Texas Governor Rick Perry Shakes Up the Presidential Primary

It’s official. Rick Perry is running for President of the United States. On Saturday, the Texas governor announced to 700+ attendees of RedState.com’s annual Gathering that he is indeed tossing his hat into the ring of Republican candidates.

To say this shakes up the primary is an understatement.

Governor Perry brings a level of excitement to the race that Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and others weren’t able to do. He is charismatic, highly likable, values conservative principles, and is not unattractive, if you’re into the whole rugged cowboy thing.

I was in attendance for the speech at the Red State Gathering, so I’ll give you a brief rundown of Governor Perry’s speech.

Not afraid of political correctness, Perry opened his speech with a moment of silence for the Navy SEALS that died in Afghanistan last week: “Thank you Lord that we have those kind of selfless, sacrificial men and women… we will never, ever forget them." 

The governor talked briefly about his childhood, being raised by tenant farmers in rural Texas. On the farm, he developed the values of hard work, faith, and thrift, things that have stuck with him his entire life.

It wasn’t until he joined the Air Force after college that Perry truly developed an appreciation for the American way of life. He was able to see firsthand the downfalls of socialism, and came to understand that the freedom offered in America is what makes our country so uniquely wonderful. 

He told the crowd, “We [Americans] are not defined by class, and we will never be told our place." He reminded us that there is no taxpayer money that was not first earned by the sweat and toil of one of our citizens, and that spreading the wealth punishes success.

In a nod to all the borrowing from foreign lenders that our current administration is doing, Perry said, “You cannot win the future by selling America off to foreign creditors.” He also reminded us of the bigger picture of our debt, that it is not only a threat to our economy, but to our security as a nation as well.

He said that when he is the president, he will protect Americans and our interests. He warned that anyone who threatened America would not be scolded, but defeated.

Rick Perry is a breath of fresh Texas air in this primary. He, like President Obama, inherited an economy from George W. Bush. Unlike Obama, Perry has shrunk government regulation, cut taxes, and turned the Texas economy into a booming one.

It sure would be nice to see that on a national level. Welcome to the race, Governor Perry – Best of luck to you.