Gov. Rick Perry is set to unveil his jobs plan Friday, and the campaign says it will be strongly tied to U.S. energy production.

Photo courtesy of KUT News

Some observers see a little bit of Green under Rick Perry's Red State politics.

Perry had energy at the front of his mind several times at the most recent GOP debate. In New Hampshire this week, talking about how he would get the U.S. economy back on track, he advocated “opening up a lot of the areas of our domestic energy area.”

Answering a question on political gridlock in Washington, he said, “It’s time for energy independence.”

On how to insure uninsured Americans: “That’s why I lay out, without having any congressional impact at all, how to get our energy industry back to work.”

And on dealing with Chinese currency manipulation: “We’re sitting on this absolute treasure trove of energy in this country.”

It’s no surprise that Perry sees domestic oil drilling and energy development as central to America’s economic recovery. After all, says David Spence at the University of Texas’ Energy Management and Innovation Center, it’s worked pretty well in Texas. Continue Reading →