Email Comments from Governor Perry on Suspending his Campaign

Email from Governor Perry:

Today I am suspending my campaign for President.

Anita and I have been blessed by the many supporters who have believed in our conservative vision for the country.

Although I will no longer be on the campaign trail, I will continue to champion conservative principles: a Washington that is humbler with a federal government that is smaller, real tax reform that can spur economic growth, and a renewed commitment to fiscal discipline so the future of this country is not mortgaged on a mountain of debt.

As we return to Austin and the Texas I love, I am proud to continue as governor of this great state and will work every day to make Texas a better place to do business and create jobs for all Texans.

We cannot thank you enough for your generous support which enabled our campaign to champion these conservative values.

God bless.
Rick Perry

Text of Governor Perry's Remarks


Thank you. As I have stated numerous times on the campaign trail, this campaign has never been about the candidates.

I ran for President because I love America, our people and our freedom. But the mission is greater than the man.

 As I have traveled across this great country: from New Hampshire to California, from Iowa to Florida, and to numerous states in between, I have discovered a tremendous purpose and resiliency in our people. They have never lost hope despite current circumstances.

They haven’t stopped believing in the promise of America or the American Dream.
 Americans are down, but we can never be counted out. We are too great a people. What is broken in America is not our people, but our politics.

 And what we need is a Washington that is humbler, with a federal government that is smaller so our people can live freer.

 I entered this campaign offering a unique perspective: a governor who has led a large state leading the nation in job creation, an executive leader who has implemented conservative policies, a son of tenant farmers born with little more than a good name, but who has experienced the great possibilities of freedom.

 But I have never believed that the cause of conservatism is embodied by any one individual. Our party, and the conservative philosophy, transcends any one individual. It is a movement of ideas that are greater than any one of us, and that will live beyond our years.

 As a former Air Force pilot, I know we can’t lose track of the ultimate objective in carrying out our mission, and that objective is not only to defeat President Obama, but to replace him with a conservative leader who will bring about real change.

 Our country is hurting with more than 13 million unemployed, nearly 50 million on food stamps and a debt of more than $15 trillion and growing.

 We need bold, conservative leadership that will take on the entrenched interests and give the American People their country back.

 I have always believed the mission is greater than the man.

 As I have contemplated the future of this campaign, I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path to victory for my candidacy in 2012.

 Therefore, today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president.

 I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country.

 We have had our differences, which campaigns inevitably bring out. And Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?

 The fact is, there is forgiveness for those who seek God and I believe in the power of redemption, for it is a central tenet of my own Christian faith.

 And I have no question Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative reformer, the ability to rally and captivate the conservative movement and the courage to tell the Washington interests to take a hike if it’s what is best for the country.

 As a Texan, I have never shied away from a good fight, especially when the cause was right.
 But as someone who has always admired a great Texas forefather -- Sam Houston -- I know when it is time for a “strategic retreat.”

 So I will leave the trail, return home to Texas and wind down my 2012 campaign organization.  And I will do so with pride knowing I gave myself fully to a cause worthy of our country.

 And as I head home, I do so with the love of my life by my side, a woman who makes every day a good one when she is by my side, my wife Anita.

 Thank you Anita for all you have done.

 I also want to thank my son Griffin, my daughter Sydney, and my daughter-in-law Meredith for standing with us in this great effort.

 With a good wife, three wonderful children, and a loving God in my life, things will be good no matter what the future holds.

 I’m proud of the policies we put forward to the American people and believe they provide the right path forward for our party and our nation: overhauling Washington and returning power to state and local governments and to the people, creating energy jobs and energy security, cutting spending and eliminating unnecessary federal agencies and cutting taxes to a flat, fair 20 percent.

 And I will continue to fight for these conservative reforms because the future of our country is at stake and the road we are traveling today – President Obama’s road - endangers our future.

 I want to thank some wonderful individuals who have stood by my side in this state: Katon Dawson, Ambassador Wilkins, and a strong and good man serving you in Congress, Mick Mulvaney.
 I want to thank all my supporters from across the country, in particular Governor Bobby Jindal, Steve Forbes and Governor Sam Brownback, as well as Senator Jim Inhofe, Congresswoman Candice Miller and Congressman Sam Graves.

 And I want to say a special thanks to three distinguished veterans who have joined me on the campaign trail: Medal of Honor awardee and Navy SEAL Mike Thornton, Navy Cross recipient Marcus Luttrell and Purple Heart recipient, Marine Captain Dan Moran.

 I began this race with a sense of calling.

 I felt led into this arena to fight for the future of this country.

 I feel no different today than I did then, knowing a calling never guarantees a particular destination, but a journey that tests one’s faith and character.

 So now the journey leads us back to Texas, neither discouraged nor disenchanted, but instead rewarded for the experience and resolute to remain in the arena and in the service of a great nation.

Our country needs bold leadership and a real transformation.

 We must rise to the occasion and elect a conservative champion to put our nation back on the right track.
 And this I know, I am not done fighting for the cause of conservatism. In fact I have only begun to fight.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Thank you Governor Perry!

Governor Perry will be dropping out of the Presidential race today and endorsing Newt Gingrich.  Getting in the race so late was handicap as the others were well versed in debates and the Governor made a few gaffes which were magnified by the so-called conservative pundits, the MSM, and Romney supporters who we know who they are as I have mentioned them many times on here.

Looks like America was not ready for another President from Texas just yet who actually had ideas how to reform Government, but a lot of lessons have been learned and who knows what will happen in the future.  What I do know is that I have even more respect for Governor Perry today then I had going into this race.  He is an honorable man that does not revise history of who he is.  The timing was not right but he still has the best job in America -- Governor of the Great State of Texas.

Once again thank you to Governor Perry and his wife, Anita, for being willing to run in what is turning out to be one nasty primary.  Thanks also to the people surrounding Governor Perry for the work they did for this race.  Wish it would have turned out differently but you leave race with your heads held high and will be back in Texas for one of the most beautiful times of the year -- spring when all the Texas wildflowers come out in bloom all over the state.  

God Bless you all!

On the Road in Iowa

Problem Solved!

The next time you hear poll results touted for the Republican Primary candidates remember that even in Iowa almost 70% of the voters have not made up their mind or like a lot of Republicans refuse to answer polling calls. Maybe this election will finally start to put a nail in the coffin of so many liberal polling companies or those closely tied to establishment consultants. About time the media took a real hit with their reporting as well. Fox News has to be the most biased in the election but when you hire people like Dick Morris who touts Fox News is going to choose the Republican candidate nothing should shock anyone.

Until today I didn't realize that former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was not in the debates because he didn't poll 2% but the pollsters left him off their ballots so how is he going to poll 2%? Will be so happy when this rigged Republican primary is over. From all the debates, to media blackouts of some debate candidates, to media blackouts unless a candidate makes a gaffe, to freezing out a former Governor, to biased polling and news, to flavor of the week candidates and then to top it all off a Republican National Committee Chairman who is obviously on the side of Romney who has trouble when he has to meet people so the reason for all the debates.  I thought 2008 was pretty disgusting but this year beats it by a mile.

Hope the establishment and their consultants are pleased with themselves because if their candidate Romney wins, they will have the dubious honor of splitting off a large group of the Republican Party who will vote 3rd Party or not vote in the Presidential election. These are also the people who work the campaigns on the ground.  In the end they will have no one to blame but themselves as they have been warned for months that the grassroots did not want any candidates from 2008 to run.

This started for me with the establishment overplaying their hand in 2004 to try and keep Dr. Coburn out of the Senate and in 2006 and 2010 to try and defeat Rick Perry as Governor using moderate candidates. That should tell you all you need to know about the establishment -- favor moderates over conservatives. I have seen it up and close and personal and frankly I am still appalled at the nerve of the establishment and the puppets they use.

Not a fan of Libertarians but if Mitt Romney becomes the nominee, will take a real serious look at Governor Johnson who by all accounts is conservative but is leaving the Republican Party because of the way he has been treated. Guess RNC Chairman Preibus and the establishment didn't want another Governor to show up Romney who is liberal as Johnson comes from a state like Texas with a huge border problem.

It it is the holidays and candidates are campaigning because RNC let Iowa move up their caucus to the 3rd of January while pushing Oklahoma and other states to March.  When it comes to the RNC, I am Scrooge -- not one thin dime leaves my account for them until the current group is shown the door.

12 Days of Clarity - Day Four -- Energy Experience

Day Four of our 12 Days of Clarity will show how Rick Perry's experience as Governor of Texas has prepared him to move our Country toward becoming energy independent after dealing with the restrictions Obama and his Administration hope will curtail our energy independence.  


Below is a picture of one of the many foreign delegations who Governor Perry has hosted in Austin over the years.  Gov. Rick Perry got a little foreign flair into Monday (12/05/11) when he tweeted this photo “with Azerbaijan delegation lead by Rovnag Abdullayev, Pres. of State Oil Company. Welcome to Texas!” Perry spokesman Josh Havens said the delegation is “on a trip through Texas to strengthen ties with the state and to open a cultural center in Houston.” Havens said Texas is Azerbaijan’s No. 1 U.S. trading partner with over $90 million in exports.

Governor Perry With Azerbaijan delegation lead by Rovnag Abdullayev, 

Pres. of State Oil Company. Welcome to Texas!

The State of Texas hosts a lot of dignitaries from around the world who want to do business with Texas and their first stop is the Texas Governor's office as a courtesy call.  A lot of the country have no idea how much business that Texas does with other countries as the state is so diversified in its exports.

In fact, I don't think that most states understand what TX, OK, and LA have been going through over the years with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their desire to basically shut down progress, drilling, and anything that would make our state's prosperous.  Only recently other states are understanding what we have been going through over the years with the new EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and proposed Maximum Achievable Control Technology rules and even Democrat Governors are starting to understand that the EPA is not a friend to the consumer, energy industry, or to the economy.   It is about time!

Governor Perry has been on the front lines of the fight against the EPA and their unnecessary regulations for years.  With the election of Obama, it has become much worse.

Statement by Gov. Rick Perry on Announced Job Losses Due to EPA Rule 

Monday, September 12, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Press Release 

Gov. Rick Perry issued the following statement regarding an announcement that 500 jobs will be lost due to the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR): 

"The Obama Administration continues to put up road blocks for our nation's job creators by imposing burdensome regulations based on assumptions, not facts, that will result in job losses and increased energy costs with no definite environmental benefit. Yet again, this administration is ignoring Texas' proven track record of cleaning our air while creating jobs, opting instead for more stifling red tape. As expected, the only results of this rule will be putting Texans out of work and creating hardships for them and their families, while putting the reliability of Texas' grid in jeopardy."

In the decade of the 2000's Texas reduced ozone emissions by 27 percent - more than any other state - and reduced SO2 emissions by 32 percent and NOX emissions by 58 percent, all while remaining the nation's leading energy producer and protecting jobs. 

Texas has filed an official petition for reconsideration and stay of CSAPR.

All of a sudden Republicans in Congress and state houses are seeing what happens when you don't stand up for states like ours against a rogue EPA because sooner or later they are going to get around to their states.  Governor Perry, Senator Inhofe, Senator Vitter, Senator Cornyn and others have been warning about the EPA for years but the east and west coast establishment types didn't see a problem.  All of a sudden it is a different outlook when they are involved.

No other Republican candidate has been involved in the constant attacks with new regulations from the EPA that we have been going through for years in Middle America.  Candidates can talk about "drill baby drill" all they want, but do they know what it entails and how lengthy the process has become before any drilling takes place?  It is buzzwords to most candidates, but Governor Perry lives it.  These new regulations out of the EPA will cost public sector jobs and add more government bureaucrats which is the last thing responsible people want to happen:

Good Grief. EPA Wants to Kill Off 183,000 Private Sector Jobs a Year With New RegsPosted by Jim Hoft on Monday, September 26, 2011, 11:46 AM

New EPA regulations will kill at least 183,000 private sector jobs per year. 

Penn Energy reported:

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote on the TRAIN Act, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, released a comprehensive analysis conducted by National Economic Research Associates (NERA) showing that several of EPA’s new and proposed regulations would lead to 183,000 lost jobs per year and significant increases in the price of electricity and natural gas. 

“America’s coal-fueled electric industry has invested nearly $100 billion, so far, to achieve impressive reductions in air pollution. Now is the wrong time for EPA to blindly push ahead without even pausing long enough to understand how all of these rules could hurt American jobs and consumers,” said Steve Miller, president and CEO of ACCCE. 

The analysis, done on behalf of ACCCE by NERA, relies on state-of-the-art modeling tools, as well as government data for almost all of its assumptions. NERA’s analysis projects that EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and proposed Maximum Achievable Control Technology, coal combustion residuals, and cooling water intake requirements for power plants would, over the 2012-2020 period: 

** Cost the power industry $21 billion per year;
** Cause an average loss of 183,000 jobs per year;
** Increase electricity costs by double digits in many regions of the U.S.;
** Cost consumers over $50 billion more for natural gas; and
** Reduce the disposable income of the average American family by $270 a year.

At the same time, the EPA says it will need another 230,000 new bureaucrats to implement their disastrous job killing policies. 

The Daily Caller reported:

The Environmental Protection Agency has said new greenhouse gas regulations, as proposed, may be “absurd” in application and “impossible to administer” by its self-imposed 2016 deadline. But the agency is still asking for taxpayers to shoulder the burden of up to 230,000 new bureaucrats — at a cost of $21 billion — to attempt to implement the rules. 

The EPA aims to regulate greenhouse gas emissions through the Clean Air Act, even though the law doesn’t give the EPA explicit power to do so. The agency’s authority to move forward is being challenged in court by petitioners who argue that such a decision should be left for Congress to make.

Governor Perry has been pushing for the United States to become self sufficient by using domestic along with North American oil and gas instead of relying on Middle Eastern Oil that could be cut off at the drop of a hat with all the unrest we have been seeing in the Middle East.  Who knows what Iran is going to do next as they seem to have become much more powerful with Obama in office. Oil refineries dot the Texas coast and the ships bringing in foreign crude can be seen at any time coming into a port along the Gulf.  Gov Perry has released this new ad about Energy independence:

Dec 1, 2011 12:43pm  Perry Says U.S. Must “Kick Our Foreign Oil Habit”

“It’s almost 2012 and we’re still addicted to foreign oil,” Perry says in the ad. “President Obama and Washington? All talk, no action.” 

The 30-second television ad, called “Energy Jobs,” cites calls by President Obama and President Jimmy Carter to end the country’s dependence on oil from foreign countries. Perry touts his energy plan, which he released in late September, to expand exploration in oil and gas fields, eliminate burdensome regulations on the energy industry, and create over one million new jobs. 

With a new twist on the typical verbal approval by the candidate required at the end of each television advertisement, Perry says he approved the message “because it’s high time we kick our foreign oil habit.” 

“Our county’s reliance on unstable, foreign nations as energy sources is dangerous,” Ray Sullivan, Perry campaign communications director, said in a statement. “Gov. Perry’s top priority for revitalizing domestic energy is becoming energy independent. This new ad underscores his commitment to utilizing all of our country’s national energy sources and creating American jobs.” 

The ad will begin airing statewide in Iowa.

In an interview with Sean Hannity, Governor Perry goes into detail on how Obama's delay in approving the Keystone XL Pipeline is putting our soldiers lives in jeopardy.  The pipeline would bring oil from our friend and neighbor to the north to refineries on the Gulf Coast and in turn make the United States less dependent on the whims of people who are not our friends in the Middle East.

If we don't build that pipeline with 100,000 shovel ready jobs, then that oil most likely will end up in China.  Maybe that is what Obama wants as he bows to the wishes of the environmental crowd who oppose the pipeline.  Probably the same ones who opposed the Alaska pipeline.  Do these people not work or is their work demonstrating while being paid like it was during the 60's.  Some of demonstrators moved from campus to campus stirring up trouble and were paid at the same time to cause trouble for our military recruiting in the 60's.  I see the same pattern today in the environmental movement.

Rick Perry: Obama's Keystone XL Pipeline Delay Puts 'Soliders' Lives In Jeopardy'

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday that President Barack Obama's move to delay a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline puts American lives in danger. 

Perry has made energy exploration and drilling for oil a central tenant of his policy for fixing the economy as a Republican presidential candidate.

The Obama administration delayed a decision on the controversial project around the Keystone pipeline until after the 2012 election. Most of the GOP field has embraced the project 

When Sean Hannity asked Perry about the Keystone XL pipeline on the radio Tuesday, Perry blasted Obama. 

"That is stunning to me. Those tar sands are going to either go west to China or south to the United States," Perry said, later adding "Buying Canadian crude and bringin' it in to the United States makes abundant good sense. And this president is putting American soldiers' lives in jeopardy with this as well as the security of America." 

Listen to the full interview above. 

The Keystone XL pipeline has been protested extensively by environmental activists. An estimated 10,000 showed up outside the White House recently.

Excerpt:  Read More at Huffington Post

If this wasn't enough, we have the infamous Gulf Oil Spill that caused the Obama Administration to put on a moratorium against Gulf oil drilling.  The Texas Governor finally had enough and had the Attorney General of Texas file a lawsuit against the Obama Administration to open drilling.

What other candidate can come close to this experience in dealing with the Federal Government bureaucracy and knowing what needs to be done to put the United States on the road to energy self sufficiency.  It is just not words for the Governor but he has the experience to back it up as he has been leading the charge against the federal bureaucracy for years long before he decided to run.  The bureaucracy and new regulations have gotten much worse under Obama as he used the BP Gulf Oil Spill to try and shut down drilling in the Gulf which caused the lawsuits from Texas and Louisiana:

Texas sues feds over Gulf drilling ban 

By Chuck Lindell 

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 9:56 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010 

Accusing the Obama administration of exceeding its authority and violating federal law, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to end a moratorium on deep-water oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The drilling ban, announced July 12 amid fears of additional catastrophic blowouts after the Deepwater Horizon disaster pumped millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf, was enacted without consulting Texas — or properly weighing the economic impact — as required by federal law, Abbott told a U.S. District Court in Houston. 

"Affected states are guaranteed the right to participate in offshore drilling-related policy decisions, but the Obama administration did not bother to communicate, coordinate or cooperate with Texas," Abbott said Wednesday. "Worse, the secretary of the interior failed to consider the economic consequences of his decision." 

The Texas lawsuit, filed on behalf of Gov. Rick Perry and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, estimates that a six-month moratorium would cost the state economy $622 million and cut state and local tax revenue by $22 million. 

The U.S. Interior Department, in opposing a Louisiana lawsuit raising similar arguments, has said the drilling ban is an environmental issue, not an economic one, that does not run afoul of federal laws. 

"A pause on deepwater drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts and wildlife," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the ban in July. "I am basing my decision on evidence that grows every day of the industry's inability in the deep water to contain a catastrophic blowout, respond to an oil spill and to operate safely." 

The moratorium, enacted after a Louisiana federal judge barred the government from enforcing a similar ban in June, is set to end Nov. 30. 

The Texas lawsuit accuses the Obama administration of ignoring the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act , which Abbott said required Salazar to coordinate with affected states and assess a moratorium's economic impact before banning offshore drilling. 

"Once again, the Obama administration has demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the rights and economies of states and the well-being of those whose jobs depend upon a safe and vibrant energy industry, many of whom live in Texas," Perry said in a statement. 

The moratorium halted drilling on 33 Gulf wells operating more than 500 feet deep and stopped new wells from being permitted. The ban did not affect producing deep-water wells.

Cannot feature Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich ever making a trip out to an oil site where they are drilling as they might get their shiny new shoes dirty or their hands.  We have a choice this time of the establishment types with one who is only comfortable among other elitists in Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich, the inside the beltway type, who is smarter than everyone else around him.  If you don't believe me, ask him as he recently said he ranks his brain as smarter than Michelle Bachmann or the Fox News pundits.

Two very arrogant candidates running versus a Texas Governor who worked his way up to become Governor after being raised in a very small town in West Texas.  He learned common sense and to be respectful at an early age which has stayed with him today.  Shame some of the of the Republican candidates show no common sense, an elitist attitude, and are extremely arrogant during this race.

Securing the American Dream (Marcus’ Story)

Posted on November 23rd, 2011

As we give thanks, remember our brave men and women fighting overseas to preserve our freedoms and to secure the American dream.

Perry Campaign Releases New TV Ad: “Outsider”

Perry Campaign Releases New TV Ad: “Outsider”

Posted on November 19th, 2011

AUSTIN – The Perry campaign today released a 30-second television advertisement entitled “Outsider,” which is airing over national cable and Iowa broadcast and cable.




“We need a real outsider to overhaul Washington and cut the taxes, regulation and spending strangling our economy and of the GOP candidates Rick Perry is the only real Washington outsider in the race for the White House,” said Perry campaign communications director Ray Sullivan. “Rick Perry is not the darling of the establishment, has never served in Congress and has never professionally lobbied Congress or the White House. Gov. Perry is the only candidate Americans can trust to truly overhaul Washington and jump-start job creation.”

SEC Federal Incumbant Protection Rule -- State Office Holders Need Not Apply

So this is what Campaign Finance Reform has brought?  Now if you are a State Office holder planning to run for federal office, your run for federal office is going to be at a disadvantage to other candidates including federal office holders who can raise all kinds of money from Wall Street.  We have the perfect example right now that  Mitt Romney can raise whatever he wants from Wall Street which he has been doing but Perry has to be extremely careful not to take money from investment people over $300.

President George W Bush refuse to implement this plan but Obama had the SEC implement the new rule in the spring which severely restricts where state office holders can get their money.  Most of us felt that Campaign Finance Reform (CFR) was an incumbent protection bill but even then never thought they would go to such lengths in the White House to put State office holders running for office at a disadvantage.  Every last Republican should be up in arms because it only affects Governor Perry who actually is in office versus everyone else in the race.  Only two other candidates, Bachmann and Paul, are actually employed at the current time as members of the House.  The others are free to campaign and raise money without regard to a day job.  I would hope that the voters would think twice about putting people in office that have been unemployed for some time.

This ruling by the SEC is so unfair it defies belief.  The fact a federal incumbent can raise money on Wall Street and other places but if his opponent is in State Government the opponent cannot, is one of the most unfair outcomes of CFR to date.

Between those dealing in municipal bonds and the hedge funds, private equity firms and other financial institutions restricted by the new SEC regulations​—​the gatekeepers of nearly $5 trillion of America’s wealth​—​are now severely restricted from donating to the campaigns of state officeholders. 

To put it in simple terms, Romney can take the max in donations from Bain Capital, but Rick Perry could only take $300 a person.  Where is the media on this?  Never mind, they are in Obama and the establishment Rockefeller Republican pockets! 

The Perils of Donating to Perry
The SEC’s curious role in campaign finance.
Oct 17, 2011, Vol. 17, No. 05 • By MARK HEMINGWAY 

 Last week, the Rick Perry campaign announced with great fanfare that the Texas governor had raised $17 million for his presidential campaign in the July-September quarter. That’s more than any other GOP hopeful, and since Perry was a recent entrant to the presidential race, he raised that sum in just 49 days.

But here’s why Perry’s fundraising achievement is really impressive: In March, the SEC enacted “pay-to-play” rule 206(4)-5. The regulation prohibits investment advisers who contribute more than $350 to state or local officials who can influence their state’s investment decisions from receiving payment from that state government for two years. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2008 securities firms alone gave Republican presidential candidates $20 million. Thanks to the new rule, that fundraising reservoir may remain largely untapped by the Perry campaign, for fear that donating to the Texas governor would prevent financial professionals from doing business with the second-largest state in the country.
Perry’s campaign admits this has made fundraising more difficult. “As the only sitting governor in the race for the White House, Perry is much more negatively impacted by the SEC rules than anyone else in the race,” says campaign communications director Ray Sullivan. “It has and will continue to hamper our efforts to raise money, especially from the financial sector. It has made things quite challenging in New York, for example.” 

And while this new ruling primarily affects Perry at the presidential level, it could have far-reaching consequences going forward, since it applies to every state office holder seeking federal office from here on out. 

The new SEC regulation comes on top of an existing Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) regulation of the financial service industry​—​known as rule G-37​—​that restricts campaign donations to state office holders by those dealing in municipal bonds. (The MSRB is subject to SEC oversight.) 

“Its genesis goes back to 1994 when the SEC began to regulate political contributions made to officials of issuers, who are basically mayors and governors and others who appoint people who select those who write or underwrite municipal bonds,” says Kenneth A. Gross, an expert on campaign law compliance at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. “There were many scandals in the late ’80s, early ’90s involving Orange County and other places where big firms on Wall Street were getting underwriting business because they made contributions to the right people in the right amounts.” 

Like the association of scandal with municipal bonds, a regulatory crackdown on the cozy relationships between state politicians and investment advisers is not without precedent. In 2010, the Quadrangle Group agreed to pay $12 million to the state of New York after it emerged that Quadrangle cofounder Steve Rattner had paid significant sums to an adviser of New York State comptroller Alan Hevesi. Quadrangle subsequently received a $150 million investment from the state’s pension fund. (Rattner went on to serve in the Obama administration as the White House’s “car czar,” helping broker bailouts for U.S. auto companies.) 

According to Gross, former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt had proposed extending pay-to-play rules to cover investment advisers back in 1999, but the regulations weren’t pursued by Bush administration SEC appointees. The idea was revived by the Obama administration after the Quadrangle arrangement drew public scrutiny to the ties between state officials and investment advisers. 

Nobody really disputes that the new SEC pay-to-play rules have the potential to clean up the political process. The perceived problem, however, is that the new rule makes it unduly difficult for state officeholders to raise money to challenge federal incumbents. 

Between those dealing in municipal bonds and the hedge funds, private equity firms and other financial institutions restricted by the new SEC regulations​—​the gatekeepers of nearly $5 trillion of America’s wealth​—​are now severely restricted from donating to the campaigns of state officeholders. 

The fact that these regulations apply to some presidential candidates and not to others is not lost on the Perry campaign. “It does seem curious and unbalanced to heavily regulate and undermine the ability of state officials to legally raise funds and leave federal officials comparatively exempt from those regulations,” says Sullivan. 

In the era of Dodd-Frank legislation, Congress and the White House have taken a great interest in banking regulations, and they have been lobbied heavily in response. It’s hard to argue that cracking down on financial industry donors to state officeholders is warranted but that Congress shouldn’t be subject to similar regulations. 

Excerpt:  Read more at The Weekly Standard

The Hill: Rick Perry apologizes for 'heartless' comment on immigration question

Rick Perry apologizes for 'heartless' comment on immigration question
By Justin Sink - 09/28/11 03:21 PM ET 

Rick Perry said Wednesday that he was sorry for saying at last week's Republican debate that those opposed to providing an in-state tuition break to the children of illegal immigrants "did not have a heart." 

“I was probably a bit over-passionate by using that word and it was inappropriate,” Perry said in a interview with Newsmax. “In Texas in 2001 we had 181 members of the legislature – only four voted against this piece of legislation – because it wasn’t about immigration it was about education.” 

But Perry stood by his argument that building a fence along the entire Mexican border was unwise. The Texas governor said that the fence would likely be expensive, ineffective, and violate the property rights of those who owned land on the border. 

“In the metropolitan areas where the fencing actually can play a positive role, absolutely,” he said. “But you have to have boots on the ground… having an obstacle without observation is no obstacle at all. So just the idea of building a fence and saying, ‘That will take care of it, let’s just build a fence,’ has never worked in the history of mankind.” 

Other candidates seized on Perry's support of the tuition credits - and arguments against a fence - in an attempt to discredit him at the debate. Michele Bachmann argued that taxpayer dollars shouldn't benefit those here illegally, while Jon Huntsman suggested his position on the fence might be "treasonous." But while Perry walked back his 'heartless' comment, he insisted that his experience as governor of a border state best prepared him to handle immigration issues. 

As Texas governor, a border governor, you have to deal with these issue, you can’t just talk about them and say, ‘Oh, let’s build a wall from Brownsville to El Paso and that will take care of it.’ We have to live with reality," Perry said. 

He also reiterated criticism of the federal government for what he considers a failure to protect the southern border. 

"We wouldn’t be having these conversations today, whether it’s about in-state tuition for illegal immigrants or whether it’s the Arizona law or whether it’s voter-ID which we passed in Texas, or sanctuary cities and the banning of those… None of those would come up if the federal government had simply done its job through the years to secure our borders," Perry said. 

 Source:  The Hill

What a shock -- a candidate that actually admits when they are wrong instead of spinning.  Actually we are not shocked out of Governor Perry because he is not a person who spins but tells it like it is.  Our other candidates could take some lessons on what it is like to admit you made a mistake.

This is even more amazing that the other candidates jumped on Perry about education for illegals when the bill goes back to 2001 which was Perry's first year as Governor after George Bush became President.  Only four people out of 181 voted against this bill.  That is ten years ago and it now became a major part of the debate but Romneycare did not?

Fox people sure did their research to make sure the questions they were asked were going to start a squabble among candidates.  What a despicable organization Fox has become in these debates.  Refuse to call them a News Organization because they have become part of the news today.  Ailes has done a good job in making tons of money for Fox which trumps ethics.

Maybe if the candidates for President had ever visited the border of Texas, they would understand about the border fence not being built in some wide open areas and through the centers of lakes.  They are one-note candidates -- build the border fence and all will be well.  Shows how little this group of candidates except for Governors Perry and Johnson, understand the problems on the border.  It is not a quick fix and requires the Federal Government to send as they say 'boots on the ground' not 'boots behind a desk' which Obama is unwilling to do.

Mitt Romney vs. Rick Perry 2012: It's personal

In 2006, Romney was already trying to take out Perry with the help of Bush 41 and Rove.   It didn't take a genius to figure it out when Romney hired the same consultant as Rylander who was the Texas Comptroller  running as an independent against Governor Perry.  Carole Strayhorn Rylander was the Mother of the Bush 43 White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan who served from 2003 until May of 2006. Why McClellan was picked as the Press Secretary wasn't hard to figure out either with his Mother a close friend of the Bush Family.

Whenever the name Romney comes up, you can be sure that Bush 41 and Rove are not far behind.  Cannot fathom a Chairman of the Republican Governor's Association choosing a consultant who was working for an independent who was trying to take out a fellow incumbent Governor.  Romney was a bad choice for the Chairman of the RGA as we lost a lot of Governors races on his watch.

Romney poured money and consultants into Oklahoma for fellow Mormon Ernest Istook who didn't stand a chance against Governor Henry.  At a primary debate hosted here in Norman, Istook refused to answer a question that was asked saying to ask someone else first.  The best candidate to run against Henry was taken out in the primary by our State Chairman who later endorsed Romney when he ran for President in 2008.

During the 2006 Governor's race, Istook did on the job training for some young consultants from the San Diego area (La Jolla?) who were the worst I had ever seen (one of them was the Foley aide who made national news) as they knew nothing about Oklahoma.  They did know dirty tricks though.  The consultants went on to help the Romney campaign for President after Istook came close to losing by a 2-1 margin.

Romney stiffed the Oklahoma Republican Party's State Convention in 2008 after first saying he would speak and then pulling out at the last minute so no one else could come in and speak.  At his Town Halls in Oklahoma in 2006, he would only take questions from his Oklahoma staff or fellow Mormons dissing our State Chair and others who wanted to ask questions.

If he couldn't beat Sen McCain in 2008 in the primary, why is he running again because 2008 exposed a lot of his problems and now 2012 is exposing more because of the way he ran Bain Capital not to mention while Governor of Massachusetts, they were number 49 in job creation.

Mitt Romney showed as head of the RGA he was not a team player so why would people support him to President.  We need someone who is not afraid to take on the establishment instead of being from the establishment.  Romney is a non-starter in my book.  I have not been shy since 2008 saying anyone who ran in the 2008 Republican primary should not run this time and that means the whole group of them.  We need someone new to run not any retreads!

Bush 41 and Rove will say and do anything for Romney as we have been witnessing in order to take out Rick Perry who will shake things up in Government and not hire the same people who have been working in Republican Administrations starting with the Nixon years.  Hiring new people in Government is the only way we are going to get this economy turned around and put America back to work.  

Mitt Romney vs. Rick Perry 2012: It's personal
By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 8/28/11 7:08 AM EDT 

It’s the worst-kept secret of the GOP presidential primary: Mitt Romney and Rick Perry have never liked each other very much. 

And the past animosity could play out on the national scene in the coming weeks when Romney, the precarious front-runner, and Perry, who is rising in the polls, take the stage together for a series of fall debates.

The tension between the two goes back at least five years, tracing back to a 2006 blow-up when the two Republicans served together as governors. At the time, Romney, then the Republican Governors Association chairman, hired veteran media strategist Alex Castellanos to do work for the national group — a direct affront to Perry, since Castellanos was working for Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who was running as an independent against the Texas governor.

There was a big blowup” between Romney and Perry over it, said one Republican familiar with the situation. 

“It’s not like [Castellanos] was working for a Republican, he was working for an independent,” said the Texas Republican. “If that had been Rick Perry running the RGA, he’d have fired his ass and made sure he got no work anywhere. You’re trying to grow your ranks, not shrink your ranks.” 

A source close to Romney who was familiar with the event said, “I think from [Romney’s] perspective, he felt he was doing what was right for the RGA.” 

Some say the relationship never recovered. 

The following year, Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani over Romney in the presidential race, in which Castellanos was a Romney adviser. Not only did the Texan pick the New York City mayor over his former gubernatorial colleague, he went the extra step of jabbing at Romney in a book he wrote in 2008 about the Boy Scouts, suggesting the former Massachusetts governor had excluded Scouts who had wanted to volunteer for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City because he disagreed with a Supreme Court decision allowing the group to ban gay Scoutmasters. (Salt Lake officials reportedly denied that anyone who wanted to pitch in was turned away). 

Phil Musser, a Republican operative and former executive director of the Republican Governors Association under Romney, acknowledged the two have a history but insisted the reports of animus are being exaggerated and that their relationship has improved.

Excerpt:  Read more at Politico 

AWESOME NEWS: Governor Perry to make clear Saturday that he's running for President

The Austin American Statesman broke the news and now it is flying all over as Breaking News as my inbox is filling up with Breaking News Alerts starting with the NY Times.  What has been expected is now going to happen at the Red State Gathering in South Carolina on Saturday.  The media will be heading in droves to SC to watch Rick Perry make his formal announcement and then we can start contributing to his Presidential campaign.  Was 99.99% sure he was running but now thanks to the Statesman (cannot believe I am saying that), we know when the official announcement is coming.

Been waiting for this moment and makes the day a much brighter day here in the Heartland of oil and gas country!

Perry to make clear Saturday that he’s running for presidentBy Jason Embry | Monday, August 8, 2011, 01:53 PM

Gov. Rick Perry will make it clear that he’s running for president during a Saturday speech in South Carolina, a Perry source said today. 

Politico first reported that Perry will make his intentions clear during a speech at the RedState conservative gathering. It will be his first trip to an early-primary state. 

Shortly after his afternoon speech, Perry will travel to New Hampshire for a house party in the Greenland home of state Rep. Pam Tucker, who expects about 100 voters to gather in her yard to meet the presumptive candidate. 

Tucker was among about 10 New Hampshire political and business leaders who traveled to Austin last week to give Perry and his advisers their assessment of what he would face in the nation’s first primary. 

“I invited him to come on up. I was very surprised — happily surprised — to learn this morning that he accepted our invitation,” Tucker said. 

The 5:30 p.m. party, an invitation-only affair set to start a little more than three hours after Perry’s South Carolina speech is scheduled to end, was first reported by the Union Leader.
Saturday is the Ames Straw Poll, a major fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party that serves as an early test of who has the strongest support and organization in the Hawkeye State. Perry won’t be on the straw-poll ballot. But the timing of his Saturday speech — regardless of whether it is an actual announcement of his candidacy or just a very heavy hint — will allow him to steal some of the spotlight from whoever wins the straw poll. 

Perry has building to a campaign for weeks, meeting in Austin with supporters from around the country who could raise him hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars. He will get a late start in the race but is likely to be a major contender for the Republican nomination because of his fundraising prowess and his appeal to social and fiscal conservatives.

Governor Perry discusses 2012!

This is posted for those of you who have any doubts:




We keep hearing it is too late to get in the Iowa Straw Poll but as someone who has run straw polls, it is laughable. Straw Polls are money makers for the people running them -- it is which candidate can fund the most votes. Don't know if they were always like that but it is about getting your people out.   They auction off space to candidates and then candidates buy ballots for their people and some bus in people to cast their ballot.  

Like the CPAC Straw Poll where Romney buses in people -- in the long term it doesn't matter. Not to mention Iowa doesn't reflect what a lot of us believe who are against ethanol subsidies which has raised the price of feed which in turns has raised the price of food. We have had a hard time understanding why the Iowa Straw Poll is so important when you know how it is run and also why the Iowa Caucus is first in the Nation.

If I had my way there would be no primary campaigning or debates until after Labor Day and ALL of the primaries/caucus would move back to after April 1st so there would be less time between the primary and the Conventions. Having anything is January is ludicrous and causes perpetual campaigning which most people are tired of and ignore in the summer before the primary season gets in full swing next year.

EPA Failed to give Texas Adequate Notice on New Rules

There is one sentence that tells it all about this overreach again by the EPA and the real reason behind the ruling IMHO is to go after Texas and other oil and gas producing states:

Like so many other regulations from the EPA, this rule will cut Texas jobs, cut Texas economic growth, increase Texas energy costs and harm Texas energy security. 

Texas and Oklahoma have had nothing but trouble with the EPA for years over their rules that keep tightening and tightening to the stage it hurts jobs and the ability to provide energy for the Country.  Time and time again the EPA has had our states in Court.  If there is one very good reason that Governor Rick Perry needs to run for President, it is to clip the wings of the EPA and their overreaching rules aimed at destroying the economies of oil producing states which also happen to be red states.  Doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is payback by Obama and his Administration because Perry has stood up the federal government and this President.

You read this new initiative by the EPA who failed to give adequate notice to Texas, and it sums up this Administration where Obama wants to be a dictator not a President.  This EPA and other agencies of the Obama Administration continue to avoid following rules that conflict with their agenda.  They know Obama will protect their decisions to ignore the rules and laws in place if it means going after Texas and other red states who dared vote against him in 2008 and still oppose his policies.

Now we have the details on what the EPA is now up to against Texas:

EPA decision will cost Texas jobs
Agency failed to give state adequate notice
By BRYAN W. SHAWTEXAS COMMISSION on ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITYJuly 11, 2011, 10:06PM 

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency released the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. This is another rule in an endless line of new federal regulations, all with the stated purpose of improving air quality. Like so many other regulations from the EPA, this rule will cut Texas jobs, cut Texas economic growth, increase Texas energy costs and harm Texas energy security. 

Most alarming is the EPA's conscious curtailment of the due process rights of Texas and its citizens by failing to provide proper notice and thus the opportunity to provide meaningful comments on the rule. The EPA claims Texas was given proper notice, but we maintain that a lone sentence in a 256-page proposed rule can hardly be considered adequate notice. While the TCEQ was proactive and submitted comments on the new rule, those comments cannot be considered meaningful. Why? Because the EPA did not provide Texas with proposed emission budgets, time frames, etc., that were provided to every other state included in the proposed rule. 

Nor did the EPA contact Texas officials to alert them to Texas' inclusion in the final rule. 

To add insult to injury, Texas power plant emissions did not significantly contribute to downwind particulate matter pollution, based on the modeling in support of the EPA's proposal. In other words, Texas did not cross the EPA "contribution threshold" and therefore should be excluded from the rule. But in the final rule, the EPA's revised modeling now links Texas emissions to Madison County, Ill. — quite a distance. And in another questionable decision, the EPA is issuing a supplemental proposal to take comment on the inclusion of six additional states found to significantly contribute to downwind ozone in the same post-proposal modeling. But Texas was not afforded that same opportunity. 

The disparate treatment of Texas is troubling and flies in the face of proper notice and comment. The EPA's late decision to add Texas in the particulate matter portion of the rule and lack of transparency in this decision brings to question the validity of the science used and whether federally mandated sulfur dioxide reductions in Texas are necessary for public health protection. 

This rule will impose great costs on coal-fired power plants, causing some to shut down or curtail operations, threatening the state's electrical capacity reserve margins needed to avoid power disruption during times of peak demand. Such a scenario could lead to blackouts, which create serious health risks to Texans dependent upon reliable energy. Despite EPA assurances, it is difficult to see how other sources of energy — natural gas-fired plants, solar or wind energy — can compensate for these shutdowns, given the rule's January 2012 compliance date. If power plants are forced to shut down or curtail operations, Texans and the Texas economy will suffer. 

For many Texans, increased energy costs and increased consumer costs merely mean further tightening of already-tight budgets. But for fixed- and low-income populations, the prospect of hot Texas summers and skyrocketing electric bills is frightening. And particularly for the elderly, this may mean threats to their health with an increased incidence of heat stroke and heat stress. 

Like so many of the EPA's proposed rules — extreme tightening of ozone limits, global warming control schemes, attempts to nullify Texas' very successful flexible permitting program — this rule seems not so much intended to improve the environment as to impose unnecessary, expensive federal controls on industry and increase the costs of energy to consumers. And increased energy costs also increase the price of nearly everything consumers purchase. It seems even more peculiar to impose these higher costs on Americans during a lingering recession. 

The EPA has once again gone beyond its mission by re-creating its own science. As with the pending new ozone standard, the EPA has supposedly "proven" that protective levels of any emission simply do not exist. Under this administration, the only acceptable emission limit of any pollutant is zero. This philosophy is in direct contrast to a healthy environment, healthy economy and sound science. 

Shaw is chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Read more:  Houston Chronicle 

When Obama looks back and asks why Governor Perry is getting in the race for President, he need look no farther than in the mirror and at the agencies under him like the EPA who have overreached into the states.  Where the Federal Government should be involved in protecting our borders, Obama sends desk troops so now the Governor has sent DPS to the Texas border with the helicopters to assist the Border Patrol to stop the drug cartels from bringing their violence to Texas.  

Obama has failed in so many areas but one big one is taking on domestic oil and gas in favor of foreign oil (except Canada) and trying to tank the economies of some of our states.   There is a pipeline ready to be built but that the agreement still sits on Hillary Clinton's desk and has from day one.  Since it crosses the Canadian border on the way to OK and TX, it needs her approval.  EPA is against it so Clinton's lets it sit with no repercussions from Obama who could care less.  It would provide up to 100,000 jobs but seeing OK and TX not get something to help our economies and oil and gas seems to be more important to this Administration.