Free Republic

During the recent GOP presidential debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said that Social Security is a "monstrous lie" and a "Ponzi scheme." More and more people are coming to see that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, but is it a lie, as well? Let's look at it. Here's what the 1936 government pamphlet on Social Security said: "After the first 3 years -- that is to say, beginning in 1940 -- you will pay, and your employer will pay, 1.5 cents for each dollar you earn, up to $3,000 a year. ... Beginning in 1943, you will pay 2...

September 18, 2011 "We have had several Texas presidents, but none so deeply, intensely Texas as this guy would be." Man, Rick Perry is freaking out the New York Times. Gail Collins is all: You think of Rick Perry, you think of Texas. And more Texas. Perry the cowboy coyote-killer, the lord of the Texas job-creation machine, the g-dropping glad-hander with a “howdy” for every stranger in the room. He barely exists in the national mind outside of the Texas connection.And Maureen Dowd is all over the place talking about Perry with references to an obvious and old Hollywood movie....

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the GOP presidential front-runner, may be leading the pack in the money game as well, as a new "super PAC" supporting him gears up to raise $55 million or more - a potential game changer for the 2012 race. The new pro-Perry political action committee, Make Us Great Again, is one of the emerging "super PACs" that started springing up after last year's groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling in Citizen's United v. FEC, which allowed unlimited cash from individuals and corporations for PACs that are separate from a candidate's campaign. "These are new vehicles for vast sums...

Want proof? Here's a video Perry made for the National Rifle Association's convention in April. It opens with a bunch of old guys in t-shirts shooting big guns at stationary targets while the camera shakes to boost the suspense. Then the video cuts to a guy in a black polo shooting stuff -- it's Rick Perry!

A not insignificant portion of the national political establishment—consisting of panicky Democrats and Republicans alike—is hoping that Rick Perry’s commanding lead in recent Republican primary polls will wither under the lights of this month’s multiple presidential debates, beginning with tonight’s event at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. The governor of Texas may be a formidable retail politician, they reason, but as soon as he’s facing sustained, aggressive questioning, and is forced to speak off the cuff about policy, he’ll be exposed for what he truly is: A good ol’ boy who doesn’t have the brains or the manners to...

Perry's 2010 Tea Party-steeped manifesto, "Fed Up!", makes George Bush look like George McGovern. Perry has said he wasn't planning to run for president when he wrote the book, and it shows: The Texas governor floats the notion of repealing the 16th Amendment, which authorized the federal income tax. Perry laments the New Deal as "the second big step" - the 16th and 17th amendments being the first - "in the march of socialism".... Disagreeing with liberal justices is one thing. Accusing them of not caring about the Constitution is like denouncing the opposing party as unpatriotic - and is...

………..There have been a slew of polls showing Gov. Rick Perry of Texas surging to double-digit national leads. He leads across demographic groups — among educated Republicans and less-educated ones, among upscale and downscale. Most impressive, he’s winning over the Republican activists who pay the closest attention and wield disproportionate influence with primary voters. A poll by the conservative political Web sites, The Daily Caller/ConservativeHome, surveys these activists. When asked this week which candidate was most electable, 46 percent named Perry, while only 20 percent named Romney. When asked who would do the best job on the economy, 27 percent...

Gov. Rick Perry's political stock has soared in recent months as he has traveled the country touting a decade of fiscal restraint in Texas under his leadership. Last month, Perry made Texas history by signing a two-year state budget that cuts overall spending for the first time in over 40 years. Perry has long promoted the state's fiscal record as a model for the country and a key to why Texas has weathered the recession better than most other states. He has opposed new taxes and been vehemently anti-Washington, and his message is drawing interest among Republican primary voters nationwide....

As he weighs whether to jump into the 2012 Republican presidential race, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been dialing GOP establishment bigwigs across the country. In phone calls that sometimes stretch more than a half hour, Perry asks the same questions: Is the door open for a new candidate? And how wide is it open? Perry is finding that a vast reservoir of the Republican Party establishment — broadly defined to include elected officials, donors, strategists and activists whose support fuels presidential campaigns — is so far untapped, according to interviews conducted Monday and Tuesday with 19 major donors, strategists...

Rick Perry has started calling Iowa Republicans and a former RNC finance chairman is helping to convene a meeting of national donors later this month in Austin to discuss financing a potential 2012 campaign — signs that the Texas governor and his allies are stepping up their exploratory efforts. The developments come as Perry is being watched by a string of donors, early-state voters and elites who say they're disenchanted, and in search of a stronger candidate. Continue Reading Republican activist Joni Scotter told POLITICO she got a surprise phone call this afternoon from Perry, asking about the political landscape...

And, now, the group Americans for Rick Perry reports it has raised a fair amount of money in a short amount of time. Bob Schuman, a senior strategist for Americans for Rick Perry, said Thursday that the group is expanding its fundraising operation outside of Texas to include Miami, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The group can accept unlimited donations but, under federal law, can't strategize with Perry himself.

A California lawmaker who endorsed Mitt Romney for president has now signed a letter asking Texas Gov. Rick Perry to get in the 2012 race. The Los Angeles Times reported that Assemblyman Paul Cook, a Yucaipa Republican, joined more than 20 people in signing the letter. The paper added that “more potential Romney defectors may sign the letter in coming days, according to a GOP source familiar with the meeting.” (GOP candidates’ fundraising starts slowly) Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is viewed by many as the closest thing to the front-runner in the crowded race.

Rick O'Donnell, a former special adviser to the University of Texas System who received a $70,000 settlement, this week skewered top UT officials for trying to block the release of faculty productivity data, accusing them of orchestrating a scare campaign to pit donors and alumni against regents pushing for changes at the system. He also took shots at state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who chairs the higher education committee, saying she went to bat for university brass due to overly cozy relations between lawmakers and public universities. Faculty and administrators "basically want to be left alone," O'Donnell said. "They push...

SAN DIEGO, CA -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry told a Boy Scouts ceremony on Wednesday that the federal government is rudderless, kicking off a trip to California that has stoked speculation that he will enter the Republican contest for president. Perry fondly recalled his boyhood as a Scout in Texas, including his first visit to Washington, and applauded the group for promoting values such as fellowship, self-reliance, dedication and perseverance. "I really wish we saw more of that sort of courage throughout our society, yep, including in Washington, D.C.," he said. Perry didn't mention President Barack Obama or any politician...

[BIG Snip] Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party and a Perry supporter, thinks an Austin-Boston connection represents a potentially powerful ticket for his party, but he maintains the roles should be reversed. "Perry's going to be strong in the primaries," he said last week. "Romney may fall short, and he could be number two. Gov. Perry has a very strong record as governor of Texas that will play strong across the country. I think he'll beat Romney in the primaries." Romney falling short is a possibility, political scientist Jillson says, noting that Republicans usually nominate the person...

Whether Gov. Rick Perry of Texas takes the stage wearing a suit or jeans, he walks with a confident swagger in cowboy boots. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie owns any stage because of his blunt talk and seemingly unpopular remedies. Outspoken former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin breaks political stereotypes with her unpredictability. These three share something: They are popular Republicans who are not seeking the party's 2012 presidential nomination — yet. Republican voters and political strategists lately are speculating whether one of the three might be a better choice than any of eight declared GOP contenders. People are thinking about...

Rick Perry may just be the guy. The country's longest tenured governor, from its second-largest state, is generating a lot of buzz in conservative circles as he contemplates entering the wide open Republican presidential primary. There are plenty of reasons that Perry is an attractive option: he is a no-nonsense decision-maker with solid conservative credentials. A man who not only speaks about family values, but lives them, Perry's power to persuade voters to see things his way is proven -- battle-tested in a state known for independent-minded citizens. But what serious political analysts on both sides of the aisle will...

A Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President, though the official word from Team Perry is still a definite maybe. Our normally reliable Republican source reports that Mr. Perry has surveyed the field and decided to get in the race later this summer, perhaps around the time of the national prayer meeting that Mr. Perry is hosting on August 6 at a Houston football stadium. Our source also reports that Mr. Perry is aiming to compete in the Iowa Straw Poll, even though it occurs just a week later, on August...

Maybe some of our fellow Freepers down in Texas can tell us about this guy? I believe he's going to run. And if he runs.. what kind of chance does he have? He seems even slicker and more polished than Romney. And what's up with Perry attending the Bilderberg meeting????????????

Texas Gov. Rick Perry sounds more like a presidential candidate by the day. This weekend he gave a rousing speech at the Republican Leadership Conference in which he blasted the Obama administration as a bunch of smarty-pants busy-bodies. “They clearly think they know best,” said Governor Perry. “And let me tell you, I vehemently disagree. They don’t know best.” As he kept speaking he was interrupted by audience members chanting “Run Rick, Run!” But here’s a question: Is it too late for Gov. Perry to throw his drawl into the ring? It gets late early when it comes to running...