Wednesday’s GOP debate turned into a good old fashioned Texas shootout between Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry over who really represents the true tradition of revered conservative icon and former President Ronald Reagan.
Addressing an issue presented in a recent attack ad against Perry, Paul said: “You know, the governor of Texas [Perry] criticized the governor of Massachusetts [Romney] for RomneyCare. But he wrote a really fancy letter supporting HillaryCare. So we probably ought to ask him about that.”
Perry replied that he was agricultural commission at the time, and was hoping that the healthcare reform proposed during the Clinton administration would help take care of farmers he was responsible for.
“We had no idea it was going to be the monstrosity that’s known as Hillary Care,” Perry said.
Perry then pointed out that Paul had written a letter in 1987 stating Paul would quit the Republican Party due to the policies of Reagan.
“I strongly supported Ronald Reagan,” Paul insisted. “I was one of four members of Congress who supported Reagan in ’76, and I supported him all along. And I supported all his issues and all his programs.
“But, in the 1980s, we spent too much, we taxed too much, we built up our deficits, and it was a bad scene. Therefore I support the message of Ronald Reagan. The message was great. But the consequence -- we have to be honest with ourselves -- it was not all that great: Huge deficits during the 1980s. And that is what my criticism was for, not for Ronald Reagan’s message. His message is a great message.”
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