While Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry received great attention in 2009 for contemplating the idea of secession for his state, he is now firmly opposed.The issue rose to the forefront as more than 60,000 signatures have been put on a petition for Texas’ secession that appears on the White House web site We The People.“Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union, and nothing should be done to change it,” his spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told the Dallas Morning News in a statement “But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government.” States must lead the way, the statement says — “states like Texas that are making tough decisions to live within their means, keep taxes low, and provide opportunities to job creators so their citizens can provide for their families and prosper.”States must fight “Washington’s tax-and-spend, one-size-fits-all mindset that jeopardizes our children’s future, undermines our personal liberties, and drives our nation down a dangerous path to greater dependence of government,” the statement says.Perry, who dropped out of this year’s presidential race after a series of blunders, has expressed interest in running again. “I think we said the door was going to be left open, but there is a lot of work that has to be done: 2016 is multiple lifetimes away,” he told reporters Thursday, according to the Houston Chronicle.