Rick Perry seems to be taking a tough position against government support for renewable fuels:

Not satisfied with that answer, Iowa Corn Growers Association president Dean Taylor tried again, stepping to the microphone to ask if Perry as president would support the renewable fuel standard that’s currently the law.

Perry answered: “Here’s my position on this issue again. I go back to ridding you of the regulations.

“The oil and gas industry will be asked the same thing. Would you rather have the subsidies, incentives, whatever you want to call them or would you rather have a government that actually removed the regulations?

“Think about what the EPA costs you every day in this country. What it costs John Deere. What it costs every manufacturing plant.

“Would you rather have those removed or would you rather have the government say, ‘We’re going to give this industry this tax credit and this industry that tax credit.’ That’s the federal government picking winners and losers.

He goes onto encourage them to compete in a free market and believes that they can do so absent what he labels ‘regulations.’ It isn’t clear exactly which specific regulations Perry is referring to in this instance, as its a sure bet that the ethanol industry is a net beneficiary from governmental regulations. Nonetheless, it is rare for a Presidential candidate to take what many would consider a principled stance on an issue that is important to Iowan voters. And as far as energy policy, removing governmental support for renewable fuels is a no-brainer for free marketers.

As governor, Rick Perry had previously attempted to remove Texas from the Renewable Fuel Standard.