Speaking Of Pandering: Rick Perry Goes After Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, “War On Religion”

December 7, 2011 by Jack Jamison 1 Comment

The “war on religion” theme is a drum that Fox (and so I assume the GOP king-makers) have been banging for some time, and I think Perry just co-opted it. Luke Johnson in the Huffington Post reports:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry pledges to end “[President Barack] Obama’s war on religion” in a new television ad airing in Iowa, railing against open service of gays and lesbians in the military and the prohibition against prayer in public schools.

“I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Christian,” says Perry. “But you don’t need to be in the pews every Sunday to know that there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”

“As president, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion and I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage,” the Texas governor continues. “Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again.”

(via Rick Perry Goes After Obama Over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.)

Really Rick? Our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas? Still, it’s a genius twist to connect Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to prayer in public schools in one sentence. I’m sure Perry couldn’t have come up with it himself; he must have really Machiavellian advisers.

All the buzzwords are there, and Perry is certainly more Christian than Newt Gingrich. Will it be enough to make GOP voters forget all his gaffes? Pandering to the Christian right might bump his numbers in the polls, but remember Iowa is a state that legalized marriage equality. I wonder if enough Iowans get the hypocrisy of not letting gays serve openly too. But then, as P.T. Barnum once said, “Nobody ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence or taste of the American public.” Or lost votes.