Greg Abbott won a decisive victory in Texas’ recent gubernatorial election, but he’ll have some big shoes to fill come January. Outgoing Governor Rick Perry may be stepping down from his post at the Texas capitol, but he’s nowhere near close to making his exit from the national stage. In addition to forming a PAC, courting conservatives, and brushing up on his foreign policy credibility, he’s taking time to detail the hard work and conservative policies that were passed under his watch that converged to create “The Texas Miracle.” From Fox News: “Governor Perry established in the national mind that Texas is the place for jobs and freedom where entrepreneurship thrives and the American dream is alive,” said Cal Jillson, SMU political science professor and author of “Lone Star Tarnished.” Indeed, Texas under Perry has outpaced any other state on the employment front, creating three out of 10 of all U.S. jobs. Forbes magazine recently named Texas as the leading state for economic climate and future job growth while Chief Executive Magazine readers have named Texas as the number one state to do business for 10 years running. Over 100 of America’s top companies — including AT&T, Fluor, Dell and ExxonMobil — are based in Texas. Toyota, Apple, Charles Schwab and SpaceX are expanding operations in the state. Perry has crisscrossed the globe with missionary zeal, from Beijing to London, touting a flourishing Texas brand that looks a shade brighter against the national economy. Texas, in turn, is America’s top exporting state averaging more than $1 billion in exports every working day. “I was always intrigued with economic development and an economic climate that frees people,” Perry said. “It was innate, something I derived from watching people I admired like my father, and it wasn’t something I read or studied in school.” Rather than let buzzwords take over, however, Perry is making moves to lay claim to “The Texas Miracle” as his own brand. He says, “[m]iracles I can’t explain, I’ll leave those to the good Lord,” he said. “This is not a miracle. We know how this happened.” It’s his brand, his blueprint, and his ticket to the top of a Republican field that’s growing increasingly crowded—and contentious. Perry, after all, is still dealing with an abuse of power indictment and the fallout from a disastrous 2012 presidential run, both of which could prove toxic to his hopes in 2016. But Perry has what few others can lay claim to—an extensive record of governing—and we can expect him to take that experience to the bank when it comes to wooing donors, courting voters, and fighting back attacks from both the left and the right.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 01:27:57 +0000
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