Rick Perry in Fed Up!, by Rick Perry
On Abortion:
The right to privacy is fictitious
The Court decided in 1963 that the people of Connecticut were unconstitutionally outlawing the sale of contraceptives, because--it imagined--in the "penumbras" of the Constitution there is a right to privacy that prohibits that policy. Penumbras? What
total and complete nonsense. The justices made a policy and then made something up in the Constitution to effectuate it. Eight years later the Court found that this "right to privacy" extends to the right of a woman to choose to terminate her pregnanc
--a rather tepid euphemism for ending the life of the unborn baby. In what can only be described as an arrogant commitment to itself--an ode to its own legitimacy, if you will--the Court actually touted its self-given "authority to decide [the people's]
constitutional cases and speak before all others for their constitutional ideals." I assume the Court would like us to say thank you, but I also assume that the 52 million or so unborn children who never had a shot at the American dream may beg to differ
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.107-108
Nov 15, 2010
On Budget & Economy:
OpEd: Pursued freedom agenda more than fiscal agenda
I have enormous respect and admiration for my fellow Texan, President George W. Bush. He is a friend and a great American patriot.
But he did not fight for fiscal conservatism with the same fervor with which he pursues the freedom agenda in his foreign policy. He was dubbed by the Republican-friendly columnist Fred Barnes in the "Weekly Standard", "a big government conservative."
I am not sure that's fair to the President or to the term conservative. There is no such thing as a "big government conservative." It is an oxymoron. I do think George is basically a conservative man who believes in God, in the greatness of
America, in the protection of life, and in protecting our nation from our enemies. That's a pretty good record if you ask me. But he also seemed unwilling to fight spendthrift congressional Republicans for the sake of his larger goals.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.143
Nov 15, 2010
On Civil Rights:
Civil Rights Act was glorious fulfillment of Declaration
Let me preempt the genius reporter who will seek to "catch" me with a supernovel question like "So, Governor Perry, you're written a book about states' rights and now complain about abuse of the Commerce Clause. You don't think the Civil Rights
Act should have been passed, then, huh?"Wrong. The Civil Rights Act, which, among many things, prohibited private discrimination in so-called public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants, was the glorious fulfillment of the principles of the
Declaration of Independence and, ultimately, the intent behind passage of the Reconstruction Era amendments. I believe there was ample basis for the establishment of that law in that following the
Civil War the people ratified three amendments, the purpose of which was to give the federal government the power to fight racial discrimination.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 51
Nov 15, 2010
On Civil Rights:
Gay marriage is not protected, but judges will declare it so
In 2003, the Supreme Court heard the case of two homosexual men who had been arrested and convicted under a Texas law that prohibited the act of sodomy. Reversing its decision from 17 years earlier (upholding a Georgia ban), the Court found a right to
homosexual sodomy. Justice Kennedy explained why by digging back into a special concurrence from the "Casey" decision upholding abortion when he wrote, "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the
universe, and of the mystery of human life."I don't even know what that means, but it certainly has nothing to do with the Constitution or the law.
The real concern lies with the direction the Court clearly wishes to take the nation yet refuses to
admit. Gay marriage will soon be the policy of the United States, irrespective of federalism the Constitution, or the wishes of the American people. Not because it actually is protected in the Constitution, but because judges will declare it so.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.109-110
Nov 15, 2010
On Civil Rights:
We divvy up races using tools invented to fight racism
Chief Justice John Roberts succinctly captured my view of race relations in our country. In "LULAC v. Perry" (yes, I am "Perry"), a case challenging how Texas had drawn the lines for congressional districts after the 2000 Census, he wrote [in dissent],
"It's a sordid business, this divvying us up by race." This simple sentence acknowledged the reality that we are using the very tools we created for the purpose of ending racial discrimination to perpetuate it.In that 2006 case, despite a challenge
to the whole statewide redistricting plan, the Supreme Court held that one of the congressional districts Texas had drawn was in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
I had always thought that the Voting Rights Act served to ensure that minorities were
able to vote freely. But while politics has always caused the formation of odd-shaped districts due to so-called gerrymandering, the Voting Rights Act has now become, in effect, federally mandated & judicially enforced gerrymandering on the basis of race
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.110-111
Nov 15, 2010
On Crime:
Death penalty for aggravated rape
The people are forced to check their view of what should be an appropriate punishment with the Supreme Court case of "Kennedy v. Louisiana", which involved a sentence of death for a man convicted of rape. This case demonstrates just how out of touch with
America the Court truly is.Patrick Kennedy was sentenced to death not just for rape, but for the rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter. The little girl suffered massive trauma to her genital area. The injuries were so severe that she required emergency
invasive surgery to attempt to repair the damage.
Kennedy refused a plea deal that would have taken the death penalty off the table. He was then convicted under a 1995 statute that provided for the death penalty for anyone convicted of raping a child
under 12.
A jury of his peers sentenced him to death, and Kennedy appealed to the Supreme Court. Texas supported Louisiana. The Court ruled the law unconstitutional, citing the prohibition in the Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 99-100
Nov 15, 2010
On Crime:
States know best on punishment; federalism is arrogance
The states know best how they wish to punish criminals and for what crimes. Are we perfect? No. In Texas, we have been working diligently to advance the use if DNA and to make sure we have as many safeguards as are prudent to ensure the integrity of that
system. But our system works very well, and for Washington to step in and tell us whether it is right to execute a heinous criminal--or tell us how to carry out justice--is the height of arrogance and disregards federalism at its most basic level.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.101-102
Nov 15, 2010
On Drugs:
Drug trade causes soaring violence on southern border
President Obama is not trying to do just enough to create the impression of some activity to address border security. He announced that he will send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, as a temporary measure, until an additional
1,000 Border Patrol agents are on the job. This has generated headlines--and I suppose it is better than the alternative of no additional troops or officers--but it is really a drop in the bucket. Consider that of those 1,200 troops, only
286 were assigned to Texas. The southern border of the United States stretches 1,954 miles, and 1,255 of them are in Texas. We have 60 percent of the border, yet less than 25 percent of the resources were given to
Texas to deal with it. In the face of the soaring violence infesting our border communities as a result of the drug trade, this paltry effort is simply inviting more problems.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.124
Nov 15, 2010
On Drugs:
Medical marijuana OK for California, but not Texas
[On states' rights], there's a movement I disagree with, while appreciating the desire of Californians to decide for themselves--this is the issue of marijuana consumption. A few years ago Californians legalized the limited medicinal use of marijuana,
but the Supreme Court struck this law down in Gonzalez v. Raich, claiming that the federal government has the power to regulate activity that would have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Now, I am not sure the people of
Texas would want to go down this road.Keeping in mind that in 2008, less than 1% of the 847,000 marijuana-related arrests were carried out by federal law enforcement, it sure seems unlikely that there could be adequate resources at the federal level t
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.164-165
Nov 15, 2010
On Education:
OpEd: School choice laudable at local level but not federal
Federal intrusion got markedly worse in 2001, with No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The bill represented the bipartisan doubling down of federal involvement in the education of our children.Do you think there would have been significant Republican
opposition? Nope. In the House, Republicans voted 185-34 in favor of NCLB, while in the Senate the vote among Republicans was 43-6. Unfortunately, this willingness to turn power over to Washington was driven in significant part by the desire to further
expand federal faith-based initiatives and to provide for the increased possibility of school choice. This is a perfect example of Republicans losing sight of the fact that perfectly laudable policy choices at the local level are nor appropriate (much
less constitutional) at the federal level. This is not consistent with a belief in a limited federal government of enumerated powers. Worse, the Department of Education is now unfettered in its ability to interfere in the affairs of local government.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 86-87
Nov 15, 2010
On Education:
Public prayer is not establishing a religion
The Court turned 175 years of American history on its head when in 1962 it ended state-sponsored school prayer in New York and in 1963 ended the reading of the
Lord's Prayer and Bible verses in schools in Pennsylvania. By 1992, the Court had extended these restrictions to moments of silence and to prayer at public graduations ceremonies.
You see, public prayer is deemed part of the "establishment" of religion, and thus, both principles of federalism and the right to free exercise of religion are ignored and trampled on.
Someone should mention something about the travesty of public prayer to the Congress, whose chaplain leads the Senate and the House in prayer at the opening of every session.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.102-103
Nov 15, 2010
On Education:
Turned down $700M in federal aid due to strings attached
I was faced with a choice, where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't, in 2010 when it came to additional education funding. Up to $700 million in additional federal stimulus money was this time being offered to states through the Department
of Education's $5 billion Race-to-the-Top program. I turned down the money because under the program, we would have been required to adopt national standards and doing so would have further inserted Washington into the Texas classroom. And more than that
it would have cost us some $3 billion to change all our materials to comply with the Washington standards.Ultimately, the decision was easy for two reasons. First, the Texas school system is performing well, with leading standards, and innovative
charter schools. Second, the money we turned down was about $75 per student. It is frustrating when we are put in this position, but at some point we have to start telling Washington that we've had enough of the strings they attach.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.166
Nov 15, 2010
On Education:
Choose from mix of public, charter & private schools
In 2026, I picture a nation filled with diverse people bound together by a commitment to liberty and a devotion to working hard to give their children a better life than their parents gave them.I see a people who can pray in their schools as they wish
and towns across America that can publicly celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or nothing at all.
I see an education system that is the envy of the world, controlled by parents and the people according to the beliefs of the communities in which they live.
I see an energetic mix of public, charter, and private schools, delivering options so people can choose what is best for their children, rather than getting stuck because a too-powerful teachers' union or government bureaucrat tells them how they must
learn. The result is an important balance of academic excellence, local values, and a firm understanding of our nation's core founding principles--all of which will carry our nation forward with new generations of American achievement.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.170-172
Nov 15, 2010
On Environment:
Flexible permitting: cap emissions for entire facility
Obama's EPA doesn't care much for Texas's innovative flexible-permitting system, which establishes pollution caps for entire facilities rather than for each source (like a smokestack) within the facility. This flexible approach requires refineries and
other businesses to contain their overall emissions, therefore satisfying the federal standards, but allows them the leeway to determine how best and most efficiently to do so. It was put to place under Democratic governor Ann Richards while Bill
Clinton was president, and was never disapproved by the federal bureaucrats. In June 2010, the EPA broadened its takeover, invalidating all 122 flexible permits.The EPA must have stepped in to stop a major pollution problem, right? Actually, Texas's
commonsense system has been hugely successful in tackling air pollution. Over the past decade, Texas has achieved a 22% reduction in ozone and a 46% reduction in NOx emissions, outpacing the rest of the country, which achieved only a 27% reduction in NOx
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 89
Nov 15, 2010
On Environment:
Katrina: feds impede crucial work; get out of the way
In the aftermath of Katrina, it goes without saying that the federal government had numerous roles. From organizing transportation to having set up the Citizens Corps network that helped us organize from the ground up in the first place.
Some of it worked, some of it didn't. Of course, the federal government should have a role in dealing with a massive disaster that affected such a large part of the nation. My frustration mounts in particular, however, when the federal government impedes
crucial work. We can fight about money tomorrow. But today, when we need action, get out of the way.After Katrina, we faced numerous challenges as the federal government bureaucracy dragged its feet. As thousands of people poured into our state,
FEMA was not helping us find housing. Worse, though. They were prohibiting us from working with other states to spread folks out, which would have been better for everyone involved.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.153
Nov 15, 2010
On Foreign Policy:
Iraq: combat terror on their turf, not ours
Many establishment Republicans in Washington want to blame their losses on the war in Iraq. I simply do not believe that is true. While Americans rightly have a watchful eye on the commitment of our courageous soldiers to the Middle
East, and while many American still want to hear a clear articulation of our mission there, most Americans realize the need to combat terror on their turf, not ours.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.146
Nov 15, 2010
On Free Trade:
Milk price controls are egregiously interventionist
One of the most egregious results of interventionist, unconstitutional policy is today's dairy industry. Agriculture Department bureaucrats set the price of milk, and nobody is allowed to offer a lower price. Consider the example of Dutch immigrant Hein
Hettinga, who set up a dairy business outside of the federal government controls in the 1990s. He sold milk to grocery stores for 20 cents less than the government-mandated price & naturally had a booming business. He's been tied up in litigation against
Washington ever sinceHettinga was quoted as saying he "had an awakening.--it's not totally free enterprise in the US." The indefensible price controls enforced by running entrepreneurs like Hettinga out of business mean that Americans pay
26% more for milk than they would otherwise.. In effect, Americans are double-taxed by these left-over New Deal farm policies: we pay higher prices in the store for food, while we pay billions of dollars in taxes to fund the Farm Bill, loaded with pork.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 68
Nov 15, 2010
On Free Trade:
Welcome market of united Europe & ever-growing China & India
I see an America where the innovation and hard work of the American people creates still more opportunities, jobs, and wealth. I see a nation that is not cowering to the prospect of a united Europe or an ever-growing China and India, but rather welcomes
those markets and many others as opportunities for the entrepreneurial and industrious spirit of the American people. I see a world where free trade opens up more doors and where people embrace trade's benefit to both America and the rest of the world.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.172
Nov 15, 2010
On Government Reform:
Reverse trend of federal power back to state & local level
I grew up in Paint Creek, Texas. If you can't find it on a map., I won't be surprised. Just look for Haskell, Texas, population 3,000, and then go a few miles to the south and the east and you MIGHT find it. We were cotton farmers. We believed in
God, we believed in taking care of ourselves and one another, and we believed that America was the greatest nation on earth. We still do.Serving as the governor of
Texas for almost ten years has given me a unique perspective on the current state of things in our country. And from my vantage point, I see a nation filled with good, hardworking people who are wondering what happened to the country they knew.
It wasn't so long ago that we were expected to pay our bills, we were able to pray at the town meeting, and we believed it was important to rely on ourselves or our families rather than government.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. xvii
Nov 15, 2010
On Government Reform:
Strong union requires limited federal government
The Founders recognized that forming a strong union requires the preservation of liberty, and that the preservation of liberty requires a government located closest to the people. That the Founders sought to empower states broadly while limiting the
federal government is beyond dispute. This power structure is no trivial matter. It is not a footnote to our founding or something just for the history books. It is the result of intense forethought and debate by the very men who pledged their lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honor to give this nation to us. This structure protects the liberty of every American while honoring the cohesive whole we are as a nation.
An obvious question arises, though: how do the states protect liberty, and what is liberty in the first place? Well, before there was government, there were people. We, the people, were given life by our Creator.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 18-19
Nov 15, 2010
On Government Reform:
States are liberty's friend
While the national government was intentionally strong when it came to foreign and war powers, its domestic authority was greatly limited, leaving ample room for the states to be the hub of American self-government. States not only matter; they serve as
the core of the great American experiment.- States allow us to live with people of like mind: I would no more consider living in Massachusetts than I suspect a great number of folks from Massachusetts would like to live in Texas.
We just don't agree on a number of things.
- States promote mobility.
- States limit centralization of power.
- States should be laboratories of democracy.
- States encourage civic virtue, independence, and self-reliance.
The very essence of
America stems from a limited, decentralized government. When we empower Washington at the expense of local control, we rip apart the concept of civic virtue by removing the ability of the citizens to govern themselves.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 26-33
Nov 15, 2010
On Government Reform:
Earmarks corrupt the governing process
Earmarks represent the wasteful spending that has most caught public interest of late and for good reason. While earmarks have been prevalent since the 16th Amendment opened the spigots of cash for Congress, they have never been as out of control as they
are today. Why do we care about $29 billion in earmarks when our national deficit this year will be around $1.5 trillion? Because earmarks corrupt the process and divert attention from the real task of governing and oversight.
A modest 1-year
moratorium on earmarks, proposed in 2008, was defeated 29-71. However, due to pressure from the Tea Party movement and an extremely frustrated American public, the idea of a moratorium remains alive, and at least the House GOP voted as a conference in
Mar. 2010 to adopt a moratorium. What legislators should do is adopt a moratorium on pork until the budget is actually balanced, but don't hold your breath. In fact, the GOP failed to mention earmarks in its "agenda" document released in the fall of 2010
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 64-65
Nov 15, 2010
On Government Reform:
Campaign contributions are political free speech
The Supreme Court imposes many intrusions into decision that are not only best left to the people and the states but are constitutionally left to them. The
Court has censored actual political free speech such as campaign contributions, while confusing obscenity with that protected right.Any student of
American history, or even the casual observer of the news of the day, must admit that the Court adheres to the Constitution in appearance and as a matter of necessity, finding in it or in previous case law the single nugget around which the
Court can marginally justify its policy choice to keep up the pretense of actually caring one iota about the Constitution in the first place.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.112
Nov 15, 2010
On Gun Control:
Individual right to keep and bear arms
Look at state involvement in our individual right to keep and bear arms. At least 40 states have laws on the books allowing their citizens to carry a weapon in some form or another, and many of those have reciprocity agreements with other states.
Recently a number of states have also begun pushing back against what they perceive as the overreach of federal law against their citizens through the Commerce Clause. For example, Montana and Tennessee are getting tired of federal gun laws that reach
down into areas traditionally left to the states, so they passed laws to protect from federal reach firearms that are manufactured and sold entirely within the state.The natural question arises, How, then, do the laws get enforced? The Supreme
Court made crystal clear in the US v. Printz case, involving the enforcement of temporary provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, that the federal government cannot commandeer state authorities to carry out federal law.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.163-165
Nov 15, 2010
On Health Care:
Total repeal and dismantling of ObamaCare
No issue is more critical for the defense of freedom and the American way of life than the preservation of our free-market health care system and the total repeal and dismantling of so-called Obamacare. It is an example of everything that is wrong with
the modern administrative state.Our ability as Americans to have access to the best health care in the world--and our right to make our own personal health care decisions--literally hangs in the balance as this administration and Democrats on the
Hill consolidate power and insert the long tentacles of Washington into every hospital and doctor's office in America. Because the premise of Obamacare is that our health is not our responsibility but the public's.
At its core, Obamacare represents the
closest this country has ever come to outright socialism.
Obamacare mandates that Americans must go out and buy government-approved health insurance. I defy anyone to show me the clause in the Constitution that gives Washington the authority to do this
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 78-79
Nov 15, 2010
On Health Care:
The future of America depends on repealing ObamaCare
The so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or what we often refer to as Obamacare, simply must be repealed. Period. If we are unwilling to repeal a 2,000-plus-page bill that its sponsors admitted to not having read, that will cost
trillions of dollars, that is opposed by a majority of the nation, that unconstitutionally requires private citizens to buy private health insurance, and that spits in the face of any principles of limited government and federalism
--then we should just give up. The future of American depends on reversing this law.Now, some
Republicans seem to be hung up on the notion that we must be "for" something and must indicate so by saying that we will "repeal and replace" the legislation. That is such inside-the-Beltway nonsense and only confuses the issues for voters.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.175
Nov 15, 2010
On Homeland Security:
Invest in defense to prepare for unpredictable threats
There is no reason to believe that armed conflict with any major power is imminent, but the world is rapidly changing, and the US must be prepared for the ramifications of shifting balances of power.North Korea and Iran, in contrast, are utterly
unpredictable and do present an imminent threat with their nuclear ambitions. Kim Jon Il's regime sunk a South Korean ship, the "Cheonan", for no apparent reason, killing 46 sailors. Iran is rattling its sabers and developing nuclear technology with
impunity. Hugo Chavez is harboring communist rebels in Venezuela. All of these issues require our attention and investment in defense capabilities.
Yet it is clear that after decades of ignoring the constitutional division of authority, our bloated
national government is distracted and running thin on resources to perform its central mission.
Defense spending is not being squeezed out of the budget because of the explosion in entitlement spending.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.125-6
Nov 15, 2010
On Homeland Security:
Unsettled policy on Guantanamo signals weakness to enemies
Almost a full decade after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Washington still has not settled on a policy for detaining and, if necessary, prosecuting enemies captured in the War on Terror. President
Obama naively campaigned as if terrorism should be handled as a law enforcement matter, and in November 2009 Attorney General Holder held a major press conference to announce that Guantanamo Bay would be shuttered and that
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would face a civilian trial in Manhattan. Both plans have crumbled in the face of public and congressional opposition, and to this day the administration refuses to decide what to do.
Washington's paralysis on the seminal issue of our time--dealing with terrorists whose mission is to kill as many American as possible--signals weakness to our enemies.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.132
Nov 15, 2010
On Homeland Security:
US should be strongest nation by insurmountable magnitude
In 2026, I see a great nation. I see a federal government that focuses on the few things for which it is empowered and well-suited--such as national defense, border enforcement, and foreign commerce--and does them well.I see an
America that has the strongest defense in the world, by an insurmountable order of magnitude. I see defense technology that is miles beyond our allies or adversaries, and servicemen and women who are better trained and equipped than anyone.
I see a functional missile defense system protecting us and our allies, and I see modernized fleets of ships and aircraft that are unsurpassed in their ability to overwhelm the enemy. I see a world where
America promotes peace through the strength of her forces, which continue to be used to protect freedom rather than in conquest.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.170-173
Nov 15, 2010
On Immigration:
Illegal immigration cost TX $928M in one year
A 2006 report by the Texas comptroller's office estimated the budgetary impacts of illegal immigration in Texas. The report found that approximately 135,000 undocumented students in Texas public schools cost the state $957 million in just the
2004-2005 school year. The comptroller's report cited incarceration and uncompensated health care as the two largest costs associated with illegal immigrants to local government entities in Texas.
These two items costs local government $1.44 billion over a one-year period.Of course, those living in Texas illegally also provide income to the state because of increased economic activity, sales tax, and property taxes
(either directly or through rent subsidizing the property owner). But adding the estimated revenues and costs to both the state and local governments, Texas taxpayers were out $928 million in 2005.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.121
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
America is great; Washington is broken
Something is terribly wrong. There is a sense among Americans that the world we have always known is in danger of being turned upside down. Now, do not misunderstand me. America is great.
Our nation has done, and continues to do, more for the cause of freedom around the world than any nation in the history of man.
But American is in trouble, and the people know it.
We sense that our way of life and, perhaps more importantly, our ability to decide how we shall live, is no longer in our control but in the control of an increasingly powerful and oppressive national government--a government run by people who simply
do not share our values or our beliefs and blatantly ignore its limits.
In short, it is not America that is broken; it is Washington that is broken.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 3-4
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
Route to success is lower taxes & smaller government
I am proud of what Texas has done in the face of the economic challenges that have gripped our nation in recent years. We know that the route to success is lower taxes, smaller government, and freedom for every individual, because we have seen it work.
Our job growth at the end of 2009 and an unemployment rate that has stayed well below the national average. Indeed, the Texas unemployment rate is the lowest among the nation's ten largest states, as is our state's level of debt. Texas was named the
top exporting state in the country for the 8th straight year. That's what happens when you free up citizens to compete. And as a result, we were able to finish our last legislative session with a balanced budget, a tax cut for 40,000 small businesses,
and over $8 billion set aside for our state's "rainy-day fund." In fact, Texas & Alaska are responsible for 2/3 of all state dollars set aside in reserve. A sad indictment on the rest of America, this is a source of pride for those of us in Austin.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 9-10
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
Some GOP not on right page; but Dems can't find the library
As frustrated as I am at many in my own party for their waste & incompetence, and as many good friends as I have in the Democratic Party, I am firmly convinced that there is no comparison between the two political parties in modern, 21st-century America.
As I have said before, "Republicans often aren't on the right page--indeed, some aren't even in the right chapter. But most are in the right book. Most Democrats today, on the other hand, can't even find the library."What I mean by that is simple.
Republicans, in general, believe in low taxes, low regulation, less spending, free-market health care, constitutional judges, protecting innocent life, enforcing our laws and our borders, peace through strength, empowering the states, and generally
advocating principles of limited government. On the other hand, most of my Democratic friends--unfortunately--generally believe in higher taxes, more regulations, capitulation to our enemies, and generally a bigger and more active government than not.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 14-15
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
Prohibiting school prayer is federal overreach
The state of federalism today I see firsthand in Texas. For the years 2010-2011, our budget is just over $180 billion. Of that, 36 percent, or just $65 billion, is money Texans pay in taxes to Washington, and that is sent back with countless strings to
tell us how to spend it. It includes money for health care, education, transportation, and countless other domestic programs not mentioned among those 17 clauses enumerating the powers of the central government.
But the problem goes far deeper than that. Prohibition on school prayer, the redefinition of marriage, the nationalization of health care, the proliferation of federal criminal laws, interference with local education, the increased regulation of food
--even telling us what kind of lightbulb we can use--there is seemingly no end to the reach of Washington.
What happened to our country? Such policies represent an almost complete abandonment of a limited central government rooted in federalism.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 36-37
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
Modern liberals shifting back to term "Progressive"
Ever since the dawn of the so-called Progressive movement over a century ago, liberals have used every tool at their disposal--including, notably, the Supreme Court--to wage a gradual war on the Constitution and the American way of life, with very little
effective opposition from conservatives. Have you noticed that modern liberals are trying to shift back to the term "Progressive"? They are doing this because they know they have lost the war in defending liberalism. Who can be against progress, after
all? But it's a fraudulent use of the word, because ofr the Progressive, progress is marked not by how free you are, but by how much government can "do" for you.
This view--that government should be an interventionist force in
American society--remains alive and well today. To me, the idea of living under a distant government that dictates those circumstances and what I may and may not do is not comforting but intolerable. But that is the ethos of the Progressives.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 37-40
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
Supreme Court shouldn't choose how & where we may pray
To whom may the people realistically appeal when the Court arrogantly chooses to hide behind the Constitution while it implements its own policy choices? No one.That the Court makes policy can hardly be debated--and that many of these policy choices
affect the citizen at the core of his personal conscience is equally beyond question. Consider that it is our courts that routinely decide, with little of no chance of further appeal, how and where we may and may not pray to God, when life begins, whethe
contraception must be allowed to be sold, whether and how we can celebrate religious holidays, what those other than man and woman must be allowed to marry, what level of discrimination may carried out (in the name of ending discrimination),
whether a state must allow women to attend an all-male military academy, who may be executed and whether we may execute criminals at all, and generally any issue involving social preference, morality, and our collective concept of right and wrong.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 96
Nov 15, 2010
On Principles & Values:
Take back America: Stand up and lead
I see a world where the federal government involves itself as the last resort, and only according to its constitutionally prescribed powers. This is the world we must restore.Taking Back America: So, can we do this? We are Americans.
Of course we can have the world we want to live in. Here are the steps we must take to wrest the reins of the federal government from those who have let it run wild for far too long: - Repeal ObamaCare:Under no circumstances should
Republicans forsake the clarity of this single mission.
- Stand Up and Lead:States have to begin to make the hard choices and to quit blindly accepting money from Washington.
- Sustain a National Dialogue About Limited Constitutional
Government.
- Elect Leaders Who Respect the Constitution and Hold Them Accountable.
- Adopt Certain Important Structural Reform: First, we must restrict federal spending. Second, we should restrict its unlimited source of revenue,
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.174-187
Nov 15, 2010
On Social Security:
We are fed up with system teetering on bankruptcy
We are fed up with being overtaxed and overregulated. We are fed up with a federal government that has the arrogance to preach to us about how to live our lives.
We are fed up with a federal government that pledged $200 billion to bail out Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac.
We are fed up with a self-interested Congress that spends its time earmarking over 9,000 pet projects in 2010 worth over $16 billion.
We are fed up that Social Security and Medicare teeter on the verge of bankruptcy, amassing
unfathomable liabilities for future generations, that the federal government refuses to admit it, and that there is no leadership in Washington to do anything about it.
But perhaps most of all we are fed up because deep down we know how great
America has always been, how many great things the people have done in spite of their government, and how great the nation can be in the future if government will just get out of the way.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 5-7
Nov 15, 2010
On Social Security:
New Deal inventions violently toss aside federalism
The vaunted New Deal did not bring the country out of the Great Depression. Its numerous programs never died, and like a bad disease, they have spread. Certain of these programs massively altered the relationship between Americans and their government
with respect to critical aspect of our lives, violently tossing aside any respect for our founding principles of federalism and limited government. By far the best example of this is Social Security. A New Deal invention, it was clearly intended to be
a permanent fixture of the entitlement state FDR was constructing. Private pensions were largely solvent and performing, despite the Depression. Even though the Social Security Act was passed in 1935, the fact that no retirement benefits would be paid
until 1942 contradicts any notion that it was directed at an emergency. Moreover, retirement benefits were not payable until age 62, when the life expectancy at the time was only 60. And FDR beat back a popular proposal for a private pension.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 48-49
Nov 15, 2010
On Social Security:
Trust Fund is an unsustainable Ponzi scheme
By far the most alarming problem is the looming implosion of New Deal and Great Society entitlement programs. The combined liabilities for Social Security and Medicare amount to $106 trillion.Aren't you wondering about the Social Security Trust Fund
you've heard so much about? The term "trust fund" leads one to believe that there is a stockpile of assets that can be drawn on to pay benefits. Not so. This trust fund id an elaborate illusion cooked up by government magicians. While it is true that
there is an accumulated ACCOUNTING surplus in this amount, the surplus exists only in a "bookkeeping sense."
Ponzi schemes are illegal in this country for a reason. They are fraudulent systems designed to take in a lot of money at the front and pay out
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 58-61
Nov 15, 2010
Page last updated: Aug 18, 2011