After spending months building a solid support base in straw poll states and assembling a rock star-laden team, Governor Perry has finally set a date.
An email from his wife, Anita Perry, said the Perry’s would be making a “special announcement” in Dallas on June 4th:
America is facing a time of testing, and it’s clear that we need principled leadership and an optimistic vision to see us through after eight years of the Obama Administration.Rick and I have been talking a lot about what the future holds for our great country, and the role our family can play in creating an America of unlimited opportunity for our children and grandchildren.We are so excited to share our decision with you, and hope you will join us on June 4th in Dallas for a major announcement!In case you missed it, you can find more details here. Rick and I look forward to seeing you in Dallas on June 4th!Thanks for all you do,Anita Perry
The announcement was also sent via the former First Lady of Texas’ Twitter account:
Organized by RickPAC, the event details are included in this Eventbrite link (Rand Paul did something similar for his official announcement). No exact venue is specified yet and attendance is free.
Governor Perry’s entrance into the GOP Presidential arena makes him the second Governor to join the primary competition, Mike Huckabee being the first. Perry will also complete the first pair of Former Governor vs. Current Senator match-ups (see: Sen. Rubio v. Gov. Bush in Florida).
Despite his disappointing showing in the 2012 contest, Perry joins the heat as an underdog — a position that will likely work to his advantage. With fourteen years of Gubernatorial experience in one of the largest, most successful republics states in the union, Perry has built quite the resume. One of several Governor’s in the race, Perry is confident his record will stand out in the crowded GOP primary. According to Jim Geraghty at National Review:
“No one handed me a manual that says, ‘Here’s how to deal with the Space Shuttle disintegrating over your state.’ No one says, ‘Here’s how to deal with a massive influx of people from a neighboring state fleeing a major hurricane [Hurricane Katrina].’ ‘Here’s how you handle a crisis on your border with people flooding in.’ ‘Here’s how you handle a major disease [the cases of Ebola in a Dallas hospital].’”“I think most Americans would agree that experience is priceless, and the only way you get it is by being there and doing it,” Perry concludes. “There’s not a book you can read on this.”
He’s healthier this time around, too. Prior to his 2012 run for the White House, Perry underwent back surgery. The recovery time wasn’t quite what he’d anticipated:
“Being healthy is really important,” Perry said Friday. “I had major back surgery in June or July of 2011. Six weeks later, I was thinking, ‘I could do this.’ I broke my arm when I was a kid in high school, and I was back playing in six weeks. What could be tougher than that? Well, there is something. You’ve got to be healthy. You’ve got to be on your game. But, more importantly, there’s the preparation side to it.”For all the Perry supporters out there, get excited because…
As I wrote previously:
Governor Perry has a lengthy resume that touts years of executive work experience in a state with an international border, and the advantage of low expectations. After traveling the campaign trail post-back surgery in 2012, Perry has one poorly executed presidential run under his belt and nowhere to go but up.He too has issues to face, or at least explain. Among which are the Texas Dream Act (distinctly unlike the federal variety despite the similarity in title), the trans-Texas corridor and the charges of cronyism, and then of course there’s his infamous “oops” moment.But if the Governor’s latest video Iowa is any indicator, we can expect Perry to run as the man who will use his governing experience to heal a deeply disjoined post-Obama America.“Regardless of where you are — left or right, we need somebody that can stand up and say, listen, let’s quit fighting each other. Let’s find the places that we can agree on,” says Perry, speaking to a small group of people in Iowa. “We long for someone in this country who has the experience to take America on a different path than it’s on today.”
I look forward to seeing Governor Perry on the national stage for several reasons, but especially because no one else shares his ability to articulate tenth amendment principles — principles he actually practiced as Governor.
For all the Perry supporters out there, you can get excited now…
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