Quotes from Rick Perry

When a criminal breaks into your home I'll let the liberals call the lawyer. I'm going to call Smith & Wesson.

I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.

We stand up and proudly proclaim that Washington is not our caretaker and we reject a state, in Margaret Thatcher's words, a state that takes too much from us to do too much for us.

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

It is up to us, to this present generation of Americans, to take a stand for freedom, to send a message to Washington that we're taking our future back from the grips of central planners who would control our healthcare, who would spend our treasure, who downgrade our future and micro-manage our lives.

I grew up in a house with no running water, 16 miles from the closest place that had a post office. I had a very parochial view of the world.

We cannot afford four more years of this misguided socialist policies from President Obama and his administration.

The fact is there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption.

We have the power to make things new again. To project American strength again, to get our economy going again.

My deal is have a flat, simple tax. And - Americans want - Americans I hope - aspire to be - be wealthy. I hope they aspire to have a better quality of life. And we have this class warfare that's going on now. And I don't agree with that. I'm interested in people getting to work.

Vladimir Putin uses energy to hold our allies hostage. If energy is going to be used as a weapon, I say America must have the largest arsenal.

We do not have to accept our current circumstances. We will change them. We are Americans. That's what we do.

Religious freedom does not mean freedom from religion.

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.

In the rush to become all things to all people, the federal government has lost sight of its core responsibilities. As a result we're stuck in this frustrating paradox where Washington actually neglects things it's clearly supposed to be doing, while interfering in other areas where they are neither welcome nor authorized.

Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual orientation.

My hope is that that person will come forward that can win the presidency that we can all get behind.

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.

And I think most people in this country want to see a president that's got the courage to say we're going to cut the tax burden, and reduce the regulatory climate, and we're going to get Americans working.

Those jobs flee other states because of factors like excessive taxation, punitive regulation and frivolous lawsuits.

Reforming public education, cutting property taxes, fixing adult and child protective services and funding our budget can all occur when Democrats and Republicans engage in consensus and cooperation - not cynicism and combat.

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 want taxpayers, not tax wasters.

The fact is there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption.