No More Go-along-to-Get-along

by Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

In politics, as in life, there can be an overwhelming temptation to go along to get along; to be a team player; to do the easy thing even when it’s not the right thing.

For far too long, insiders from both parties have played these games. Talk up fiscal responsibility, but spend big. Talk about a federal government that fulfills its basic responsibilities, but then vote to expand it beyond all recognition so that it cannot possibly do so. Talk about doing what’s right, but then do what the establishment wants instead.

Americans deserve better—and they deserve to get to choose something better this year. In 2012, Americans have the opportunity to decisively move away from big government, built up over years and years by both parties in Washington, D.C.

As I said in Sunday’s NBC/Facebook debate, President Obama has thrown gasoline on the fire, but let’s be honest: The bonfire was raging well before Obama ever left Chicago.

Policies and spending served up by Washington, D.C. insiders, in several notable instances designed and written by Wall Street insiders to suit their needs, not ours, caused and then exacerbated this situation. In too many cases, these advocates of big spending and bad policy have used their positions of power to enrich themselves, both while in office and once outside of it. Republicans have been complicit in this scheme, just as Democrats have.

It is time for it to end.

To accomplish that, Americans will need to seek out genuine outsiders prepared to make the powers-that-be uncomfortable by pursuing policies that will put a stop to insiders’ behavior-as-usual.

As the lone conservative outsider on the ballot, I have a clear plan to overhaul the Washington status quo.

Andy Roth, Vice President of the Club for Growth, said it well earlier this week: “Rick Perry, I think, has one of the best if not the best plans. He’s got a ‘Cut, Balance and Grow’ plan where he wants to institute a Balanced Budget Amendment and cap spending at 18 percent, and then he wants to cut taxes all over the place. That would just really be a pro-growth boon. It’d be eliminating capital gains, lowering corporate tax rates and personal tax rates down to 20 percent. Very, very strong plan.”

For many Republicans, a balanced budget amendment is little more than easy political posturing when they know Democrats will not allow one to be passed. In earlier years, when Republicans exercised 100 percent control over the purse strings, they were not for constraining spending. In fact, they were in favor of as much big government as possible, so long as the beltway establishment “blessed” that big government as serving “conservative” ends.

As Roth noted, Rick Santorum “was a prolific earmarker,” Newt Gingrich “supported Medicare Part D, which expanded entitlements in a huge way,” and Mitt Romney “actually deserves to be in last place on this because it’s very uninspired ideas that he has. He barely wants to tinker around with the tax code…”

Voters have a clear choice between big government “conservatives” and a true limited government conservative.

I am a conservative outsider committed to seriously overhauling Washington, ending the IRS as we know it by cutting taxes to a fair and flat rate, and stopping job killing regulations dead in their tracks.

But to accomplish these things, one thing has to happen first: Americans must reject those who are part and parcel of the problem at the polls – the Washington and establishment insiders. We have that opportunity to really overhaul Washington and elect an authentic conservative in 2012. Let’s take it.


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Posted Jan 11th 2012 at 8:33 am in 2012 Election, Featured Story, Federal Spending, Politics, Throw Them All Out, taxes | 144 Comments