Curious... What Do YOU Think of Rick Perry?

I think anyone who is interested in Rick Perry should look into his funding cuts to education and social services. In 2006, he lowered property taxes which fund education and replaced the taxes with a business tax. He was told that there were problems with his business tax, and that there would be a budget shortfall in 4 years.

In 2010, AFTER he won an election based low taxes and his strong budget, it came out that Texas faced a huge budget shortfall and had to cut billions of dollars from social services and education. We now have childrens medicaid which most doctors will not accept, and have fired thousands and thousands of teachers. Class sizes have shot up in every district which did not raise local taxes to compensate for the shortfall.

Texas is at the very bottom of the nation in education spending, and students score at the very bottom of the nation on national assessments.

A governor who fails to educate the children of his state, and who fails to consider the health and wellness of the states most helpless residents is a pretty sorry governor.

The ONLY reason I would consider voting for him is to get him out of Texas.

And I am Independent.

Disgusting . . . (and I'm a conservative leaning independent).

I'd rather not vote than vote for him.

Yikes.

If my only choices were Obama & Perry, I would vote for Perry....anybody but Obama for me........and Obama is cocky & arrogant too.

N., I live in Obamaland & hate it, we need to trade homes, at least till Obama is out of office (hopefully sooner rather than later)

Ah, yes, the secessionist (and wasn't he just ranting about Ben Bernanke being "treasonous??" Interesting). He's the male version of Sarah Palin, in my book. All looks, no substance. Here is what a friend of mine recently wrote of Gov. Goodhair:

"Ricky Perry is like one of those little lizards you see in your garden. He changes depending on what stage he is on. He is as close to a bipolar candidate as you can get. His demeanor ranges from one extreme to another in a matter of seconds. Historical­ly he doesn't debate, so it will be interestin­g to see how they are going to drag him onto a stage to face questions. It will also be interestin­g to see how the national media handles him, and whether or not they will scrutinize his claims to be the "miracle man" of Texas. For anyone who thinks GW Bush was a train wreck, you haven't seen nothing yet. Rick Perry makes GW Bush look like Winston Churchhill­"

Ah, the death penalty,, He would not stop the execution of one man that later it was found was not guilty and the evidence and doubt had been given to Perry! There have been others that now that they are publicly being studied also probably were not guilty, again Perry went ahead and allowed them to be executed, even though the questions had been shown to him..

And wait until you hear how many files and documents have been purged about his terms as Gov.. Per his order.. Mostly to do with his spending, and travel..

Egads! He used to be a Democrat until there were hardly any Democrats in Texas anymore.. Flip flop

We have the highest number of teen pregnancy because of the abstinence education he pushed.

He wanted all girls to get vaccinated for the paplona virus but had no way to fund it and it was not going to be an option.. the State was going to make it a law.. Now he says that was mistake. Flip flop.

We have the highest number of uninsured poor children in the NATION!

He cut education funding for our public schools before cutting any other funds in our state.

He never made higher than a grade C at Texas A&M when they used to accept anyone who's family could afford to pay tuition.. even PE he made a C.. He made an F in economics and surrounds himself with some of the best looking young men, who have no experience in running our state.. Hardly any women.. makes me wonder if he thinks we are not smart enough for state govt.. His friends even admit, they used to tease him (and he agreed) he is not very bright..

But one of my pet peeves is that when our Governors Mansion was almost burned to the ground.. Instead of being willing to live in a modest home and use the vast amount of rooms at the State Capitol building.. He has been living in a State funded $10,000 a month rental property..

We are all cutting and cutting our own budgets, but he and his wife.. alone.. live in this rental for YEARS!!!!!

He thinks he is King of Texas not a state elected official..

Don't know much about him, but his "Prayer Rally" bothered me. I wish politicians would be a little more low-key about their faith. It has no place in government.

I would like to take Leslie out for a margarita. I'm not impressed by his governorship, and I am the polar opposite on my political views, values, and piorities from him. However, I think he is a shrewd politician and will be a good competitor. Somehow he has gotten all sorts of credit for Texas economic success.... but we're the 5th poorest state in the nation. Our econmic growth has been due to an increase in population and that increase is due to ...dun dun dun.....Mexico! I am also peeved that this Republican, staunch supporter of no govt handouts used governement money to pay for his prayer rally. Funny how it's ok to spend tax dollars on a Christian prayer rally, but not education funding. That shrewd politician needed to out religify the Mormons. It's all a flea circus

I'm with LeeLee and Leslie. He's one of those politicians that make me feel disgusted about politics.

Well, just on social issues alone, he is not 'IT' for me:

He opposes any and all recognition of domestic partnerships.

He opposes funding for elective abortion.

He signed the Mandatory Ultrasound Bill-requiring the abortion practitioner or a certified sonographer to perform a sonogram before any sedative or anesthesia is administered. Before every abortion, the abortion practitioner must give an explanation of the sonogram images of the unborn child.

Sorry--I don't think women need him looking out for their bodies.

He also said he had no problem ignoring the Supreme Court’s 1962 ruling that barred organized prayer in public schools. ??? Really? What other Supreme Court rulings might he have no trouble ignoring?

I feel he is a little too religious for politics.

Oh--he does have an A+ rating from the NRA. Oh goody! LOL Is that good news? I don't think so.

Oh, in his defense, anyone over the age of 14 has probably leaned in a civics class that it costs WAY more to execute a prisoner than to feed and house him for 30-40 years. That's just basic knowledge, isn't it? Maybe not. Now you know!

I'm in Texas and an independent (I guess that's what I'd be called...I don't vote party lines).

I worry that if Rick Perry gets elected it's going to be because people didn't do their homework. He's not as great as his campaign makes him out to be. (Are they ever?)

He touts his record for increased employment among other things...the problem is, the things he's claiming he had a hand in, he didn't. The man gave the government the finger when they giving out money to the states, then whined and complained that the government didn't help when he needed it. He wants to pick and choose his battles, I get that, but don't then complain when you don't get what you want when you want it...and say it's the other guy's fault.

Laurie put it perfectly! And, do you know why the Governor's Mansion almost burnt to the ground?! Because he didn't make sure the alarm was turned on! Seriously, we had to foot his $10k+ apartment because no one turned the alarm on and a lunatic who was mad at the governor threw a Malatov Cocktail at it!

.

To paraphrase the old saying.....I have nothing nice to say about him so I won't say anything at all.
Appalling isn't even a good enough word.

What do I think of him? Not much. But I'm a Democrat. :)

ETA: His attack on Ben Bernanke made me think he was a nut.

I am a born and bred texan and im a democrat. I can't stand rick perry and if he does get elected it will be a mess.

N.:

He's OKAY...he started out as a Democrat...

I have not seen his voting history or statistics so it will be hard for me to judge him. I do know that he is a gun advocate and THAT appeals to me.

I DO like that he says he's for smaller, less intrusive government but DO NOT LIKE that he wants to mandate that every girl get the HPV vaccine and if I had a daughter of that age bracket - I would FIRMLY SAY KISS MY BUTT!!! My daughter is 25 and I told her to make up her own mind but it was my opinion that it was NOT a good thing..

He supports the death penalty and that works for me. I personally think we spend waaaaaayyy too much money keeping prisoners alive and well fed...criminals get better treatment than our veterans and homeless people it seems - 3 meals, roof over their head, medical care, access to degrees...yeah - that's the life!!! Let's go rob a bank!! (not!)

Bernake, Geinther, Pelosi, Reid - are all treasonous - and the list goes on...

Michelle Bachman doesn't do much for me. She can't get to her point fast enough...she's a lawyer - go figure.

Mitt Romney - look at what he did to Massachusetts and then figure that one out...MA is a MESS!!!

Alan West - to appeal to the black voters - because we have to admit a lot of the votes that Obama got were because he was black (and he's NOT ALL black!!! URGH!) however, he voted for the debt ceiling increase and that did not sit well with me.

Ron Paul is more further right than I am...he has some very strict Libertarian views..but he seems to have his head screwed on straight when it comes to policies and getting us out of this mess.

Bottom line? This mess didn't happen in 5, 10 or even 12 years. It's been decades...60 years in the making...WE THE PEOPLE MUST take a stand and take our country back...demand our elected officials be held accountable for their actions and demand better...once "politicians" see that WE THE PEOPLE are serious and want our country back - they may wise up...doubtful - the best way to get their attention is to vote their sorry asses out of office...just like in 2010 - it sent a STRONG message, unfortunately, not strong enough....

I've lived in Texas since 1992, and tend to vote Republican...

However, if he becomes the Presidential candidate, I WON'T be voting for him.

His record does not stand for the people... many of the things have been mentioned already.

He scares me! (So does Michelle Bachman.... I don't know who I am for at this point.......)

I was JUST going to ask this question... you beat me to it!!!

I don't know a lot about him, so I don't want to give an opinion yet (cause I don't have one). But I will say that Michele Bachman MAY be on the top of my list right now... but honestly and truly I will vote for anyone who runs against Obama because there isn't ONE thing redeeming about him to me- and, umm... I know this isn't MY sole opinion!

First impression of Rick Perry? I'm not much for guys that come off as "cocky", and that's what he looks like to me... but, I could be wrong about him. I'll see as time lapses.

I've lived in Texas my entire life, and I'm a conservative, but I don't like Perry. He isn't all bad, and I voted for him twice, though after the last budget session and the mess he's made over education in our state recently (I'm a high school teacher), I wouldn't vote for him again.

Overall though, I agree with pretty much everything that Laurie A. wrote.

On a personal rather than political note, there is a huge difference between confidence and arrogance, and Perry is arrogant. I don't like that.

Michelle Bachman seems completely crazy. I really don't love any of the conservative candidates. Mitt Romney might be alright. I just don't know.

I'm in Pennsylvania and I think he's a nut ball and an insincere liar about his faith (not that church should be the central focus of a candidate in a country with MANY religions). I hope he's the Republican nominee so the republicans lose. Him or Bachman. I'd be scared of a sane Republican candidate.

I've heard he has great hair!

:[

I am a Texan. I'm not all gung ho for Perry but Texas is doing bettter than most states and it isn't by accident. We have had an increase in our population because people are moving here from other states in search of JOBS!!!

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/05/27/everything%e2%80%99s-...
http://blog.heritage.org/2011/06/12/texas-sized-jobgrowth/

I do my own research and I certainly don't believe everything I read here, even from my neighbors. Someone said we are one of the poorest states. Not sure where that came from.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/5-us-states-with-lowe...
http://www.atr.org/rich-states-poor-a4804

If you only look at the median income per state, it doesn't take into account the cost of living.

The person I want isn't in the race yet but I am crossing my fingers. If Perry is the nominee, I would definitely vote for him over Obama.

Added: We are moving forward?? Did you notice that our credit rating was recently downgraded for the first time in history? Oh, yeah that was the tea parties fault. Or was it President Bush? I can't keep straight who Obama is blaming today. Tomorrow it will be the fault of...

Our national deficit has SOARED since Obama took office and he wants to CONTINUE the spending spree. We can't AFFORD 4 more years of Obama. Where does he want to spend more? Entitlements. He admitted that government handouts encourage dependency!! So we should throw more money at people to create more dependency on the government??? Sheesh!!!

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/01/New-CBO-...

I find Jennifer's answer funny but only because she is from Texas and is saying don't do it. I will, of course, do my research. I find it funny because everyone I know from Illinois was saying don't do it when Obama was running.

I liked Perry until I read Jennifer's comment. After seeing Chicago politics on a national stage, yikes!! I take the comments from a candidates home state seriously!

Okay sorry Jennifer for singling you out, I guess I could have read down further.

I found this to be an intersting question. Before this question I knew nothing of Rick Perry. I just got back from his campaign web site.

Not that what is said on a campaign web site is anywhere near the actual truth. If you went to Obama's web site two years ago, you'd have thought he was a wonderful person and we all know how wrong that was ! ! !

Interesting that Perry has reduced taxes and spending in his state. (Or so it said on his campaign web site.) It says he reduced property taxes and reduced taxes on businesses with gross receipt of $1,000,000 or less. That would include lots of small businesses.
It says he has reduced the number of frivilous lawsuits.
It says that he had increased border patrols to reduce the drug trafficing across the borders and the number of illegal aliens coming across.
His web site says that 40% of all the jobs created in the US since 2009 were created in Texas.
His web site says Perry made Eagle scout. That's a real accomplishment!

I don't know how much of the above is completely true, but I like the idea of cutting taxes, cutting spending, reducing frivolous lawsuits, creating jobs and inviting corporations to do business Texas and America and stopping illegal drug trafficing and illegal aliens.

Thanks for the question. I'll have to pay more attention to Perry and see if he is real or just fluff.

Good luck to you and yours.

I am not republican, nor am I from Texas. But I like Rick Perry.

For a republican I'd vote for him over Michelle Bachman, however, I'm not voting republican. He has done some good things for Texas and I do know there has been more job opportunities in Texas than most other states. That's going to help him a lot. However, he said he wanted to "seceded from the United States of America", hello, and you now want to be President...

I live in Texas and nope didn't vote for him ever and never will. Yes he brings business because he gives them incentives. Why wouldn't you want to work in a state where your employers has all the rights and tax incentives. No one said that the businesses are bringing decent wages and that you can make a good living. We are 46 out of 51 for highest poverty levels within the US. Our unemployment rate is still high.

This guy seriously wanted to Secede from the Union. Did he not realize where most of his social aid comes from? Uggg
Below is where I got the statics that I am spouting... :)

http://www.bls.gov/lau/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_pover...

My opinion, don't rock the boat. US in general has been moving forward and rocking the boat after two years won't help.

Let's face it....there is NO politician that cares about anyone in the US except themselves! It's always a choice to pick the lesser of two evils! I do try to choose a canidate that lines up more with Godly principles although hard to find! That is what our country was founded on contrary to most beliefs! I can say puppet boy Obama is not a representation of that.

I'm Texan and so far, from what I know, he has done a couple of really great things for the state. Though of course I don't agree with everything, and believe there are some areas of improvement he has failed. But I don't think any candidate can please everyone. Of course, I'm pretty conservative myself, so maybe that's why. I don't know if I would vote for him for president at this point, though he seems to be a strong contender among many Texans. I'm researching every candidate.

And it's sad what Tracy K. had to say about Mormons. Considering I am one and most people that have hateful views on us are from hearsay, totally ignorant of our actual beliefs or malevolent half truths that people spread on purpose.

I think he's kind of a jerk, really. I don't like Obama, at all either. I feel like he's charming, a good guy, has fancy rhetoric, and has done a whole lotta nothing. He has good ideas, but no gumption, and no follow through. I don't like either of them, for different reasons. I don't know who I would vote for, if they ran against each other. I feel like I'd be trading my soul a bit, voting for either one :(

Who?
Doesn't matter, he won't be president...YAWN.

He is getting a lot of praise for Texas not being in the distressed financial situation like many other states. This may be true, but he "balanced" the budget by cutting 4 billion dollars out of the Texas education budget. Schools have been scrambling to simply stay afloat in Texas. This is at all levels - I have two children in college, one in high school and one in middle school. Programs have been cut like crazy. In our district alone this year (which is considered an exemplery school district, one of the top in the state), choir, band, sports, and many classes have either but cut to bare minimums or eliminated. Also, many great teachers have been laid off and the bus service to/from school is no longer free - it now cost 600$ a year per a child. I am all for a balanced budget and not overspending, but education is the last place to cut. People tend to downplay sports and music programs, but being a mother of 5 I can tell you this is one of the best ways to keep your kids out of "other" activities.

I can tell you at the college level, scholarships have been cut drastically. My son has found this out first hand this year.

This alone makes me feel very negative towards Mr. Perry. He obviously places very little significance on education. I personally believe this is the last place a budget should be cut. We already know the United States is lacking in quality of education, in comparison to other industrialized nations. Why in the world would we want to make this any worse? If he can do this in Texas - why does anyone believe this wouldn't be his first place (education) to cut on a national level - you know in the name of "balancing the budget"!!

I am for any candidate that will control expenses and stop the spending spree!! Stop creating entitlement programs and advancing needless social issues because a small percentage want them...We can't afford these! I am tired of paying for those who take advantage of the system and are dead beats!! If Perry is the candidate who will stop this nonsense fine..I'll vote for him...If it is Romney I'll vote for him...Bachman ..I'll vote for her....Any candidate other than Obama. I keep hearing oh he caves into Republicans really? With his spending spree and shoving the Obummercare down our throats and all this other junk???

As I've said in prior posts....We are all entitled to what is protected in our constitution and what we work for and nothing else...period!