‘Mad as hell’ Perry wants to ‘deconstruct’ federal government
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry told Iowa State Fairgoers Wednesday he wants to “deconstruct” federal power now centralized in Washington, D.C., and return decision making on government programs such as health care, transportation and education back to the states.
“Washington, D.C., has decided that all the decisions should be made there, and you know what my answer to Washington, D.C. is? ‘I am mad as hell and I am going to do something about it to change it,’ ” Perry said in his speech at The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox.
Perry, a Republican candidate for president who served 14 years as Texas’ chief state executive, described President Barack Obama as a poor leader who has weakened the nation’s military, damaged U.S. foreign policy, and hindered economic growth.
He depicted himself as a strong chief executive who dealt with one crisis after another in situations where there was no handbook to deal with such events. These included the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; a large influx of immigrants last year who crossed the border from Mexico; the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia over Texas; and handling a patient diagnosed with the Ebola virus in Dallas.
At the same time, Perry said he oversaw a surge of business growth in Texas, which hosts the world’s 12th-largest economy. He pointed to the creation 1.5 million jobs in Texas between the end of 2007 and the end of 2014 while at the same time the rest of the country lost 400,000 jobs.
“I don’t think that was an accident. It happened because we allowed people to have the freedom to keep more of what they work for; to have the opportunity to know that the government will not strangle them with these regulations,” Perry said.
America is a unique country where people can volunteer by joining the Peace Corps or the Marine Corps, or anything in between, the governor said, encouraging people to give back to their country.
Perry began his speech by telling fairgoers how his campaign trips across rural Iowa have reminded him of his youth in tiny Paint Creek, Texas, an unincorporated town that didn’t even have a post office.
“It was where I called home. The values that I learned there shaped my views today: Hard work, having a job and giving back to your country.”
PERRY: FREE FARMERS FROM OVERREGULATION
Asked about his vision for American agriculture, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry proudly pointed to his upbringing on a dryland cotton farm, his eight years as Texas’ state agriculture commissioner, and the fact that he is the only Republican presidential candidate to have a college degree in agriculture.
Perry told The Des Moines Register in an interview the challenges American farmers face are not in production, but in restrictions. These range from the agriculture sector’s ability to sell farm products internationally to dealing with an alphabet soup of federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, he said.
One example is Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation approved by Congress that has had the effect of protecting the nation’s big banks, while driving small community banks out of business that play a critical role in lending money to farmers and small businesses, he said.
Perry also said he supports criminal justice reforms that include the use of drug courts aimed at helping drug addicts. Bipartisan changes in Texas have allowed the closing of three state prisons while saving taxpayers $2 billion, he added.
Asked about his favorite food at the Iowa State Fair, Perry remarked, “I am going to have to go with just a straight-up pork chop.”
PERRY EXPECTS DISMISSAL IN COURT CASE
A woman in the crowd repeatedly tried to heckle former Texas Gov. Rick Perry during his soapbox speech at the Iowa State Fair on Wednesday. She noted he was indicted last year in Texas, although he ignored her and continued to talk.
The indictment related to two criminal counts filed against Perry, one of which was recently dismissed. The remaining charge accuses Perry of abusing his power when he threatened to veto state funding for a unit of the Travis County district attorney's office.
Perry told reporters after his speech he considers the indictment as a “badge of honor against an absolute, out-of-control, district attorney” who was arrested for drunken driving.
“If I had to do it again, I would do it all over again. One of the charges has been thrown out and the other one I suggest will be, too,” Perry said. “This is a classic example of persecution by a very Democrat-controlled county. The Legislature even took away all of that authority from them this last legislative session.”
AT THE EVENT
Quote: “I think that is what this election is reflecting is people having a bellyful of all the decisions trying to be made 1,500 miles away from where they need to be made, right here in this state.”
Crowd: The crowd at Perry’s speech was about 12 to 15 feet deep in front of the stage, and it was smaller than audiences for some other presidential candidates, but many of his supporters attended and they heartily applauded his remarks. The weather was cool outside at 59 degrees and with a brisk wind of about 20 mph and gray skies overhead.
Other stops at the fair: Perry visited the fair Tuesday night as well, serving as a celebrity chef at the Iowa Pork Producers tent. After his Soapbox speech Wednesday, he spent about 90 minutes walking the fairgrounds: visiting the Varied Industries Building; observing Sampson, the Champion Big Bull, a Red Angus that weighs 2,893 pounds; and shaking hands and posing with fairgoers for dozens of photos.
Up Next: Perry’s visit to the Iowa State Fair marked the end of a three-day campaign trip to Iowa. He has spent more time in Iowa this year than any other candidate except Republican Rick Santorum.