Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on Republicans in Congress to "hold their ground" in negotiations with Democrats to end the government shutdown, but acknowledged that both sides must be willing to "get together and negotiate" like state lawmakers do on their budget decisions.
"Get together and negotiate. That's what we do in the states. The Democrats, Republicans. We get together. And, we find solutions to these issues. Washington doesn't seem to want to," the former Republican presidential candidate said Tuesday on "Fox & Friends."
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"The president of the United States and the Senate hold the cards here. We understand that. And, the Republicans are going to have to hold their ground and get as much as they can," Perry added.
He urged President Barack Obama, who had been unwilling to negotiate prior to last weekend, to take the lead in ending the two-week-old shutdown.
"Hopefully, the president will quit making people suffer, and will work towards finding a negotiated settlement, if you will, that's in the best interests of the people of this country," he said.
Perry suggested that the president and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had prolonged the shutdown to help keep the focus off Obamacare and "what an absolute disaster this rollout is."
"I would suggest to you the president of the United States and Harry Reid are more interested in this political theater, because they don't want the focus to be on Obamacare," the governor said.
"When you really dig down into Obamacare, you find out it's going to be a huge job killer," he added.
With states showing improved economic conditions and Washington in gridlock, Perry suggested that America may soon begin thinking about shifting more power away from the federal government to the states.
"Washington is not looked upon well by the people of this country," he said. "I would suggest to you that the conversation of making Washington as inconsequential as we can, going forward, is going to start picking up more and more support."
Urgent: Should GOP Stick to Its Guns on Obamacare? Vote Here.
"People are going to look to the states, red state vs. blue state policies, as the laboratories of innovation across this country," Perry continued. "That is, I think, the future of this country."
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