Perry's 2010 Book Expresses 'Fringe Views'

Apparently, when Rick Perry wrote his book Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, he did not anticipate running for president. (As proof, see the passage where he explicitly states that he did not write the book “because I seek higher office.”) Now that he is running for president, however, views expressed in that book—including that, among other things, Social Security, federal food safety laws, minimum wages, child labor bans, environmental protections, Medicaid, and Medicare may be unconstitutional—are coming under scrutiny, notes the Los Angeles Times.

In the book, Perry refers to Social Security as “an illegal Ponzi scheme.” The idea that the program is unconstitutional “is a fringe view,” says one law professor. Another scholar says the views expressed in the book appeal more to Tea Party conservatives than “business conservatives.” But a campaign aide insists Perry, if elected president, would not look to slash Social Security but to make it “more stable and financially sound.” ThinkProgress also notes that Perry’s aides seem to already be disavowing his nine-month-old book, quoting his communications director, who said the book “is a look back, not a path forward.” Although Perry himself was pushing the book as recently as Sunday night, the site notes. (More Rick Perry stories.)