SAN ANTONIO -- Gov. Rick Perry, days away from the expected launch of his bid for the presidency, on Wednesday blamed federal overreach and runaway spending for the nation's economic turmoil and suggested that the low-tax, limited regulation approach that has characterized his style of governing in Texas could put the country on the right path.
"I'll tell you, this West Texas optimist sees our brightest hour ... just around the corner," the state's longest serving governor told Republicans and Democrats at the meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "But we're going to have our work cut out for us."Perry's address largely retraced the familiar anti-Washington themes he has sounded for years, but this time they sounded like planks in a presidential platform as he moves toward a bid for the 2012 Republican nomination. Perry, who has been in the top tier of Republican candidates in political polls, is expected to effectively declare his intentions this weekend in a swing through South Carolina and two other battleground states.After the speech, Perry shed his jacket and signed copies of his book, Fed Up!, for scores of autograph seekers who lined up in the convention center concourse."He's obviously a national figure whether he runs or not," said Bruce Wingo of Richmond, Va., who paid nearly $100 for four copies that he planned to give to friends.Perry is expected to clearly declare his intentions to enter the race on Saturday at a meeting of conservative activists at the RedState conference in Charleston, S.C.Later Saturday, he travels to New Hampshire, where he will headline a reception of 100-plus Republican leaders and activists hosted by state Rep. Pamela Tucker of Greenland. On Sunday, he will appear at a Republican dinner at Waterloo, Iowa.Straw poll impactPerry's entry into the race will shake up the GOP nomination fight and detract from Saturday's Republican straw poll in Ames, Iowa. Perry is not included in the straw poll, but Iowa supporters are waging a write-in campaign on his behalf.A new McClatchy-Marist poll this week echoed findings in earlier polls that Perry is already in second place, well ahead of a dozen other established or potential GOP candidates and close behind the apparent front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.Tucker, who is deputy House speaker in New Hampshire, told the Star-Telegram that she and about 10 others visited Texas recently to meet with Perry and discuss his economic accomplishments in Texas. "We're very impressed with his record on jobs," she said. As a potential president, she said, "he would translate those to the national level and certainly improve our economy."Coming just before his expected plunge into the presidential race, Perry's speech drew throngs of reporters to the legislative summit. Up to 1,500 state lawmakers and aides from across the county registered for the four-day event at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.'National nightmare'Perry never mentioned his presidential ambitions, nor did he cite President Barack Obama by name. But he implicitly savaged the Obama administration's economic policies and blamed "21/2 years" of stimulus spending and oppressive federal policies for much of the nation's economic troubles."Until Washington figures out that the only true stimulus is more money" in the private sector "as well as a restrained bureaucracy that no longer overreaches into the workplace, our national nightmare will continue," Perry declared. "Simply put, our country's in trouble. Our fiscal house is built on shifting sands."Perry drew applause when he blamed excessive federal regulation for tying the hands of state governments, which he described as "the laboratories of innovation.""No one wants a Washington bureaucrat to answer the phone when you dial 911," Perry said.Texas job growthPerry also spotlighted one of his favorite themes, saying that Texas' governing philosophy of less regulation and low taxation has made the state "the epicenter of job creation." More than 40 percent of the net jobs in the United States over the past two years have been created in Texas, Perry said."You're not going to get out of here without hearing about what's working in Texas," Perry told the state officials.He also cited the Republican-led Legislature's enactment of a two-year budget that cut $15 billion in spending and left $6 billion in a state rainy-day fund to meet future emergencies.Perry said the budget preserves "essential services," but Democrats and other critics have said that the budget points Texas in the wrong direction by drastically undercutting education and social services.The budget includes $4 billion in education cuts over the next two years.Dave Montgomery is the Star-Telegram's Austin bureau chief. 512-476-4294
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PoliTex blog: From North Texas to D.C., our insiders take you beyond the usual rhetoric
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