The Ricochet Podcast - Live From CPAC #9: Rick Perry

Episode Date: February 28, 2015

Jay Nordlinger interviews Texas Governor Rick Perry. Source

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Terms apply. Bet responsibly. 18plusgamblingcare.ie I am Jay Nordlinger here at CPAC for National Review and Ricochet with Governor Rick Perry of Texas. Former Governor. Did you have three terms? Three and a half terms.

That's a long time. Fourteen years. It was almost, well, actually it was a little over three times the average in Texas. Since 1845 when Texas became a state until the year 2000, the average tenure for a governor in Texas was a little less than four years. We had two-year terms prior to 1973. Did you ever dream you would do this? No, I never dreamed that I would be the governor, much less be the governor for 14 years. I grew up on a dry land cotton farm. I grew up in a house

that didn't have running water. And the idea that a boy born in 1950 would end up being the governor of the state of Texas, the child of two tenant farmers, is a bit far-fetched. But with that said, it's also proof that America, anything's possible. And we need to keep that faith in this country. The middle class is pretty pessimistic right now because of the economy and the policies of the current administration that the middle class can attain these goals of doing whatever you want to do or attaining whatever you want to attain. Governor, was it hard to leave the office?

I think it would be very hard for me. I mean, it's almost your life. You were the boss for all those years. I've been in public service, counting my time as a pilot in the United States Air Force, for 35 years. I never intended that. I went home to be a farmer and to ranch with my dad. And I did that from 1977 to 1990. But the idea that I was going to be from 1985, we have a part-time legislature in Texas,

from 1985 through 2015, it was completely far-fetched for me. It's just, again, these opportunities prevailed, and I'm a big believer that public service is good. It's honorable. My father was a county commissioner. He was on the school board. He was a tail gunner on B-17s in 1944 and through 35 missions over Nazi-held Germany. He understood and instilled in me.

It's amazing he came home. Well, he did. I took my dad back to his old base in 2012, or excuse me, in 2000. It had been 56 years since he had been there in East Anglia. We went across the English Channel. He said for the 71st time, he flew flew 35 missions and we were crossing the Channel. He said, this is my 71st time across the English Channel. To Normandy, to the cemetery at Pointe du Hoc, or there at Omaha Beach, rather.

And, you know, it's a fascinating place. I highly recommend any American go there. All of those grave markers face west, west to an America that they love, an America that they defended, an America that they would never go home to. I think they're in silent judgment of us today, of whether or not we are living up to the standards that they died for. And that's a very powerful vision, if you will, that thousands of these gravestones, crosses, stars of David,

and silent judgment of our activities today. I hope this next generation knows that they've lived up to the sacrifices that those individuals made. Very well said. We used to say in America that the governor of California and the governor of Texas and the governor of New York, those three were automatic candidates for president. Well, 20% of the population they oversee. Is that so? Yeah.

I mean, it's a very large. One of the reasons I push California and I push New York to be more competitive is they're so important to America. This isn't about Texas being better than another state. This is about you. I mean, the Knicks are a better team when the Mavericks play them hard. When the Lakers get pushed by the San Antonio Spurs, they're a better team. So I hope that those governors don't get upset with me because I push them on their policies,

tax policy, regulatory policies, educational policies, legal policies, because that's how their state will become stronger if they make those policies more competitive, give more freedom to their citizens. If they don't, then people are going to move out of their states to places where freedom does reign. So that's the policy that really, those are the policies that really matter. Obviously a lot of people want to be president, everyone and his brother. Will your case be, look, I've done it for a long time. I've governed a state successfully. I can do it for the rest of you. Is that the essential case?

I think that's part of it. I mean, I think it is very important that the next president of the United States does have executive experience. We've spent the last, well, we will have spent eight years watching a young, inexperienced United States senator put policies into place that have failed. They've failed economically. They've failed from a foreign policy standpoint. I mean, I think most Americans understand that. Most Americans are pessimistic today. And the next president needs to express a real optimism in the future of this country,

both domestically and foreign policy-wise. And I think that's very, very important. As the only one of the individuals who's showing interest in this, I'm the only one that's worn the uniform of this country. The only one that has. I was a pilot in the United States Air Force. Also, as a governor, you have the operational control, in a lot of cases, of your National Guard. That's the reason I deployed our National Guard to the border, to deal with the issues that we were seeing with these unaccompanied minors

and other activities by drug cartels and transnational gangs. And I think having that executive experience is very, very important for the next president of the United States. Are you an expert on, a couple more, are you an expert on immigration because you've been governor of Texas? Well, I think it's, again, executive experience really matters. And having, listen, I mean, you could say I'm probably the most tested of people across the country when it comes to dealing with Ebola. It came into Texas. We had to deal with it. I had to deal with the border. We made decisions. I didn't just get up and talk about it.

Here's what I had to do. I made hard decisions. I've had massive immigration into this state of Texas from the east, from Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina. And we had to manage all that. How do you manage this massive amount of people coming in that you're going to take care of? The space shuttle disintegrated in east Texas in my first couple of years as the governor. All of those developed your ability to manage. And this president never had those experiences. And then I think we see it.

Ebola is a great example. I knew exactly who I was going to have head up my Ebola effort, Dr. Brett Giroir. I wanted him assisted by Dr. David Lakey. These were MDs, highly trained, Giroar Defense Accelerated Research Projects Agency. He helped develop the vaccine platform for pandemics at Texas A&M University. Dr. Lakey, an infectious disease expert. Those were the two faces I wanted up in front of the American people, and they both projected competence and confidence that

we were going to handle this right. And we did. As a matter of fact, we came up with protocols for the CDC from our experience of dealing with Ebola in Texas. On the other hand, you had the president who waited a long period of time to ever name someone, and when he did, he named Al Gore's old spokesperson. Not projecting a lot of confidence or competence from a medical standpoint on a major issue that had really concerned Americans and even the international community. Governor, last question. Are you glad that you ran for president in 2012? Did that serve as preparation for you?

Yeah, I mean, it was a frustrating period of time, obviously. I got in late. I was not healthy. I did not spend the time in preparation. And all of those were all the painful but good lessons. And I look back all the way to Eisenhower. Every one of the Republican nominees had done it more than once. Now, George W. was not on the ballot himself, but his dad was. Gotcha.

And so he knew this very intimately. So everyone, you know, when you look at whether it was Reagan, whether it was Nixon, you know, McCain, all of those folks ran more than once. So I think the experience you get from running is invaluable. Are you like a boxer ready to get in the ring? I look forward to being able to participate and make a difference. Wherever I decide to end up in this, I'm not going to go right off in the sunset. I love my country.

I want to be involved. I may have some issues with my government, but I love my country. I want to be involved. I mean, I may have some issues with my government, but I love my country. And so I'm going to serve, and we'll see how that turns out. Well, it's a pleasure to be with you. I'm Jay Nordlinger with Rick Perry. It looks like a million bucks, as always, and we'll see a lot more of him later. You're welcome. Bye-bye. Thank you.

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