Rick Perry Quotations | Page 2

We need to stop apologizing for celebrating life. We need to stop apologizing for wanting to protect an individual's right to build a business.

This administration in Washington that's in power now clearly believes that government is not only the answer to every need, but it's the most qualified to make the most central decisions for every American in every area.

I disagree with the concept that somehow or another we're going to pack up 10, to 12, to 15 million people and ship them back to the country of origin. That's not going to happen.

Our best days are in front of us. We can reform those entitlements, we can change that corporate tax code and lower it. We can put America back on track on a growth level and a growth rate that we've never seen in the history of this country.

President Obama's call for nearly a half-trillion dollars in more government stimulus when America has more than $14 trillion in debt is guided by his mistaken belief that we can spend our way to prosperity.

Texas has long been known as the nation's largest energy producer, but we are equally proud of our distinction as the nation's leading energy innovator.

We are a resilient country. We've been through a Civil War; we've been through two World Wars. We've been through a Great Depression; we even made it through Jimmy Carter! We will make it through the Obama years!

We've got the wind at our back right now. Americans are waking up to the realities of their previous choices. We must keep America moving back to preeminence because our values and conservative ideas are the world's greatest hope.

Somebody has to tell the E.P.A. that we don't need you monkeying around and fiddling around and getting in our business with every kind of regulation you can dream up. You're doing nothing more than killing jobs. It's a cemetery for jobs at the E.P.A.

Natural disasters recognize no state boundaries, and neither should FEMA, ... Texas is willing to work and do our part, but FEMA has to sit down and come up with a long-term, thoughtful plan.

I can't say in strong enough terms that those who evacuated that they should not return at this time,

But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A & M University and joined the United States Air Force, flying C-130's all around the globe, that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.

What you see in all of their eyes and what you see in all their action is a great pride and professionalism with which they do their job. They believe in what they're doing there. And that is not only protecting America's freedoms, but also giving hope to a part of the world that really doesn't even know what those freedoms can mean to them.

Hurricane Katrina, a disaster for our neighboring states, has created emergency conditions in Texas that will require all available resources of both federal and state governments to overcome,

We may dodge a bullet in Houston, Texas. But I'd rather sit in traffic for eight to 12 hours than take a chance it doesn't change any farther to the east. We're talking about people's lives here.

Hopefully, they'll be back in production very soon,

Look, a Category 4, Category 5 storm is going to be catastrophic.

Our farmers, ranchers and cities will have 100 percent of the water they are entitled to, not just for the rest of this year, but for all of 2006, ... Now that the debt is paid, both countries must continue to work in good faith to meet the water demands of citizens on both sides of the Rio Grande for years to come.

tremendous disappointment of millions of taxpayers and teachers and parents over this Legislature's failure to act on property tax relief and education reform.

We have truly dodged a major bullet here,

We're playing it by ear. We have a massive emergency in south Louisiana.

We want to avoid traffic gridlock. So again, we can't say enough times to those I know are ready to go back to their homes: Please stay where you are.

When our work is done, parents won't measure our success by how much money we spend, but whether more children learn.

We're going to pull together so that these families can find as much normalcy as we can. We're going to get through this together as one American family.

Every time a teacher walks through the classroom doors, young lives and the future of Texas changes for the better,

Between Katrina and our preparations for this, people understand this isn't something you're going to play around with,

The time to leave is now, ... It quite likely will be a devastating storm.

While the legislative session has now ended, the need for school reform has not and Texans can rest assured that even though the legislature did not act, I will, ... The people have demanded reform, they have been promised reform and I intend to deliver reform using the full constitutional authority of the executive branch.

You don't just go out and plug up an interstate on one side and shift it over in an hour or two. I mean, it takes some time. It takes some personnel.

Even though people right here in Beaumont and Port Arthur and this part of Orange County really got whacked, the rest of the state missed a bullet.

Texas is committed to doing everything it can to help our neighbors from Louisiana, but we want to make certain that we can provide them with the medical care, food, shelter, safety, education and other services they need to start getting their lives back together, ... Local officials are beginning to notify us that they are quickly approaching capacity in the number of evacuees they believe they can assist.

Day in and day out, there are pieces of legislation that members don't agree with, ... The democratic process is to debate and vote them. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. All the people of the state of Texas are asking is to let democracy ... work.

Coastal Texans should not wait until late Thursday or early Friday to leave. Homes and businesses can be rebuilt. Lives cannot.

Questions surrounding testimony from the key witness in these cases, coupled with recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, weighed heavily on my final decision,

enact a housing program that gives families and individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina the leverage to secure a long-term residence in their home state of Louisiana, or the location of their choice.

We had a $10 billion budget deficit when we got here in January of 2003. We cut that budget deficit; we did not raise taxes; we came back in '05, and we had an $8 billion surplus. That's how fast it can happen.

This is (former Texas governor George W.) Bush's prison system, she said.

I know which party I'm for and which party I'm going to run. I made that decision a decade ago. I've got other very important things to spend my time on.

I know something. America is not broken, Washington, D.C. is broken.

This is just the beginning of what will be many months. It will be a long effort trying to help people rebuild their lives and get a sense of normalcy, safety in what is a very trying time.

This is just the FEMA relief part, this is not the whole picture, ... We fully expect the U.S. Department of Education to pay for the costs of educating the thousands of new students Texas is going to have in public schools. That is the request we have in to the federal government.

It's pretty simple for me. ... I'm a Christian, and this is about values, ... My beliefs are that a man and woman are what make up the meaning of marriage.

Armed and law-abiding citizens are a greater deterrent to violent crime than 1,000 laws passed by Congress.

The corner has been turned, ... Every day that goes by, as you have seen, there will be some percentage increase of power getting back into those Texans' homes.

His appointment will allow the court to benefit not only from his unique combination of skills and expertise but also a more diverse array of professional backgrounds.

Homes and businesses can be rebuilt. Lives cannot. If you're on the coast between Beaumont and Corpus Christi, now's the time to leave,

I proudly place the name of the current governor of the state of Texas and the next president of the United States into nomination -- George W. Bush.

The court also made note of an important point: while the $10 billion in increased funding Texas has provided for education since 1999 has had a positive and measurable impact on our schools, it is possible for the Legislature to implement new reforms that will improve student success without necessarily spending additional dollars,

It's no longer, I think, the boy calling wolf.

That marriage is the union between a man and a woman is a truth known to each one of us already, and any attempt to allow same-sex marriages is a detriment to the family unit and hurts our state and nation.

This order means schools that do not currently meet this standard will be spending more dollars on items like classroom computers and technology, science lab equipment, books and instructional materials or even higher teacher salaries,

We fully understand that it's hard to maintain order if you don't have fuel for your cars and first responders,

This legislation will give Texas judges their first pay increase in several years and help keep qualified, experienced men and women on the bench meeting the needs of Texas,

Running for the presidency's not an IQ test,

I may have the genetic coding that Im inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.

Armed and law-abiding citizens are a greater deterrent to violent crime than 1,000 laws passed by Congress.

Debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates. It's pretty hard to be able to sit and lay out your ideas and your concepts with a one-minute response.

Religious freedom does not mean freedom from religion.

Donald Trump is not softening his position on immigration.

I'm not ashamed to be a Christian. But you don't have to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.

I'm actually for gun control -- use both hands.

Canada, the United States and Mexico, we developed these energy reserves that we have in this North American region. And you can see a not only driving down the cost of electricity but a major manufacturing boom in this country. Couple that with tax policy, reduction, reducing the corporate tax rate, and that I think a renaissance in manufacturing like we've never seen in this country and really drive the economy.

I'm more Jewish than you think I am...I read the part of the Bible that said the Jews are God's chosen people.

Frankly, getting Mexico economically headed in the right direction with good energy policy - Canada, the United States, and Mexico have more known energy reserves than Saudi Arabia and Russia. So developing those and I think you'll see a major movement of people back into Mexico when that occurs when these prices get back. You're going to see a substantial development of the energy business in Mexico and Canada, domestic as well.

I'll work every day to try to make Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in your life as I can.

I don't want to be the president of the United States. I do want to work with the governors across the country to make the states more pivotal, more powerful, as they should be.

Every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada is a barrel of oil that we don't have to buy from a foreign source.

But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A & M University and joined the United States Air Force, flying C-130's all around the globe, that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.

I stand before you as the governor of Texas but also stand before you the son of two tenant farmers. Ray Perry who came home after 35 bombing missions over Europe to work his little corner of land out there and Amelia who made sure that my sister Milla and I had everything that we needed, included hand sewing my clothes until I went off to college.

Being the governor of a state is a more pivotal job in the future. I do indeed hope there's someone that says, "I'm going to go to Washington, try to get back to our constitutional roots, devolve the centralization of government back to the states." So why would you want to be up there if the action is down here in the states?

Juarez is reported to be the most dangerous city in America.

The idea that you're going have zero people crossing the border is unrealistic. But today we know that's not the case. Today we know we've got a porous border and people are coming in, and we don't know who they are. So secure the border then we can have a conversation about it.

The most important thing for us is to save lives.

I'm looking at a tax process that will allow people to keep more of their money because we know what happens when job creators get to keep more of their money than they're - they have the confidence to go out and spend that money to create jobs that in turn create wealth.

We understand that you have to create an environment where that those men and women who are entrepreneurs can risk their capital and have an opportunity to get a return on their investment. That's how jobs are created. And that's what Americans are looking for, is that type of vision.

We don't have to apologize for American exceptionalism or western values.

It takes balls to execute an innocent man.

Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink. And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex, he or she still makes a choice to engage in sexual activity with someone of the same gender.

Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day.

We want taxpayers, not tax wasters.

I mean I hate to be conspiratorial, but I mean how do you move that many people from Central America across Mexico and then into the United States without there being a fairly coordinated effort?

We're at the end of an era of failed leadership. We have been led by a divider [ Barack Obama] who has sliced and diced the electorate, pitting American against American for political purposes.

You don't want to ruin a kid's life for having a joint,

Four semesters of organic chemistry made a pilot out of me.

Just because you have a group of scientists who stood up and said here is the fact. Galileo got outvoted for a spell.

We need a president that is sitting down, getting Americans to work, getting this economy going. That is the single most important thing that the president of the United States does, is create a climate where job creators know that they're going to be able to risk their capital and have a chance to have a return on the investment. And it's never too late to start that.

I am a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect, and I believe it should be presented in schools alongside the theories of evolution.

Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote.

America does not need to be worried with bailing out a European country that has made irresponsible expenditures, and then all of a sudden, throws their hands up and say, Oh, please come save us. That is not our responsibility in the United States of America.

The economy is very different in the world that we're living in. And I think Americans are looking for executive leadership that actually has some experience of creating jobs.

I don't believe man-made global warming is settled in science enough.

Not every child learns for the same purpose, not every child thrives in the same settings and schools. Limiting a child to just one opportunity does nothing more than limit that child's future. The way forward must involve more public charter schools, which offer parents a tuition-free alternative to their neighborhood school.

We should also give students more flexibility in the courses they take in high school to prepare them for whatever their goals may be, without sacrificing our rigorous academic standards.

The great lesson of history for us is that strength and resolve bring peace and order, and weakness and vacillation invite chaos and conflict.

It's a Tenth Amendment issue. If you want Washington, if you want to implement their standards, that's your call... We certainly had higher standards than Common Core, so it was a very easy decision for Texans, myself and the legislature included, to basically say we still believe that Texans know how to best run Texas.

It's... time to introduce scholarship programs that give students a choice, especially those who are locked into low-performing schools.

Texas is a national leader in education reform and student achievement. Through our college- and career-ready standards and assessments, strong school accountability, and a focus on educator development, we have created an education system that prepares our students for success after graduation.

How does the richest country in the history of the world fail to pay its bills?

That the Texas Legislature, that the Texas school boards, the Texas teachers, we collectively know best how to educate our children, rather than some bureaucrat in Washington.

Either faith in Christ can cleanse all people of their sin, or none, but not some... The truth of Christ's death, resurrection and power over sin is absolute.