Perry's Candidacy Shines Light On Health Care Record, Beliefs

News outlets covered Texas Gov. Rick Perry's announcement today in South Carolina that he is running for the GOP nomination for president.  Perry vowed to repeal Obama’s health-care reform, balance the budget without raising taxes ... he vowed to get government out of people’s lives" (Ball, 8/13).Perry has cited his wife, Anita, as a decisive influence in nudging him toward a run for the White House. The state's First Lady, a nurse, told her husband to consider getting out of his 'comfort zone' as governor to tackle national problems, including the foundering economy and what Republicans seeing as a devastating impact on states because of President Obama's health care plan" (Montgomery and Smith, 8/13).  Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt wasted little time responding to Perry. He said the governor's economic policies are a 'carbon copy of the economic policies of Washington Republicans.' LaBolt said Perry supported the Republican debt plan that he said would have preserved oil and tax breaks while decimating popular programs like Medicare and Social Security" (Root, 8/13)."Political consultant Hollis 'Chip' Felkel, who isn't working with a candidate, said Mr. Perry's candidacy would be particularly troublesome in South Carolina to Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. ... Many conservatives are uneasy with his work as governor to enact a mandate that most state residents buy health insurance, a provision similar to Mr. Obama's federal health law, which is widely unpopular among Republicans" (Bauerlein, 8/13).Texas is often cited as an example of the need for health-care reform: A quarter of Texans lack coverage, the highest share in the country. ... Texas now has among the most narrow Medicaid eligibility standards in the country, which means the law’s expansion will have a particularly big impact there ... The state spends second to least on Medicaid, per capita, of any state in the country, and the least of any state on mental health care. ... And Perry cannot be accused of considering elements of 'Obamacare' because his administration — unlike those of Pawlenty, Huntsman and Romney — has not tried to expand adult health coverage at all" (MacGillis, 8/12).