Where in the World is Martha's Vineyard?

I have long been thinking that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is starting to come off as someone not particularly interested in his fellow Americans – unless of course, they are EXACTLY like he is. Unless they have lived the same exact life experience he has. I also believe strongly that unless he changes that perception, he will start to be looked upon as not-a-particularly-likable-guy. And that’s not going to fly.

From an interview he did on Laura Ingraham’s radio show Thursday:

During an interview on the Laura Ingraham radio show on Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry characterized the nation's capital as a "seedy place."

"Look, I am not an establishment figure, never have been and frankly I don't want to be," said the Texas governor. "I dislike Washington."

Former president Bill Clinton recently jabbed Perry over his posture toward the country's capital city.

“He’s saying ‘Oh, I’m going to Washington to make sure that the federal government stays as far away from you as possible -- while I ride on Air Force One and that Marine One helicopter and go to Camp David and travel around the world and have a good time,'" he said while speaking at a fire fighter’s conference in the Big Apple, according to the New York Observer. "I mean, this is crazy."

If I may take a moment to remind the good governor that should he become President, he will be the President of all the people – including the residents of Washington, DC. Including the residents of lots of places he probably doesn’t much care for. And that while plenty of people don’t like Washington DC, it is still a city full of people who want to serve their fellow citizens. A city populated by young folks who come to live there because they care about service to America. Even if you don’t exactly agree with them.

He seemingly has a problem with folks who frequent Martha’s Vineyard, too. Also from Laura Ingraham’s radio show.

As the smoke cleared, Perry offered a final parting shot. Asked by Ingraham to pledge that he would never vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Perry replied, "I'm not even sure where it is." Ingraham laughed and concluded, "That's good enough for me."

Not sure what’s worse – the prideful, anti-intellectualism associated with pretending to not care enough to know the geography of the country you want to lead, or the your-are-not-as-American-as-I-am meta-construct that just won’t seem to die.

I have said it before. Unless he is careful:  a divider, not a uniter.

Abstinence Works!

And why does abstinence work? Because I say so. Because I want it to work. Because I want you to believe in the exact same things I believe.

And that “I” would be none other than Republican-2012-Presidential-nominee-wannabee, Texas Gov. Rick Perry.



And for more on the Texas teen pregnancy rate, see here. And here. And here.

Rick Perry, Week One

Nice start.  In summary, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke should be tried for treason, and he's not so sure if the President loves his country.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry capped off his first full day of campaigning in Iowa on Monday by suggesting that if the Federal Reserve prints more money between now and November 2012 it would be akin to an act of treason.

“If this guy prints more money between now and the election,” Perry said, “I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous -- or treasonous in my opinion.”

And on President Obama's patriotism:



I guess having once suggested Texas should secede from the Union is neither treasonous, nor unpatriotic.

Can't wait until tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.

The “Political” Response to The Response

Rachel Maddow did two long segments on Wednesday night, making the argument that The Response, Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s prayer and fasting event last weekend in Houston was indeed a political event – despite the fact that he and his people, and much of the media branded it for the most part – as not.

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So, in short, not necessarily political because of a sense there was an overt mix of religion and politics. Not necessarily political because a sitting, elected official lead an event decidedly religious in nature.

Rather, political because of the nature of those who were involved in the event – those who supported it. Political in nature because those religious folks involved are themselves, well – political. Part of The New Apostolic Reformation, who believe that in order to get the world ready for the rapture, they must clear the way for it. To do this, in part, means taking over politics and government. Not just spiritual revival, but political revival.

And here, Rachel Maddow’s interview with Forrest Wilder, who just wrote the cover story for the Texas Observer on all this:

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A clip from the story. The emphasis is mine. You can read it in its entirety, here:

If they simply professed unusual beliefs, movement leaders wouldn’t be remarkable. But what makes the New Apostolic Reformation movement so potent is its growing fascination with infiltrating politics and government. The new prophets and apostles believe Christians—certain Christians—are destined to not just take “dominion” over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the “Seven Mountains” of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world. They believe they’re intended to lord over it all. As a first step, they’re leading an “army of God” to commandeer civilian government.

In Rick Perry, they may have found their vessel. And the interest appears to be mutual.

Watch the videos and read the story. You will get a very clear picture of who Texas Gov. Rick Perry is. And if you are the type who likes to look into the future, what his possible Presidential campaign might look like. It will be very, very interesting if he runs.

If he is elected – not so much.

In Response to The Response

In honor of the fact that it looks like this week Texas Gov. Rick Perry becomes an official 2012-Repubican-Presidential-nominee-wannabee, I watched his entire presentation at the prayer and fasting event he sponsored this weekend in Houston, The Response.


I think I now know everything I ever needed to know about Rick Perry. In reality, I don’t think his words were as much about dividing people against each other, as they were evidence of an inability – or lack of desire to – or interest in, bringing people of differing backgrounds together.

And you need to be able to the latter well, if you want to succeed on the national stage.

He will have to do much better than this.

Prayer, Fasting and Converts

Well, I suppose that if your main purpose is indeed to convert folks to Christianity, then purposely not inviting people of other faiths to your event is counter productive. From Sarah Posner, at Religion Dispatches:

Right Wing Watch reports that the spokesperson for The Response, Texas Governor Rick Perry's August prayerfest, admits that the event is intended to convert people to Christianity.

Eric Bearse, the event's spokesperson, took to American Family Radio to counter critics' charges that it was an exclusively Christian event, but said that "anyone who comes to this solemn assembly regardless of their faith tradition or background, will feel the love, grace, and warmth of Jesus Christ in that assembly hall, in that arena. And that’s what we want to convey, that there’s acceptance and that there’s love and that there’s hope if people will seek out the living Christ."

People for the American Way president Michael Keegan says Bearse's statement disproves Perry's claim that the event will be open to people of all faiths, and that his "behavior is inappropriate for any public official, much less one who is weighing a run for the presidency."

I maintain that if this event is not well attended, it will mark a serious stain on Gov. Perry’s yet unannounced bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even as he tries to distance himself from the hoopla. The emphasis is mine:

Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is widely expected to announce a presidential campaign later this month, plans to attend at a prayer and fasting event called "The Response" on Saturday despite criticism that the event inappropriately mixes religion and politics.

Perry's representatives said the governor will be at the event for the entire, seven-hour duration.

Perry himself has played down his involvement, saying at one point, "I may be ushering, for all I know."

Not to say that ushering is not a very important way to participate in religious worship, mind you.

For anyone wishing to counter Gov. Perry’s prayer and fasting event in Houston this weekend, there are many alternative events to attend. Check here!

Family, Faith and Freedom

So, so, so looking forward to seeing how many people actually show up at Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s prayer and fasting event, The Response, this weekend in Houston.

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When Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS) backs out on you, you know you are in trouble. Maybe because he isn’t that crazy about hearing his chosen religion characterized as a “godless theology of hate. “

And if you are in Houston this weekend, be sure to attend The “Family, Faith and Freedom” celebration which will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at Mount Ararat Baptist Church (5801 W. Montgomery Rd., Houston, TX) on the evening before “The Response.”

The Presidency or Prayer: The Rick Perry Edition

As of today, we still don’t know if Texas Governor Rick Perry is a real, bona fide 2012-Republican-Presidential-nominee-wannabe, or not. Fun to speculate, though.

Rick Perry sure looks like a presidential candidate.

The Texas governor and his top advisers are feeling out early-state Republican activists on the phone. He met for lunch in Austin Tuesday with former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Next week, he’ll join a group of top national Republican donors for dinner in the state capital, POLITICO has learned.

GOP governors and members of Congress, in not-for-attribution comments, and leading strategists like Karl Rove all say the same thing: Perry’s in.

So what’s the hold up?

Conventional wisdom might say that he's too busy promoting The Response, the Aug. 6th prayer and fasting event at Houston's Reliant Stadium that he initiated.  The event that is being hosted by The American Family Association.

The American Family Association's activism on behalf of conservative Christian values has earned it accolades from fans on the right, including Perry, who tapped the organization to finance and plan the Response, a seven-hour event of fasting and prayer in Houston's Reliant Stadium.

But the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the association a hate group for its unrelenting campaign against what the association calls the homosexual agenda, and left-leaning and secular watchdog groups regularly denounce the organization as a force for religious intolerance and censorship.

Aligning with the nonprofit association could solidify Perry's position as the most viable Christian right candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, if he were to run.

However, it also risks pigeonholing him as a one-dimensional candidate in the minds of voters, said Daniel Williams, author of "God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right."

"Christian right activists make up around one-third of Republican voters, and he also has to reach out to the other two-thirds," Williams said.

Perry turned to the Mississippi-based association because it is a "respected organization with a large following, and they have been an effective advocate for pro-family policies," said Eric Bearse, a former Perry speechwriter who is acting as spokesman for the event.

The event where only Christians will be permitted to speak.

Since the event was first announced in early June, organizers have suggested that it would be a great opportunity to convert non-Christians. Now, they've gone even further: According to an email blasted out by The Response, only Christians will be permitted to speak at the non-denominational event. If representatives of other faiths (particularly Muslims) were to be included, the email noted, such inclusion would promote "idolatry." In a message sent out under The Response's official letterhead, Allan Parker, one of Perry's organizers, described the event in less-than-ecumenical terms:

This is an explicitly Christian event because we are going to be praying to the one true God through His son, Jesus Christ. It would be idolatry of the worst sort for Christians to gather and invite false gods like Allah and Buddha and their false prophets to be with us at that time. Because we have religious liberty in this country, they are free to have events and pray to Buddha and Allah on their own. But this is time of prayer to the One True God through His son, Jesus Christ, who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

The event other governors -- Rick Perry invited ALL his contemporaries -- are not itching to RSVP to.

And here is Gov. Perry himself, with the invite:


Gov. Perry's Invitation to The Response from The Response USA on Vimeo.

Political wisdom, is telling me that Gov. Rick Perry is flying a new trial balloon. Prayer as public policy. Prayer as intervention not only on social issues -- we are after all used to hearing that we can pray away homosexuality and such, but prayer as a genuine public policy imperative.  Because, as Gov. Perry says in his video, we need prayer to do, what elected officials can't.  We need prayer because of the limitations faced by our elected officials.  We need prayer to fix what is spiritual in nature.  We need prayer to fix the economy.  Wow.

I have long been interested in how the 2012 crop of Republican candidate-wannabees would sell their conservative stripes vise-a-vie social issues, as related to fixing the economy.  Because after all, if it's all about the economy, they will have to convince the American public that gay marriage and abortion are well, bad for the economy.  Mike Huckabee gave it a try, with his recently published book and now it's left to Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann to take up the mantle.  But the entire concept of the economy as a fundamentally spiritual issue that therefore needs an intervention other than one that has been traditionally provided for by our elected officials within a public policy realm, is a whole new ball of wax.

The economy as a spiritual issue that is best handled through prayer.  Because government can't do it alone.  Wow.

For more background, watch last night's piece from The Rachel Maddow Show.

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Now of course, if we think this (to some extent) hasn't been tried before, we're wrong.  At least some aspects, anyway.  Anyone remember 1980?  By Sarah Posner, over at Religion Dispatches:

At Ethics Daily, a site founded by the moderate Baptist Center for Ethics, contributing editor Brian Kaylor last month broke what was probably the most under-noticed religion story of the campaign season. He reported that a group of about 80 pastors and other conservative Christian leaders met in Texas, under the direction of televangelist James Robison, to continue to plot what Kaylor describes as a "behind-the-scenes strategy" to defeat Barack Obama in 2012.

In the second part of his two-part article, Kaylor reported:

A group of pastors and other conservative Christian leaders from across the country continue to plan their behind-the-scenes strategy to defeat President Obama in 2012.

However, the group does not seem likely to support a Republican during the primary race or even reach a consensus as to which candidate should receive the Republican nomination.

The group is connected to Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry's plan for a large prayer rally in August.

Kaylor emailed me yesterday, after reading my post on how Perry's effort was reminiscent of Robison's role in mobilizing conservative Christians in support of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George W. Bush in 2000. Kaylor wrote, "You were correct to connect the news about Perry’s phone call with Robison’s effort in 1980. In fact, the connection is much stronger."

It is well worth reading the two-part series at Ethics Daily, here and here.  Southern Baptist evangelist James Robison is the same man who in 1979, led a secret meeting in Dallas and began the plot to defeat President Jimmy Carter.  The ghost of Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority.

Running for President, or promoting prayer? Guess it's the same thing.

Praying For Rain

From the Office of Texas Governor Rick Perry:

Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas

Thursday, April 21, 2011  •  Austin, Texas  •  Proclamation

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME:

WHEREAS, the state of Texas is in the midst of an exceptional drought, with some parts of the state receiving no significant rainfall for almost three months, matching rainfall deficit records dating back to the 1930s; and

WHEREAS, a combination of higher than normal temperatures, low precipitation and low relative humidity has caused an extreme fire danger over most of the State, sparking more than 8,000 wildfires which have cost several lives, engulfed more than 1.8 million acres of land and destroyed almost 400 homes, causing me to issue an ongoing disaster declaration since December of last year; and

WHEREAS, these dire conditions have caused agricultural crops to fail, lake and reservoir levels to fall and cattle and livestock to struggle under intense stress, imposing a tremendous financial and emotional toll on our land and our people; and

WHEREAS, throughout our history, both as a state and as individuals, Texans have been strengthened, assured and lifted up through prayer; it seems right and fitting that the people of Texas should join together in prayer to humbly seek an end to this devastating drought and these dangerous wildfires;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and have officially caused the Seal of State to be affixed at my Office in the City of Austin, Texas, this the 21st day of April, 2011.

RICK PERRY
Governor of Texas

For no reason other than that Texas has a history of well, praying.  As a state and as individuals.  Humbly.

Good luck with that one, folks.

Filling In The Gap, Texas-Style

By all accounts, public education in Texas is a big mess. Big cuts in services to children are coming down the pike. And what does former First Lady Barbara say about it in the Houston Chronicle? First, blame the parents. Second, let’s all get out of this mess by volunteering.

Let's start with the parents.

Some parents forget they are their children's first teachers, and the home is the first school. When our kids come home from school, do they read a book, or do they sit glued to the television or the Internet? Do they see us reading? Do we eat together, or does everybody "grab a bite" and dash out the door? Do we talk and listen? Do we help with homework? Are we active in the PTA? Do we make sure we attend all parent-teacher conferences, or do we use work as an excuse to skip out occasionally? It's easier to be a lazy parent than a good parent, but with parenthood comes responsibility and accountability.

Many parents face daunting challenges - health and financial issues, single parenthood, or a poor educational background. They need our help.

There are wonderful programs such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters that try to make sure every student who needs one has a mentor. I know several business and government leaders who donate one lunch hour a week to tutor a student, and others who give time to after-school programs. But the need is always greater.

That is why business and church leaders, parents and grandparents, friends and neighbors all must become partners in the education of our children. The best place to start: The school you likely drive by every single day on your way to work or the grocery store or the golf course. My guess is the people inside could use your help.

Of course, there is no doubt that parents should be involved in their children’s education. And volunteering is a very good thing. But as someone who has been peripherally involved in issues of pre-school public education for many years, I can tell you there is a BIG elephant in the room. Many schools don’t even have their act together enough to guide parents adequately in how to be effective partners in educating their children. And yes, some parents are so disgusted by the state of what they see, that they simply don’t believe they can do anything to help. Same for volunteers – when we spend our spare time on something other than ourselves, not only do we want to feel that we are really doing something, we want to have a pleasant time while doing it. We have choices about where we spend our time, and the fact that we have that choice will influence whether we stick around long-term with a volunteer gig.

Reading the whole article is well worth your time. The tone is very disturbing. I guess Barbara Bush does not understand that indeed, some parents have to “grab a bite” and dash out the door because working at night is the only option they have in order to put that bite on the table. And yes, some people have to miss that parent-teacher conference out of fear they will lose the little work they have, if they even ask for a few hours off of the job. And how about those grandparents who will have to trade in the prospect of volunteering for a few more years of working, thanks to the fear that the Social Security retirement age will be raised?  And let’s not forget about the rest of us, who spend endless hours driving to and from the golf course…

And sorry, while volunteerism is a wonderful thing, it will not get Texas – or the rest of America – out of the mess we are in. The former First Lady seems to insinuate that Texas can be on the forefront of some sort of “reform movement” that is driven by volunteerism.

At $27 billion, the budget gap in Texas is more than twice what it was expected to be. Nearly one in four children in Texas live below the poverty line. And in response, Governor Perry plans to gut services to children by $10 billion dollars.

Sorry, Mrs. Bush, but no amount of PTA meetings and rich folks trading in golfing for mentoring is going to make up for that.