During the GOP debate in Florida, after lying and claiming that the first round of stimulus didn't create any jobs, even though that stimulus package likely kept us from plunging into another Great Depression at the rate we were hemorrhaging jobs when President Obama got elected, Gov. Rick Perry went on to claim that of course, he's the one that really understands what we need to do to create jobs.
And what was one of his suggestions? "Free up" Wall Street. So after all of the excesses we've seen from these birds with the collapse of the housing market and practically destroying our economy, Perry thinks we need more of it. Wonderful.
We also got a nice little dog-whistle out of him with his claim that "people are tired of spending money we don't have on programs we don't want." Which of course is code for welfare, or programs that help the poor rather than his rich cronies.
I can't wait to see these guys have to defend some of these comments when the general election comes around.
Transcript via CNN below the fold.
BLITZER: Thank you, Governor.
Governor Perry, the president in his new plan has a lot of tax cuts, payroll tax cuts, middle-class tax cuts, tax credits for hiring veterans, tax credits for hiring long-term unemployed people. Are those things you would support?
PERRY: And he's going to pay for them all with raising your taxes. That is the issue. He had $800 billion worth of stimulus in the first round of stimulus. It created zero jobs, $400-plus billion dollars in this package. And I can do the math on that one. Half of zero jobs is going to be zero jobs.
This president does not understand how to free up the small businessmen and women or, for that matter, Wall Street. You give people the opportunity to risk their capital by lowering the tax burden on them, by lowering the regulatory climate, and you will see an American economy that takes off like a rocket ship.
And that's what we need to be focusing on in this country, freeing up the small businessmen and women to do what they know how to do, which is risk their capital and give them half a chance to have an opportunity to have a return on that investment, and they will go risk their capital. That's what the president of the United States needs to do: Quit the spending. Give clear regulatory relief and reform the tax code.
BLITZER: So just to be precise, Governor, whenever the president supports tax cuts, that has to be balanced with spending cuts?
PERRY: I would suggest to you that people are tired of spending money we don't have on programs we don't want.
