Rick Perry schools Barack Obama on the right way, and the wrong way, to go about creating jobs.
What you hear in the second part of that video is the Perry jobs plan, four conservative principles for governing that lead to a strong economy. Texas’ job creation record stands as the real-world lab test result. True, it’s not a 59-point book-length treatise full of serious-sounding stuff, but just as true, it’s a set of principles that stands a chance of becoming policy because they would guide what a President Perry would do. Candidates can campaign on the Fair Tax or the Flat Tax or 59 Points or even 9-9-9 all they want, but Congress never sees itself as beholden to any of them. These plans are meant to impress, but sit on shelves collecting dust or become weed-gathering links on the campaign web site. I’ll take clear principle directly from the candidate over a staff generated “master plan” that’ll never see the light of day, any day.
Gov. Perry, he mi amigo. He make jobs for illegals, si.
Grow up — would you use ebonic dialect to describe a similar situation?
Perry undercuts employment in Texas by allowing hiring of illegal aliens? That’s absurd. Give me some examples, instead of dropping some snide dime.
He has fought hard against sanctuary areas in Democrat-controlled urban bastions in Texas.
He has railed during his entire tenure that the first step for immigration reform has to be to secure the border, which this administration has pointedly refused to do. After being ignored on the subject for so long, Perry personally confronted Obama on the tarmac in Austin. Texas has spent over $400 million of its own money for border security after the feds practically abandoned their responsibility. (The media misses the point that Santorum’s attack on Perry during the last debate — with Bret Baer & Chris Wallace both telling him to back off — was yelling at Perry that he hadn’t personally solved the border problem. Of course he hadn’t — that’s the point Perry was making: Obama refuses to provide any reasonable resources to accomplish a prime responsibility of the federal government which it insists it has exclusively.)
Perry’s attitude about amnesty for illegals, from a speech in 2008 at the Governor’s Conference in Miami: ” … you need to get in line just like everyone else. Go get in that immigration line like everyone who came before you. Now do we want to have sensible immigration policies that allow people who want to come into our state and work? Absolutely. Secure that border, have a sensible immigration policy, and if you want to be a citizen of the United States, there’s the line. But to go give 13 million people citizenship because you came here illegally is asinine!”
Too many conservatives are hung up on the Texas in-state tuition for illegals program. This was a popular bi-partisan program, passed with only a handful of negative votes. Gov. Perry has never said any other state should adopt it, and he is as strong as anyone running on closing the borders.
Let’s keep our eye on Joe Biden’s 3-letter word: JOBS. Contrary to Gov. Romney’s suggestion, Texas job growth wasn’t just luck. (“Just because you get dealt 4 aces doesn’t mean your a great poker player.”) Job growth depends on the solid conservative, free market principles that Rick Perry has believed in, supported and advanced during 10 years as governor.
Bryan, you’re right.
Perry has potential and his 4 core principles are on target.
He needs to adopt the same direct, clear strategy for the big battleground topics: defence, border security, energy independence, etc., etc.
Highlight 3-5 points for each major topic and hammer them home, over and over. That’s what most voters want/need to hear. The crisper and more streamlined each cluster is, the more likely it is folks will get it and get behind it.
Meanwhile, Perry is at his best when he keeps things simple, focused, real. Ignore Romney, who seems stuck at 25-28% after SEVEN years of campaigning.
We’ve all had enough of weasly wafflers, blame-gamers and petty pretenders. If Romney et al want to attack, let ‘em. It makes them look small.
There’s a huge gap Perry can step into and fill, if he has the spine, stamina and will. Act like a leader, now. Speak like a leader, now. Be a leader, now.
Perry is still the best choice. That he’s flawed can be papered over.
If you’re holding out for perfect, you’re in for disappointment. The last human being with a credible claim to perfection died on the cross about 2000 years ago. All of the rest of us (and especially politicians) are merely flawed human beings. Some are better or worse than others but the old saying is true, the perfect is the enemy of the good.
Perry isn’t perfect and neither are any of the others in the race (nor for that matter are you or me). Is he better than Obama? Hell, a mangy dog would be better than Obama. Tearing apart the candidates because they aren’t perfect accomplishes nothing other than giving aid and comfort to the Democrats.
Fr a more mature and reasoned perspective, check out Jonathan Last’s article at Weekly Standard: http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/defending-defensible_594671.html
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Perry would have done better to describe the program, explain its legislative history, how it works, and its effects. Because the Texas law is more complicated than Romney suggests and more interesting than you might think.
To understand Perry’s law, you have to go back to the 1982 case Plyler v. Doe. In it the Supreme Court struck down a 1975 Texas statute which prohibited local school districts from spending money on the children of illegal residents. The effect of the verdict was to create a national mandate entitling all children in America, regardless of their immigration status, to a K-12 public education.
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Reality is what it is, not what we’d like it to be. And we have to deal with problems from this day forward as the exist NOW.