Rick Perry Pulls a Fast One on Farmers

At an appearance at Iowa's State Fair on August 15, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry claimed the federal government is stifling job creation. To emphasize his point, he told fairgoers that the federal government was planning to make farmers who drive tractors across a public road obtain a commercial driver's license. Citing what he called an "obscene, crazy" regulation, Perry said, "If you are a tractor driver, if you drive a tractor across a public road, you're going to have to have a commercial driver's license. Now how idiotic is that?" But the statement was a lie. After Perry made the claim, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a statement making it clear that the government will not require tractor drivers to obtain commercial licenses. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood -- a Republican -- issued a statement saying “We have no intention of instituting onerous regulations on the hardworking farmers who feed our country and fuel our economy.” Candice Tollier, speaking for the U.S. DOT, confirmed to the Des Moines Register that "We are absolutely not requiring farmers" to obtain commercial licenses. Even the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chimed in to debunk Perry's erroneous statement. Ann Ferro of the agency, moving to assure the public that Perry's statement was untrue, said “We want to make crystal clear that we are not imposing any new regulations.”