Perry blasts Obama, addresses key issues
BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
8/30/11 at 8:23 AM
Texas Gov. Rick Perry criticized President Barack Obama's understanding of immigration issues at a Tulsa press conference Monday.
"We as a country have allowed for the borders to become so porous over the course of the years that we have lost operational control of our U.S.-Mexican border in places to the drug cartels," the Republican presidential candidate said at the Tulsa Press Club, 415 S. Boston Ave.
"The president of the United States came to El Paso earlier this year and made the statement that the Texas-Mexican border was safer than it had ever been," Perry said.
"I have no idea who briefed him, but they need to come to Texas and spend some time with Democrat sheriffs along the border and they will find out that we have a war going on in places and citizens on both sides of that border are in jeopardy for their safety," Perry said. "We have a major issue with the security of our borders."
Perry was in Tulsa to appear at a $2,500-a-plate fundraising lunch at the Summit Club and to receive the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.
Appearing with Perry at a Tulsa Press Club press conference, Inhofe said he had a lot of close friends running for president, but Perry has proven he is the best person for the job.
"I've gotten to know Rick Perry over the years, and I've been very excited about him and what he has done in Texas," Inhofe said.
Perry said four key issues will be the hallmarks of a Perry administration: lower taxes, less federal spending, fewer regulations of business and tort reform.
"By freeing up these entrepreneurs, we'll create wealth like we have never seen in this country before," he said.
Perry addressed several national issues during his appearance.
The national debt : "In the next few seconds, there's a child who's born in Oklahoma. They start off with a (share of the national) debt of $46,000. That's unconscionable."
Bureaucracy : "I want to go to Washington, D.C., and make it as inconsequential in people's lives as I can."
States' rights : "One of the ways you can get your arms around my philosophy is by realizing I really believe in the United States Constitution, in particular those amendments to the Constitution, in particular the 10th one. ... It's simple and it's also elegant. The states need to compete against each other - free them up from this one size fits all (government)."
Federal education policy : "(Sen. Inhofe) and I were talking about the absolute lunacy of having an education policy that is the same in Oklahoma as it is for New York or it is for California or it is for North Dakota. Americans don't want that. They want local control of how they educate their children."
A funding program that comes with strings attached won't occur in a Perry administration, he said.
Energy policy : "We will do everything we can to remove onerous regulations on the oil and gas industry so they can do what this country truly needs, and that is to become as independent as we can in our energy development."
Perry said he takes an "all of the above" approach to energy policy, including nuclear power and natural gas development.
Military policy : "I will never send our young men and women into places where America's interests are not clearly defined and that we have a clear plan to win and a clear exit strategy."
"We have seen a clear thirst for leadership in this country," Perry said. "Americans don't believe our country is in decline, but rather that Washington is in decline.
"They don't want to settle for record debt, and downgraded credit and a devalued dollar."
Original Print Headline: Perry rips president, addresses key issues
Wayne Greene 918-581-8308
wayne.greene@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican presidential candidate, speaks at the Tulsa Press Club on Monday. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas speaks as his wife, Anita, and U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe listen at the Tulsa Press Club on Monday. Inhofe, R-Okla., endorsed Perry's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
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