Rick Perry visits Washington

Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Perry visited the Coffee Corner in Washington Thursday morning in one of his final stops before the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. Joseph Brown of Washington introduced Perry, who has been the governor of Texas since 2000.

Perry began his remarks by saying that the country needed a president who was not a ?Washington insider.?

?You?ve got to ask yourself, ?If we replace a Democrat insider with a Republican insider, do you think it?s going to make one ounce of difference??? he said.

Perry spoke about how he differed from other candidates, namely former Pennsylvanian Senator Rick Santorum.

?Rick Santorum is a friend, and I?ve got great respect for him, but when he talks about fiscal conservatism, it leaves me scratching my head because he was a prolific earmarker,? he said. ?I love Iowa pork but I hate Washington pork. Senator Santorum loaded his bills with Pennsylvania pork, and he even voted for the Alaskan ?Bridge to Nowhere.??

Perry said that he would end earmarks if he were elected president. He also said he favored a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Perry said he never set out to be president, merely to serve his country.

?My purpose in going to Washington, D.C., is to make it as inconsequential in your lives as I can,? he said. ?Washington, D.C., shouldn?t tell you how to educate your children or build transportation infrastructure. Those are things that should be done in the states. I trust Terry Branstad and his members of the Legislation to decide best how to educate your children or deliver health care, and a host of issues that the Constitution reserved for the states.?

Perry was asked what his first act as president would be, and he responded that it would be to repeal through executive order as many facets of ?Obamacare? as possible. Perry also said there are too many EPA regulations. He said the Department of Labor proposed a change in the law to require the operators of farm machinery to be at least 18 years old.

?How is that going to work here in Iowa?? Perry asked. ?The cost of those regulations is a great concern of mine.?

Perry was asked about the relationship between the United States and Israel. He said there would be ?no space? between the United States and Israel under a Perry administration.

?My faith also teaches me to be a very strong supporter of Israel,? he said.

Perry spoke about his attitude toward home-schooling.

?If there is a state that has stronger parental rights than my home state, I don?t know what it is,? he said. ?We have been strong supporters of home-schooling. We have put in laws that clearly state the government?s rights stop at the front of your house.?

One member of the audience asked Perry if he was for or against renewable energy. Perry said he is not in favor of tax credits for any energy source.

?I don?t think the federal government?s business should be handing out tax credits to any business,? he said. ?If Iowa or the state of Texas wants to have a program that incentivizes an energy use, that?s fine, but not the federal government.?