Rick Perry Quotes (125 Quotes)

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.

I wish I could wave a magic wand and somehow transport people magically from Houston.

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

I also want school leaders to know that we realize this will put a strain on their capacity, so I have asked the Texas Education Agency to work with them to make sure they have the textbooks they need, funding for transportation and the free- and reduced-lunch program and class-size waivers as needed.

He was a great gentleman. He was a credit to everything and everybody.

Dark economic clouds are dissipating into an emerging blue sky of opportunity.

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 can't say in strong enough terms to those who evacuated the coastal region that they should not begin to return for the time being,

From rescuing lives to rebuilding lives, ... There's no certainty as to when this community will be reestablished.

It's not perfect, ... I wish I could wave a magic wand and transport people magically to Dallas and other places . . . but that's not the case.

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.

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

We also need time to restock fuel supplies along the return routes and restock goods in stores. We also want to avoid any traffic gridlock, so we can't say enough times to those who I know are ready to go back to your homes, but please stay where you are,

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.

While the Legislature adjourned with little success, the need for education reform is simply too great to wait for lawmakers to overcome their differences,

I'm proud Texas is taking the national lead in bringing choice to cable customers, offering broadband over power lines, and investing in new telecommunications innovations, ... Senate Bill 5 will pave the way for new technology investments, create jobs and remove barriers to 21st century innovations.

I don't necessarily buy into that the public is going to eat some amount of the cost we don't have the answer from the federal side,

Don is a very experienced attorney with a diverse legal background, a proven commitment to public service,

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.

Texans demand a justice system that is tough but fair. I believe my decision to grant pardons in these cases is both appropriate and just.

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

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.

Under Obama, our federal tax dollars can now be used to fund abortion all over the world. With the stroke of a pen, abortion essentially became a U.S. foreign export.

Be calm, be strong, say a prayer for Texas.

We are honored to host the unique opportunity to build lives of great meaning, fulfillment and success. We hope that, when you leave here today, you will find, fulfill or renew your purpose.

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.

We will get fuel to those who are low or out, ... I urge everyone out there to exercise patience.

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

using the constitutional authority of the executive branch.

Our goal is to displace the entrenched powers in Washington, restore the rightful balance between the state and federal government.

Our shared conservative values, our belief in the individual is the great hope of our nation.

While I hope to one day reach a legislative consensus on school finance, we can no longer delay taking action that will benefit schoolchildren, parents, and taxpayers, ... They deserve better than unfulfilled promises and continued delays. They deserve immediate action.

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,

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.

I stand before you today as a disciplined conservative Texan, a committed Republican and a proud American, united with you to restoring our nation and revive the American dream.

According to a study by Achieve Incorporated, Texas is the first state to make a college-prep curriculum the standard coursework in high school, starting with this year's ninth grade class.

The people who illegally cross into the country are from countries that have very close ties to al Qaeda, whether it's Yemen or Afghanistan, Pakistan, China. It is an absolute national disgrace.

This executive order will mean more financial accountability for taxpayers, more efficiency in school spending and more money directed to the classroom so that more children achieve.

I didn't say I was running, did I?

It is a shame that our grand jury system has been abused by a district attorney pursuing a political agenda. The accusations against Majority Leader DeLay are baseless, and the real concern here is the integrity of our legal system in Travis County, where illegal grand jury leaks have occurred with great regularity.

We certainly hope that FEMA is successful in finding apartments for the estimated 54,000 Katrina evacuees still living in hotels and motels by the agency's Dec. 1 deadline.

Today I am issuing an executive order that will put into law some of the most important education reforms that lawmakers failed to pass, including a requirement that 65 percent of all education funds be spent on direct classroom instruction,

Be patient, stay put. If you are in a safe place with food, water, bedding, you are better remaining there for the time being.

I think we all understand it's by the grace of God that this terrible tragedy didn't come ashore a few hundred miles west, ... And knowing such a catastrophe could have happened here, I think Texans have a very special bond between our neighbors to the east who are going through an absolutely unbelievable ordeal at this point in time.

Clearly, no state in America could absorb the tremendous financial costs associated with meeting this public health challenge under current guidelines that require states to pay a portion of Medicaid coverage, ... Texas taxpayers will be forced to bear a financial burden that, in effect, punishes them for opening their hearts and homes to fellow Americans in need.

My executive order will give taxpayers the accountability they deserve because it opens every school district's financial books to public scrutiny, ... Taxpayers may find they have the best-run schools in the state of Texas, or they may find areas where t

I don't want to look like Connecticut, no offense, I don't want to look like Oklahoma, I don't want to look like California. I want to be uniquely Texas. And that's not to diss anybody else.

I will continue to use my constitutional authority to ensure that the education reforms mandated by the people are implemented according to their will,

Every life is precious.