Cal Thomas‘ latest column probes Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s potential presidential bid:

Perry’s job creation record is formidable. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 32,000 new jobs were created in Texas in June, more than in any other state. Proving his policies were not a one-off, between June 2010 and June 2011 Texas added 220,000 new jobs, again more than the other “57 states,” as President Obama might say.

Perry sees the momentum that put the House back in Republican control and also narrowed the Senate Democratic majority carrying over into the 2012 election: “I don’t see it out of the realm of possibility to pick up another 20 to 30 House seats and a majority of 60 Republican senators and a consistent conservative president to really make a difference.”

He doesn’t make the connection, but this sounds like a criticism of fellow Texan George W. Bush for not being consistently conservative enough as president when he enjoyed a Republican congressional majority.

Perry is no “let’s all get along” conservative. He wants to make a political difference, mentioning the revival of the 10th Amendment, which guarantees states’ rights, as the way to reduce encroaching federal power:

“America is not going to move forward until we remove restrictions of over-taxation, over-regulation and over-litigation on the job creators and free them so the jobs can be created.

“This president is trying to engage in class warfare and shooting high-powered bullets at people who have corporate jets, but the bullets pass through those wealthy people and hit blue-collar workers who rely upon those wealthy individuals who risk the capital to create the jobs.”