Texas Gov. Rick Perry linked the governance styles and positions of rival Mitt Romney and President Obama as one in the same, arguing that voters are looking for a leader capable of distinguishing his or her policy from that of the administration in the White House.

“As Republican voters decide who’s going to be best suited for this country and to take it in a new direction by stopping the spending spree and the scraping of ‘Obamacare,’ I’m confident that we’re going to choose a nominee that has governed with conservative principles, not one whose health care policies paved the way for ‘Obamacare, ‘a path that blazed this world with higher premiums and with the loss of thousands of jobs,” Perry said in a speech this morning at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation Legislative Policy Briefing in Atlanta, Ga.

“I knew when I got into this race that I had my hands full fighting President Obama’s big government agenda. I just didn’t think it would be in the Republican primary.”

Although it was his first domestic policy speech of the campaign, Perry did not offer any specific policy proposals, but instead focused on Texas’ low taxes, lightening of regulations and advances in tort reform, which, he said, has attracted 23,000 doctors to the state of Texas and provided greater access to health care. The Texas governor acknowledged that his long record in the Lone Star State holds some controversy but argued it’s an asset, showing he’s willing to take a risk.

“I’ve got a lengthy record, and sometimes it ruffles people’s feathers but sometimes you have to shake up the system,” he said. ”Sometimes you have to look people in the face and say here is what’s broken, and here is the solution for getting that problem fixed and here’s the way to get America back on track, and I’m not running from my record.”

Although he never cited him by name, Perry opened a new line of attack on Romney, attempting to knock the former Massachusetts governor for his environmental record, comparing Massachusetts’ work on clean air against that of Texas, which he set as a leader in the area.

“In Texas, we’ve cleaned up the air while creating jobs and adding millions in population. Another state -Massachusetts - was one of the first states to implement its own cap-and-trade program which included limits on carbon emissions for power plants,” Perry said.

While Perry shed light on Massachusetts’ implementation of a cap-and-trade program, he failed to mention that it was Romney’s successor, Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, not Romney, who signed cap and trade into effect

Perry’s speech marked his first public appearance in Georgia.  He came to the Peach State earlier in the week to raise money before the end of the fundraising quarter.  Perry could not help but joke with the audience about Texas A&M’s entrance into the

Texas Gov. Rick Perry linked the governance styles and positions of rival Mitt Romney and President Obama as one in the same, arguing that voters are looking for a leader capable of distinguishing his or her policy from that of the administration in the White House.

“As Republican voters decide who’s going to be best suited for this country and to take it in a new direction by stopping the spending spree and the scraping of ‘Obamacare,’ I’m confident that we’re going to choose a nominee that has governed with conservative principles, not one whose health care policies paved the way for ‘Obamacare, ‘a path that blazed this world with higher premiums and with the loss of thousands of jobs,” Perry said in a speech at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation Legislative Policy Briefing in Atlanta, Ga.

“I knew when I got into this race that I had my hands full fighting President Obama’s big government agenda. I just didn’t think it would be in the Republican primary.”

Although it was his first domestic policy speech of the campaign, Perry did not offer any specific policy proposals, but instead focused on Texas’ low taxes, lightening of regulations and advances in tort reform, which, he said, has attracted 23,000 doctors to the state of Texas and provided greater access to health care. The Texas governor acknowledged that his long record in the Lone Star State holds some controversy but argued it’s an asset, showing he’s willing to take a risk.

“I’ve got a lengthy record, and sometimes it ruffles people’s feathers but sometimes you have to shake up the system,” he said. ”Sometimes you have to look people in the face and say here is what’s broken, and here is the solution for getting that problem fixed and here’s the way to get America back on track, and I’m not running from my record.”

Although he never cited him by name, Perry opened a new line of attack on Romney, attempting to knock the former Massachusetts governor for his environmental record, comparing Massachusetts’ work on clean air against that of Texas, which he set as a leader in the area.

“In Texas, we’ve cleaned up the air while creating jobs and adding millions in population. Another state -Massachusetts - was one of the first states to implement its own cap-and-trade program which included limits on carbon emissions for power plants,” Perry said.

While Perry shed light on Massachusetts’ implementation of a cap-and-trade program, he failed to mention that it was Romney’s successor, Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, not Romney, who signed cap and trade into effect

Perry’s speech marked his first public appearance in Georgia.  He came to the Peach State earlier in the week to raise money before the end of the fundraising quarter.  Perry could not help but joke with the audience about Texas A&M’s joining the Southeastern Conference.

“My wife said do not go to Georgia and do not say anything that could in the least bit be controversial.  I was going to promise that I wasn’t going to say a word about the Aggies coming into the SEC,” Perry said to laughter.

Perry heads to New Hampshire for the weekend where he will participate in two town halls and attend a reception at the home of New Hampshire kingmaker, Ovide Lamontagne.

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“My wife said do not go to Georgia and do not say anything that could in the least bit controversial.  I was going to promise that I wasn’t going to say a word about the Aggies coming into the SEC,” Perry said to laughter.

Perry heads to New Hampshire for the weekend where he will participate in two town halls and attend a reception at the home of New Hampshire kingmaker, Ovide Lamontagne.