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= = Rick Perry

47th Governor of Texas (incumbent) Republican Home State: Texas Biography: Rick Perry was born on March 4th, 1950 in Paint Creek, Texas. Growing up, he was very involved in Boy Scouts and achieved the title of Eagle Scout. He attended Texas A&M University where he earned a bachelor's degree in animal sciences. Upon graduating in 1972, Rick Perry joined the Air Force and flew C-130 for tactical airlifts. He served in Europe and the Middle East. Perry then served two terms as Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He was later elected Lieutenant governor of Texas in 1998 and is still incumbent. Rick Perry married Anita Thigpen in 1982 and they have two children. Key Issues: Philosophy: Rick Perry would be on the conservative (right) side of the political spectrum both fiscally and socially. He believes that America should have traditional christian values and that the government is responsible for enforcing them. As a conservative, he is very opposed to government regulation of business. He supports cutting business taxes and reducing property taxes. He believes that the federal government has too much power and is violating the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The 10th Amendment states that the government should practice federalism and leave a good amount of power in the state governments. He would be considered a little farther left than most other conservative candidates we have seen. Campaign Slogan: "Time to Get America Working Again" Support: NRA, Pro-Life, Christian Coalition, Tea Party, Republican Governors' Association, Coal industry Groups, Make Us Great Again, Americans For Rick Perry. Opposition: Planned Parenthood, Other Republicans running for the nomination and their PACs. Quotations: Questions I would ask:
 * 1) Border Control - Rick Perry, being the current governor of Texas, believes that in order to have homeland security we must have strong border security. He believes that the federal government is doing a very poor job at keeping out illegal aliens. The reason he wants to stop illegal immigration is because he believes that it has a direct relationship with crime and drugs. He wants to keep illegal immigrants out of our country through Surge Operations, the Transnational Gang Initiative and the Ranger Recon, all of which are programs he made during his governorship.
 * 2) Abortion - Rick Perry is very strongly pro-life. He supports the banning of embryonic stem cell research and abortion. He does so through promoting adoption and protecting traditional (not gay) marriage. Perry supports adult stem cell research instead of embryonic. He believes in the christian values that every child has the right to life, which is ironic because he has carried out 234 executions under the death penalty and vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally challenged inmates.
 * 1) "there is no viable path forward for me" - Perry stated this as he was dropping out of the 2012 race for the Republican Nomination.
 * 2) "[Gingrich is] a real leader who will bring about real change" - Quoted when endorsing Newt Gingrich after dropping out of the running.
 * 1) If abortion is murder and you oppose it for that reason, then why do you support the death penalty?
 * 2) Why did you support Newt Gingrich after dropping out of the race?
 * 3) Why do you think that you did not gain enough support?
 * 4) If you could restart from the beginning of the race, what would you do differently?

Little known facts:
 * 1) Rick Perry shot a coyote with his .380 Ruger to protect his dog while he was jogging in his home state of Texas. He currently has a Concealed Handgun License.
 * 2) Perry called to repeal the 16th and 17th amendments in his book, "Fed Up!"
 * 3) Perry enacted a bill through emergency legislation that required women to learn the specifics of their fetus and how close to a child it actually is to discourage abortions.
 * 4) Perry threatened succession from the U.S. because of federal control.

Article: [] SWOT: Strengths: He had very strong support from his home state of Texas. He was considered the favorite candidate of the National Rifle Association. He is supported by the Christian Coalition and comes off as very religious.He is currently the Governor of Texas. He is very confident. Weakness: Considered far too extreme by many. Associated with and very similar to George W. Bush, which could be a negative for those who were discontent with him. Opportunities: (before dropping out) He had raised a considerable amount of money from his PACs. He is relatively sucessful as governor of Texas. He is following in the footsteps of George W. Bush. Threats: (before dropping out) Perry has made many extremist and unintelligent statements regarding very controversial topics that has caused a lot of opposition. POV: Even if Rick Perry had not dropped out, I do not think he had a chance of winning the election. He is way too extreme on many important controversial topics. His view on gay marriage, gun laws, etc. would be opposed by many. Even conservatives seem to be scared by his policies. One of these is his love for the death penalty. He had executed over 200 inmates and vetoed a bill that would prevent mentally retarded inmates from being executed. One of his views that I would agree with is his stance on gun ownership. I think that guns should be accessible to those capable of handling them. The right to bear arms is a right that is often restricted because of personal ideologies. A gun in itself cannot kill someone, it is the person who is holding it that should be held responsible. I also agree and think that the federal government should hand over more power to individual states. America is a very diverse country from state to state and federal laws can cause discontent because they may not fit the region that they are enacted in. Another reason he would not be elected is because he is a spitting image of George W. Bush. He and George were both republicans that were governors of Texas and share very similar ideologies. Though Bush was not necessarily a bad president, I think that it would not be a good idea to have another president that is that similar to him at the moment. By Michael Kentfield