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At Texas GOP Convention, Rick Perry Bashes Washington, While Looking Ahead To 2016

Bob Daemmrich
/
Texas Tribune
Gov. Rick Perry gave a farewell speech at the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth on Thursday.

Gov. Rick Perry has kicked of his unofficial farewell tour to Texas politics by bashing Washington during a well-received speech at the state Republican convention in Fort Worth.

The longest-serving governor in Texas history focused more on the future and national issues than his political legacy at home. 

Though he isn't seeking re-election in November, Perry appears poised to mount a second presidential run for 2016. 

He told thousands of delegates that grassroots conservatives have already "changed Texas for the better" and urged them to do the same for America.  

The loudest cheers came when Perry called the new health care law "a failed scheme" and said the federal government shouldn't be allowed to trample states' rights.

Perry also said the Obama administration had left America "wandering in the economic wilderness."