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Who is Rick Perry? Ex-guv asks Texans to bear power outages to keep feds out, slammed as 'heartless b*****d'

Perry's remarks asking Texans to endure frigid temperatures simply as a sacrifice for their state did not go down well with most

Former Texas governor Rick Perry is earning severe backlash for his remark that Texans are prepared to go for days without power if that helps keep federal regulators away from the state's power grid. 

"Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business. Try not to let whatever the crisis of the day is take your eye off of having a resilient grid that keeps America safe personally, economically, and strategically," Perry has remarked, in a blog published on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's website. Texans are furious at Perry's comments, as they are saying, "Rick Perry can go to hell".

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Who is Rick Perry?

James Richard Perry, who was born into a family of cotton farmers in Haskell, Texas, went on to serve as the 47th Governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. From 2017 to 2019, he also served as the US Secretary of Energy under the Trump regime. 

In his youth, Perry graduated from Texas A&M University in 1972 and went on to serve in the US Air Force where he achieved the Captain rank. He left the Air Force in 1977 and prepared to join politics. Originally joining the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives till 1991. Meanwhile, he switched to the opposition Republican Party and got elected as the Agriculture Commissioner of the state. He was also Texas's first Republican Lieutenant Governor since the Reconstruction era.

It must be mentioned here that his father Joseph Ray Perry was a Democrat who served as the Haskell County Commissioner. As a matter of fact, Perry's interest in politics sprouted after his father took him to the funeral of US Representative Sam Rayburn.

Perry was instated as the Governor of Texas in 2000, after the erstwhile governor George W. Bush vacated the post after becoming President. The true-blue Texan was the longest-serving Governor in the history of Texas, as he was re-elected three consecutive times. During his stint as a Governor, Perry enacted conservative policies like abortion restrictions, expansion of gun rights, and also conservative fiscal policies. He is staunchly religious and believes that those who do not accept Jesus will go to hell, as he remarked in 2006, reported the Dallas Morning News. 

Initially disapproving of Trump's Presidential nomination, Perry himself ran for president twice - in 2012 as well as 2016, both times faring unsuccessfully. 

In his personal life, he is married to his childhood sweetheart Mary Anita Thigpen, with whom he shares two children - Griffin and Sydney. 

Internet says 'bet Rick Perry isn't cold'

Perry's remarks for Texans to endure frigid temperatures simply as a sacrifice for their state did not go down well with most, reports Houston Chronicle. One social media user tweeted: "I'd like to congratulate Rick Perry on moving up several spots in the "Most Heartless Bastards of 2021" rankings."

He is being slammed vehemently for his insensitive comments, especially when he himself is residing comfortably indoors with power, as people speculate.  "I’m currently on my cakewalk wheel of anger and I was alternating between ERCOT and Greg Abbott mostly and then Rick Perry had to go and open his word hole," tweeted a user while seething in anger against Rick Perry. 

"I have a lot of friends who live in Texas, and NONE of them agree with Rick Perry on this one," said a user from outside Texas.

Another user did not hold back on the meme game. "Yes! The Panhandle and El Paso are connected to other grids, but the rest of us are stuck in Rick Perry's go-it-alone, we-don't-need-no-help-from-no-one grid. Keeping warm with dogs and candles, and hoping for all this to be over with soon!" - the frustration is evident, and quite justified, in this Texan's tweet.

"Bet Rick Perry isn’t cold," tweeted another user, reflecting the thoughts of many other Texans like them. Another said, "I bet Rick Perry has a working genie to light & heat his house." "Nefarious Rick Perry. How rich is he off dark money donors and shady energy deals?" wrote another user.

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.