Like so many Texans, we were saddened to learn that Gov. Rick Perry will not run for reelection in 2014. We wish him luck in his quest for the U.S. Presidency, if he decides to make a bid for that office again, but we can’t help preferring that he stay on in Austin and add to his towering legacy as the longest-serving and most effective governor in state history.
Actions speak louder than words and a politician’s words and actions often contradict each other, but throughout his stewardship, Gov. Perry meant what he said and did his best to make good on it.
“Texas small businesses are the essential gears of our economic engine. They employ millions of Texans,” he affirmed while signing legislation in 2009 enacting a tax cut for small businesses.
Perry voiced support for “a loser pays system that will help expedite legitimate legal claims and crack down on junk lawsuits” and praised the one passed by our state representatives in 2011, predicting that it would “protect Texas jobs and stimulate economic opportunity by relieving Texans and employers of the costs and burdens created by frivolous and drawn-out lawsuits.”
In a letter delivered to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius following the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision upholding the alleged constitutionality of Obamacare, Perry proclaimed: “I will not be party to socializing health care or bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government.”
Ally and possible successor State Attorney General Greg Abbott summed up Perry’s accomplishments:
“As Governor, Rick Perry has fought for lower taxes, less regulation, and more job creation – all of which have helped Texas claim the best business climate in the nation. Along the way, Governor Perry has kept Washington in check, working to block an intrusive federal government from meddling in our personal lives and preventing the heavy hand of government from stifling small businesses in Texas.”
It’s quite a legacy.