Perry stumps in Odessa

Texas Gov. Rick Perry stopped in Odessa Monday, a day after his much-hyped campaign appearance with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin near Houston (which came a day after her much-hyped speech before the national "tea party" convention).

With the March 2 primary three weeks away, Perry visited the South Forty Catering Company before attending a fundraiser at the home of Dr. Jay B. Naidu.

"You know who you look like? Piper Palin," Perry told a young redheaded seated close to where he spoke at South Forty, referring to the 8-year-old daughter of the former Alaska governor.

Perry, who is seeking a third full term, spoke to the audience of around 40 for about an hour, discussing the issues he hopes will separate him from the Republican primary challenges of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Chairwoman Debra Medina. Polls have regularly shown Perry ahead in the race.

Citing a bill passed in the 2009 state legislative session that would provide incentives for filmmakers to produce movies in Texas, which looks to lure them away form states like New Mexico and Louisiana, Perry said it was important for states to be able to compete with each other, rather than relying on aid from Washington. And he saved much of his criticism for President Barrack Obama’s administration.

"This administration is not about creating jobs, it is all about trying to make us dependant on government," Perry said. "He personally is still a popular man, his policies are really upside down."

Though he said nothing about his opponents in the governor’s race, Perry predicted losses for Democrats in November.

"Sometimes you have to be dangled over the abyss before you really wake up," he said. "Americans are starting to wake up to what this administration and this Congress are doing."

Perry spent time comparing Texas to states that have been hit hard by the recent recession, such as Michigan and California. He said the policies he helped put forward have led to Texas being the No. 1 destination for relocation for three consecutive years.

Perry said he would work on all different types of energy projects for the state (except for corn-based ethanol), including wind, nuclear and clean coal.

He said he would work to ensure that the Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies assist with Summit Power Group Inc.’s $1.75 billion integrated coal gasification plant that is planned for Penwell.

"We’re going to be very engaged," he said, pointing to the state’s assistance when the same Penwell site and one in Jewett in East Texas competed unsuccessfully for the FutureGen project.

"Any legitimate form of energy, we need to be supporting in Texas, including clean coal," he said.

Perry ripped the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and explained the attached "strings" that led him to turn down $550 million in federal stimulus money for extended unemployment benefits. He claimed that stimulus money had yet to produce a single job.

But, he said he is OK with projects like the Summit plant and Duke Energy’s Notrees Wind Farm between Odessa and Kermit receiving stimulus funds.

"I look at it program by program," he said. "If it does not have strings attached that will cost Texas money in the out years or jobs, I do not have a problem spending money on that.

"We don’t get back as much money as we send up there, so the idea that we would not take money without strings attached is ridiculous."

The 400-megawatt Summit project, which is designed to capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide it produces, which will then be sold for enhanced oil recovery, was jumpstarted by a $350 million stimulus-backed Clean Coal Power Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The project looks to hire over 1,000 workers during construction and 150 once it opens in 2014.

Duke’s Notrees Wind Farm, meanwhile, received $21.8 million in stimulus money for large-scale batteries designed to help store wind energy.

While the governor’s Odessa visit didn’t include Sarah Palin, Perry wasn’t the only governor at South Forty. Gov. Jorge Sapag of the Neuquén province in Argentina was in town to tour the Duke wind farm. He said he chose that site because Duke has hydroelectric projects in Argentina.

"The United States and particularly Texas are leading in this type of alternative energy," he said.

Sapag said that he found "kind people, warm people," in West Texas.

"I enjoy too seeing the Super Bowl," he said.

Margie Clements of Odessa, one of the South Forty event’s attendees, said Perry has her vote.

"I think he’s a good leader for the state of Texas, and he refused the stimulus package," she said. "That’ll cause our younger generation to have a debt to pay off."

Perry on:

>> Water desalinization: "Water is the same way as energy. We need to look at all of our options. All of the above."

>> Charter schools: "I am for school choice. I have always been for school choice. I have no doubt that public schools would be even better if we had that competition."

>> Abortion: "I’m the most pro-life governor that’s ever served in Texas.

"When the constitution talks about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it really means life, and that life starts at conception."

>> Federal health care legislation: "The bill that they are talking about, I want to fail. I don’t have a problem with making health care more affordable, but the bill they are talking about is certainly not the way."

>> How residents can stand up for themselves: "Go to a tea party."