Perry Seems Ready to Announce Candidacy
Rick Perry and his supporters continued to position the Governor as a presidential candidate at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit in San Antonio. Photo by Daniel Reese for KUT News. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Speculation is swirling that Governor Rick Perry could finally make his presidential intentions clear this weekend during a speech in South Carolina. On Wednesday, Perry made his first public appearance since those stories began circulating over the weekend—and the Governor kept dropping hints.
Ultimately, the occasion for the speech was not the right setting for anyone to throw his hat in the ring. The non-partisan National Conference of State Legislatures Summit included lawmakers and policy experts from both major political parties. But that didn’t stop the Governor and his supporters from making highly suggestive statements, starting with Lt. Governor David Dewhurst’s introduction.
“I am more convinced than ever that there is no such thing as a coincidence,” Dewhurst said. “That when a nation like America comes to a crossroads in dark hours, proven men and women, tested men and women are called. Not just to stand in the gap but to lead in dark hours. Rick Perry is such a leader.”
Most of Perry’s speech focused on the relatively strong Texas economy – and the importance of jobs.
“Jobs are and always have been the fundamental building blocks of a healthy community,” Perry said. “Jobs bring security, they bring pride, they bring further opportunity.”
Perry also attacked government programs and President Obama’s stimulus spending. He never mentioned the President by name but did refer to quote “those Keynesians” in Washington, an attempt to smear the economic philosophy of the Obama administration.
“An activist federal government, intruding on environmental policy, they’ve been dictating education policy, taking over health care, even interfering with the right of a company to locate a plant in a right-to-work state, as is the case of Boeing in South Carolina,” Perry said.
That last comment refers to the new Boeing Dreamliner plant that was recently completed outside of Charleston. The National Labor Relations Board filed a formal complaint against Boeing for moving production of the facility from a union plant in Washington to non-union South Carolina.
The case is still pending. But Boeing has announced it will start taking applications for the 1,000 jobs available this Saturday.
It just so happens that Rick Perry will be in that state on that very same day. It’s when he is expected to make his first public announcement that he intends to run for President.
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