Texas Governor Endorses Senator Fred Smith

Saturday night the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, came to North Carolina to endorse Senator Fred Smith for re-election. Senator Fred Smith is running for re-election as State Senator from the 12th District, which represents portions of Johnston and Wayne Counties.

Drinks, Food And Conversation Were The First Things On The Evenings Agenda

The reception which featured Governor Perry was held in Fred and Ginny Smith's home at the Riverwood Golf Club overlooking the Neuse River. People gathered and dined as we waited for the arrival of Governor Perry, the keynote speaker for the event.

No Name Tags But Plates Of Food - Think They Crashed The Party?

When the Governor arrived, Senator Smith met him and took him around to introduce him to some of the honored guests and dignataries.

First Pass Was Quick Introductions

Senator Fred Smith, Governor Rick Perry And Senator Harris Blake

Senator Fred Smith, Governor Rick Perry And Bill Boyd

Senator Fred Smith, Senate Candidate Ron Toppin And Governor Rick Perry

After a while it was announced that the formal event was about to get started and the crowd was asked to gather in the family room.

Enthusiastic "Friends Of Fred Smith"

Senator Fred Smith prepared the crowd by taking the opportunity to introduce some of the other dignataries who were present.

A Few Words From Former U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth

Fred spoke of his campaign, and shared some of the key points of things he wants to do for North Carolina. It was a short version of his standard goals for North Carolina as he recognized that everyone there had probably already heard it. These were after all the "Friends of Fred Smith" and they were already on board, so Fred moved to the key event of this night, Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Jennifer Crisson Listens Intently

Senator Fred Smith is a great host and made it his personal duty to introduce Governor Perry, telling the crowd how he met Governor Perry, how they hit it off, and some of the impressive accomplishments of the Governor.

Senator Fred Smith And His Wife Ginny

Governor Rick Perry Of Texas

Rick Perry is an impressive man. His sense of authority reminds people of other famous westerners like John Wayne and Barry Goldwater. He is interesting, articulate and confident, and his speech reflected all those things. The points that he made focused on Border Security, Education, Job Growth and Tort Reform.

He said on Border Security, “There can be no Homeland Security without border security. If the Federal Government won’t act to protect the Texas border, I will.” He means it too.

He also means to improve education for the children of Texas, and though they are spending more money, Rick feels “The path to opportunity begins in the classroom. To get results, we not only need more money for education – we need more education for our money.”

Like all Republicans who recognize the power of the free enterprise system, Rick says “Having a job means security for a family, hope for their children’s future and a chance at the American dream.” He thus is working to reduce taxes and regulation and focused on bringing business to Texas. He made a great point that though Texas competes with North Carolina, that we both should embrace that competition as that makes both of us stronger.

Texas has also been the leader in Tort Reform, changing the rules so that companies cannot be sued for outrageous sums for minor, or sometimes no, transgression.

It was a powerful speech, and afterwards, as usual, everyone circulated until the evening started to wear down. It is easy to tell when that point is reached as that is when people started looking for places to sit!

Paige Forrester Takes A Break

It was a really great event and everyone seemed quite pleased as the evening wound down. Even the campaign volunteers stuck around until the very end, even after their jobs were done. A special thank you to Fred and Ginny, as well as Governor Perry, for having this great evening!

Crista Good - Hanging In