# David Perdue

David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician and business executive who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Perdue was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Georgia in 2022.

## Quotes

* Now guys, I’m just a dumb business guy for right over that hill, right there, and I can tell you, that is a lie right out of the pit of hell.
** "Georgia Sen. David Perdue Speech Transcript at Trump Rally: Mocks & Mispronounces Kamala Harris’ Name" in REV (16 October 2020)
* But the most insidious thing that Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden are trying to perpetrate, and Bernie and Elizabeth and Kamala, or what? Kamala or Kamala or Kamala mala mala, I don’t know. Whatever. They’re trying to perpetrate a lie, and that is that socialism, this radical socialism that they’re trying to sell us, is better than our beloved democracy. We’re not going to let that stand.
** "Georgia Sen. David Perdue Speech Transcript at Trump Rally: Mocks & Mispronounces Kamala Harris’ Name" in REV (16 October 2020)
* I need you to do one thing. Stand with me, stand with our President [ Donald Trump ], and let’s make damn sure that the road to socialism never runs through the state of Georgia. God bless you guys.
** "Georgia Sen. David Perdue Speech Transcript at Trump Rally: Mocks & Mispronounces Kamala Harris’ Name" in REV (16 October 2020)
* We need to create a new beginning by dealing with the very real crisis of leadership we face today. It’s why I ran for the Senate in the first place because we need a new perspective in Washington.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* Like many Americans, I am outraged by Washington’s dysfunction, its fiscal irresponsibility, its lack of leadership in foreign policy, its intrusiveness and over reach, and its negative impact on hardworking Americans.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* I grew up in a small military town in Middle Georgia, working on our family’s farms. My mom and dad were public school teachers and I grew up modestly, like most people there. I worked my way through college and was blessed with a business career that took me from the factory floor to become a Fortune 500 CEO. My story is not unique. It is the American story. Only in America is this possible thanks to hard work and self-reliance. It’s called the American Dream and it’s our job to make sure it lasts. Many people today believe this dream no longer exists and that we need big government to provide us with more and more financial security. I disagree totally. I believe our best days lie ahead, but we have to act boldly if we are to save this dream and our very way of life.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* As an outsider to the political process, I am humbled by the privilege to serve my country as a U.S. Senator. I am sobered by the immense responsibility of representing the people of Georgia. And I am encouraged by the opportunities we have to solve this crisis of leadership and create a new beginning.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* To create a new beginning, we must get back to our founding principles, articulated in our Constitution, that created this miracle called America in the first place: economic opportunity, fiscal responsibility, limited government, and individual liberty. When government grows larger, individual liberty declines. I believe that our Founders were committed to the concept of citizen legislators and could not perceive of the potential rise of career politicians.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* The progressive policies of the past 100 years, and particularly the egregious policies of this current administration, have failed the very people they were intended to help: the working middle class. Instead, Washington has created a spiraling situation that will only take us deeper into debt. What’s worse, we have over $100 trillion in future unfunded liabilities related to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, federal pensions and interest on the federal debt.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* To create a new beginning, it’s time for this eminent body, the United States Senate, to rise above partisan politics and do the right thing. It starts with leadership. It starts with making hard choices. It starts with telling the American people the unvarnished truth. It starts with no longer kicking the can down the road. It starts with having the courage to actually solve these problems, independent of how it might affect our re-election chances.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* Let us fight to find common ground to create a new beginning, for our country, for people back home who are struggling, and for the future of our children and our children’s children.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* Our Founders got it right. They would remind us of that commitment and encourage us today to put our differences aside and work together to solve these sometimes overwhelming problems. Together, we can put our differences aside. Together, we can do the right thing. Together, we can create a new beginning.
** "Senator David Perdue Highlights 'Debt Crisis' in 1st Speech" (29 April 2015)
* There are basically two options. If you listen to what they say, China – they quote Confucius and they quote Sun Tzu all the time. I’m talking about the leader – the leadership now. Seven percent of the population of China are members of the Communist Party. And many of their leadership actually believes some of the propaganda that they put out today. But what they say – they quote Confucius a lot.
** "Morning Keynote: Fourth Annual China Power Conference China’s Power: Up for Debate" in CSIS (13 December 2019)
* So we had two options in China. One, I think we can enter into another cold war, and we can slip into that very easily. In fact, I’m not sure we’re not in the early days of that right now. A cold war with an arms race. And if we sit here and think that we’re going to win the next arms race the way we won the last one – by not firing a bullet and by outspending our adversary – I personally, as a financial guy, I just don’t see that happening if it’s mano a mano. With 1.4 million people – billion people, and we’ve got 300 and something. That’s not the answer. And the answer is, even if that were the case what we’ve got to do is basically build our number-one asset. And that’s our allies around the world.
** "Morning Keynote: Fourth Annual China Power Conference China’s Power: Up for Debate" in CSIS (13 December 2019)
* But the way I look at the world: There’s state-controlled countries and there are self-determination countries. Now, there are different forms of self-determination. There’s social democracies, like France. There’s representative democracies, like ours. But in self-determination it’s pretty clear, it’s a monolithic model. And that is, a few people get power, and they dictate to the rest of the people what their – what life is going to be about.
** "Morning Keynote: Fourth Annual China Power Conference China’s Power: Up for Debate" in CSIS (13 December 2019)
* But if we cooperate from the standpoint of economic development of the world – think about this: There are 80 million people, refugees, today roaming the face of the Earth. Eighty million. We’re generating the next generation of terrorists around the world today. We’re doing that, the West is. And so by not addressing that issue collectively it’s going to overwhelm us.
** "Morning Keynote: Fourth Annual China Power Conference China’s Power: Up for Debate" in CSIS (13 December 2019)
* I think we’re called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and yes, even our president. In his role as president I think we should pray for Barack Obama. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray like Psalms 109:8 says. It says, “Let his days be few, and let another have his office.”
** "David Perdue's Prayer for President Obama" in The Atlantic (11 June 2016)