a photo with supporters as he campaigns at the Blue Strawberry Coffee Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa December 29, 2011. REUTERS/John Gress
"Rick Perry has always remained faithful." -- First Lieutenant Daniel P. Moran
[6:45] Medal recipients tell of their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their fellow heroes -- and why they support Rick Perry.
Gov. Perry Encourages Home School Families............"For more and more students every day, the best educational option is a classroom in the home.
Every child is entitled to a public education, but public education is not entitled to every child.
Whatever decision is made on the location and style of a child’s education, I believe the responsibility and freedom of that choice resides with a child’s parent.
For those who choose to teach their children at home, I believe government regulation should stop at the front door.
That is why I encourage our legislators to take a close look at the Texas Parental Rights Restoration Act sponsored by Representative King. The family unit is the essential building block of our society and we should do our best to protect it here in Texas.
I am proud of the steps we have taken in Texas to protect the freedoms of home school families, and encourage this essential segment of our state’s overall approach to education.
We have worked with the Texas Education Agency to clarify the rights of home schoolers, including the process for awarding transfer credits.
In 2003, we passed a law that requires state colleges and universities to use the same admission standards for all students, regardless of the type of school they graduated from.
I hope that this session is remembered for our success in clarifying even more protections for home school families.
Parental involvement is essential to every child’s success, and it’s hard to imagine a more involved parent than one who makes the sacrifices required to teach their child at home.
This investment in your children’s education will not only improve their future... but the future of this entire state.
Thank you all for your commitment. May God bless you and, through you, may He continue to bless the great state of Texas." [more at LINK]
June 2011: Texas Gov. Rick Perry blasted pro-abortion President Barack Obama on pro-life issues "Perry said that, under Obama “our federal tax dollars can now be used to fund abortion all over the world. With the stroke of a pen, abortion essentially became a U.S. foreign export......."
”Perry has pleased pro-life advocates in Texas many times with signing pro-life legislation — most recently signing an ultrasound bill allowing women to see them before an abortion and hopefully changing their minds on it. He has been strongly supported by pro-life groups. Perry supported or signed into law the Women’s Right to Know Act and the Prenatal Protection Act in 2003, parental consent law in 2005, and funding for alternatives to abortions in 2007 and 2009."
Great pics! Thank you for everything you do, CW. And Happy New Year to you.
Great pictures! I see real warmth from that crowd in the first one.
Go Perry!
The A5 chip inside Apple’s iPad 2 and iPhone 4S is now being produced stateside (In Texas), according to Reuters. Sources familiar with Apple’s production details told the news organization that Samsung Electronics is now handling production of the A5 in Austin, Texas. Among manufactured products, the state’s leading export category is chemical manufactures, which accounted for $38.4 billion (20 percent) of Texas’ total merchandise exports in 2008. Other top 2008 manufactured exports were computers and electronic products ($35.2 billion), machinery manufactures ($27.3 billion), and petroleum and coal products ($25.3 billion).”…….
"Another new measure made tightening air quality permits on the oil and gas industry more difficult. That law, which Perry signed in June, requires the Texas environmental agency to analyze the effect of new regulation on the economy - including how it might hurt a company - before implementation. The economic impact could override the environmental benefit of the new regulation. The new law reflects Perry's contention that global warming is a questionable theory and that regulation always creates an adverse business climate." Perry Slashed Environmental Enforcement in Texas
____________________________________________________
Betting on Rick Perry - a winner in a GOP year, with no need in the world to win liberal approval ………..”IT WILL BE THE JOBS ISSUE—and Texas’s record in creating them—that will define Rick Perry’s presidential run. Since he became governor in 2001, the U.S. as a whole has had a net loss of private-sector jobs, while Texas—which has only 8 percent of the nation’s population—has had a net gain of 825,000 jobs.
Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Board, told me that if you look at the number of jobs created since the recession technically ended in June 2009, Texas has accounted for 48 percent of net new jobs created in the U.S.
Fisher also disparages claims that the jobs are all low-paying jobs at McDonald’s or Walmart, paying the minimum wage, or that they were primarily caused by the oil and natural gas boom. According to Tom Pauken of the Texas Work Force Commission, the annual median wage in Texas in 2010 for all occupations was $31,500 a year, only 7 percent below the national average. That difference is easily explained by the fact that Texas has a younger workforce than most states and a higher percentage of workers in lower-pay agriculture jobs near the border with Mexico. [ CW: Cost of living in Texas is lower than many other states; Texas has no state income tax; Texas is a right to work state.]
As for where the job growth has been, three sectors of the economy have grown faster than the energy sector, which alone added 40,500 net new jobs in 2010. Last year, Texas added 57,900 new jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities; a total of 53,400 jobs in professional and business services; and 44,900 net new jobs in the hospitality industry.
For each of the past seven years, CEOs polled by “Chief Executive” magazine have rated Texas first in the nation for economic development climate and job growth. What is the secret of Texas’s success? Rick Perry isn’t shy about his answer. “It’s all about four points,” he told me. “First, don’t spend all the money. Keep the taxes low and under control. Have regulations that are fair and predictable so business owners know what to expect from one quarter to the next. And reform the legal system so that frivolous lawsuits don’t paralyze employers who are trying to create real wealth.”
If there is on issue which Perry has made a personal crusade, it is lawsuit reform. Working with the legislature, he has helped pass curbs on frivolous lawsuits, implemented a first-in-the-nation system under which loser pays all court costs in many lawsuits, and reformed medical malpractice law.
Dick Weekley, the co-founder of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, says Perry showed genuine political courage in resisting calls for watered-down reforms that wouldn’t have addressed the core problem. He recalls that in 2002 Perry vetoed a bill strongly supported by doctors that would have required them to prompt payment from health maintenance organizations. In the eyes of the tort reform advocates, the bill was a Trojan Horse compromise negotiated between doctors and trial lawyers. “There was a huge response from physicians [against the veto],” Kim Ross, the former top lobbyist for the Texas Medical Association, said. TMA went so far as to endorse Tony Sanchez, Perry’s millionaire Democratic opponent in the 2002 election. “Perry sent a signal that he wanted real reform and would stand his ground,” Weekley told me. “Soon the medical lobbyists playing footsie with the trial lawyers were gone and the obstacles to real reform started falling.”………………..
*********************************************
AND now the TMA is endorsing Gov. Rick Perry. They understand now what he was doing would HELP them.
______________________________________________________
Nov 22, 2011 The Best States For Jobs “The Texas jobs miracle has received a lot of attention since Rick Perry announced his candidacy for president in August. The numbers are impressive. Texas added 1.2 million net jobs since Perry took office as Texas Governor in December 2000, while the U.S. as a whole lost 1.1 million jobs during the same time.”…………….
Game Show Ad:Wheel of Washington [1:01]
Part-time Congress [:31]
Gov. Rick Perry: "You watch my back and I'll watch your back in D.C."
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry (L) greets attendees at a campaign stop in Spencer, Iowa December 17, 2011.
Great post CW, and Happy New Year to you!
God Bless you CW you for all you’re doing for America thru’ my Gov. James Richard Perry . . . Go Perry!!!
New Hope for Republicans Left Off Virginia Ballot -- "DES MOINES — Virginia’s attorney general said on Saturday that he will propose emergency legislation to change the state’s ballot access laws in ways that would make it easier for candidates to qualify.
The legislation would allow any presidential candidate to appear on the ballot for the state’s March 6 primary if they meet the requirements to qualify for federal matching funds.
That would likely allow Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry to participate in the primary after both failed to gather the required signatures under Virginia’s current standards.
“Recent events have underscored that our system is deficient. Virginia owes her citizens a better process,” said Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, the attorney general and a Republican, in a statement “We can do it in time for the March primary if we resolve to do so quickly.”
God bless him and his family - I hope and pray that this good man becomes our President in 2012. How wonderful it will be to have his lovely Anita as our First Lady.
CW, continued thanks to you from Oregon for your good work, and a Happy New Year to you and yours :-)
Happy New Year Inspectorette.
Your post reflects so many feelings many of us have about Rick Perry and our prayers for the Perry family and their efforts for us and our country.
Thank you for putting it so well.
He made those to sweet ladies day. Love the smiles on all their faces.
BUMP
Here’s something from yesterday...
Can Perry’s recent crowds translate into votes?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2826925/posts?page=1
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
