U.S. Sen. David Perdue on Saturday told several hundred Tea Party activists here that the United States cannot stand another four years of Democratic rule.
“I don’t care who the final candidate is,” Perdue told the S.C. Tea Party Coalition Convention. “We’ve got to make sure our candidate wins this year. I don’t know if our Republic can stand another four years. We have to make sure Hillary Rodham Clinton has not one more night in our White House.”
It was the climax applause line to a 20-minute speech that focused mostly on the national debt, national security and the gridlock that plagues D.C.
The Georgia Republican was one of only four politicians not running for president on the convention agenda. Two of the others are locals: U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan and Attorney General Alan Wilson. The third is U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows from neighboring North Carolina.
His speech Saturday was the latest in a string of appearances before conservative political groups. In June, he was the only non-presidential candidate to speak to the Faith and Freedom Coalition and to the Americans For Prosperity convention in August. That kind of schedule — major speeches surrounded by presidential candidates — has already led to speculation that Perdue could be a potential running mate for the eventual GOP nominee.
While Perdue on Saturday did nothing to fan or extinguish those flames, he did start off by declaring, “I’m not running for anything.”
His outsider message went over well with crowd that had come to hear GOP front-runners U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and billionaire Donald Trump.
“I’ve been up there a year,” Perdue said. “It’s perverse how broken it is. We’re up against a political class. Sixty United States senators have been in elected office up there for more than 20 years. Thirty-six been in elected office up there one way or another for 30 years. There’s our problem. We’ve got to change that.”
Afterward, Perdue said he understands what is driving the tea party members at the convention.
“I know what a lot of these people are concerned about,” he said. “I share their concerns. It’s what pulled me into this crazy political universe in the first place, so I was very energized by the crowd, they’re all very active, grassroots folks trying to change the direction of our country.”
But, Perdue said it’s also important that the message be delivered in a manner that encourages solution, not one that generates more divisiveness.
“It’s the question of the next 10 months,” he said. “I’m in business. You can’t afford to just be mad. You have to be constructive. It’s one thing to be concerned, it’s another to be involved in the solution.”
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