Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) may have walked out on the stage to the tune of “God Blessed Texas” but the presidential hopeful knew exactly what to say to elicit a “God Bless America” from the crowd by the end of his speech.
Perry spoke at the Americans for Prosperity “Defending the American Dream” conference Friday and looked more than ready for 2016.
He touted his success in Texas, as well as the success of other Republican governors in states like Florida and South Carolina, to make a point about the need for a shift to state’s rights, but Perry’s main focus was on President Barack Obama.
He told the crowd that though they had 29 more months of Obama, they only had 128 days until the country had a Republican House of Representatives and a Republican Senate.
Obama’s “got an appointment come January with constitutional limits,” he said, demanding that voters show the president that “we still love democracy in this country.”
He hit Obama on the multiple examples of “federal overreach” that occurred on his watch, including eduction, healthcare, the NSA and the IRS.
Perry called for Obama to “trust the people more than the machinery of government” and to not “ignore his basic responsibilities” to the citizens of America.
One of these responsibilities is the the securing of the country’s border. One of the others, Perry said, is to protect the nation from terrorists.
“Yesterday, President Obama said ‘we have no strategy,'” Perry said to laughter from the audience. “That may be a surprise to some, but it was not a surprise to our allies and our adversaries. They know that already. The world needs a president not always one step behind, not lurching from crisis to crisis, who is always playing catch up.”
Perry called for a return to bipartisanship over matters of national security.
“My fellow Americans, this is our country. Let’s restore its dreams, find its new destiny,” Perry declared. “Let’s make it worthy of all those who sacrificed and those who will.”
