Free Republic

Rick Perry, Governor of the State of Texas, has returned to stir up the nation over the past few weeks with his Bi-National Health Insurance Plan, which was first proposed back in August, 2001, at a U.S - Mexico Border Summit. The Bi-National Health Insurance Plan was Perry's own ambitious scheme to provide Texas-funded coverage for residents along the U.S. - Mexico border.

At the Fox News-Google Republican debate in Orlando last week, Rick Perry was—as usual—in the cross-hairs. Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania, had one of the most memorable lines of the evening. Said Santorum, “[Rick Perry] gave a speech in 2001 where he talked about bi-national health insurance between Mexico and Texas. I mean, I don’t even think Barack Obama would be for bi-national health insurance! So, I think he’s very weak on this issue of American sovereignty.” The implication being that Perry is some kind of one-world government socialist. [snip] Contrary to Sen. Santorum’s impression, the idea here...

I just read the text of Rick Perry’s remarks to the Border Summit on Aug, 21st 2001. How in the hell is this stuff slipping through the cracks without a single mention in the conservative press? If this had been Obama, Sean Hannity would have been talking about it 24/7 during the last presidential campaign. There are many passages in the speech that are of great concern to me, but this one really caught my attention. …Legislation authored by border legislators Pat Haggerty and Eddie Lucio establishes an important study that will look at the feasibility of bi-national health insurance....

Until the most recent GOP debate took place, I was starting to think that perhaps Gov. Sarah Palin had waited too long to get into the race (if, in fact, she is getting in). Everything seemed to be solidifying around a match-up between Gov. Perry and Gov. McRomney, and it appeared that everyone else was simply fighting for their place on the periphery. But a strange thing happened on the way to deciding who the Republican nominee is going to be, and that strange thing was Perry’s inexplicable refusal to recant his support for a Texas tuition waiver for illegal...