Paul vs. Perry

Texas congressman Ron Paul is out with a new ad attacking Texas governor Rick Perry for his support of Al Gore in the 1988 presidential election, when Perry was still a registered Democrat. Watch the ad below:

The Perry campaign quickly responded, pointing to a letter Paul wrote in 1987 when he resigned from the Republican party:

“Rep. Paul’s letter is a broadside attack on every element of President Reagan’s record and philosophy. Paul thought President Reagan was so bad, he left the GOP,” said [Perry spokesman Mark] Miner. “It will be interesting to hear Rep. Paul explain why Reagan drove him from the party at tomorrow’s debate on the grounds of the Reagan Library.”

In one part of the letter, Paul wrote, “There is no credibility left for the Republican Party as a force to reduce the size of government. That is the message of the Reagan years.”

Paul continued, “Thanks to the President and Republican Party, we have lost the chance to reduce the deficit and the spending in a non-crisis fashion. Even worse, big government has been legitimized in a way the Democrats never could have accomplished.”

Paul even went so far as to call Reaganomics, “warmed-over Keynesianism.” 

Perry's campaign website conveniently provides a copy of the Paul letter, viewable here.