Gov. Rick Perry Our Next President?

[Dog Walker]

Jimmy Carter actually had a Phd in physics.  Just because he had that red-clay, Georgia accent didn't mean that he was uneducated.  Rick Perry got a C in gym and that was one of his highest grades...the lunkhead.

And yes, Rick Perry and his evangelical followers at this rally would very much like to see their narrow, pin-headed religious views made enforceable law of the land.  That is exactly what the Taliban did in Afghanistan and what the Saudi King has done in Saudi Arabia.

[ronchamblin]

     My objective in placing the NYT article about Perry was to illustrate the continuing pressure of religion into the political sphere where, if most intelligent individuals had their way, it would not be.  To attempt entering into a discussion about the left and the right, democrat and republican, liberal and conservative, and their definitions and dynamics of interaction, would leave me drowning in a sea of complexities I cannot begin to understand.  My attempt to do so would only show my ignorance, and would allow little profit to anyone. 

     In other words I find it difficult to believe that our political establishment is of such simplicity to allow for much credibility or sense to exist in what is often said in haste or rant about it.  And besides, there is so much said that is not true, that is said only for political gain at the expense of truth, so that I become confused as to what to believe, or how to interpret what is said; ultimately becoming discouraged about it all. 

     Our current political system seems to be a mix of greed, lies, self-centered lobbying, and power seeking; with only a few politicians of integrity, laboring through the hell of it all to make a difference in the direction of good for the common man.  It’s amazing that our judicial system, our government, cannot prosecute those individuals who, being worth perhaps 40 million dollars, are not satisfied with it, and in their machinations to be worth 40 billion, will screw over, by whatever possible means, the average man and woman who is strugglling week to week, just to pay the bills.

[NotNow]

Yes, there is an American Christian equivalent of the Taliban who would love to see their beliefs made into law and enforced on the rest of us.  Scary indeed.

DW, really?  Are you really comparing Americans who publicly proclaim their religious beliefs to the Taliban?  I am sure that you would withdraw that statement if you think about it.

[MusicMan]

Quote from RMHoward : "Funny how you leftists are terrified of folks like Perry who have actually been successful at presiding over a government.  And yet the current US regime led by the talking suit doesn't bother you one bit. Texas, an embarrassment?  Thats idiodic.  You people compare tea party folks to terrorists, and now compare Perry's religious views to being similar to the Taliban.  Like one of those comedians said; "You can't fix stupid".  How true.  You cant argue with them either.

RM, Thank you for posting your opinion. After all that is what a blog is for. I believe you represent about 10% (at most) of the voting population, on the far right of the political spectrum. However it also places you outside of the mainstream of our population at large. I just want you to realize that the reason "the talking suit" won in 2008 is because of the horrible job 'W' did as president. That's right, "your guy" was so bad a "talking suit" actually beat John McCain, the best know Republican in America, with the largest amount of votes ever cast for a Winner in any election in the good old USA.  66,882,230 Americans in fact.  Or is that 66,882,230 Leftists?

The reason Tea Party members of Congress have been described as Terrorists is that they publicly put a gun to the head of our country's economy and said "Give me everything I want or I'll shoot."  That's why.

And Texas? If it weren't for oil, Texas would be the world's largest sunburnt cow pie.

Finally, if the citizens of this country wanted a conservative evangelical Republican to be President we would be talking about Pres Huckabee not the "talking suit." 

Just a reality check for you from a "leftist."

P.S. Will you be upset if the "talking suit" gets re-elected?

[buckethead]

Whenever a candidate riles up the zealots, I smell pandering.

This time is no exception. I won't vote for him.

Would he be our first gay President?

[ronchamblin]

What's scary is to see how far our country has turned away for the God that has blessed us for so long. God bless Gov. Perry.

I completely agree with this statement,  But we have made tremendous gains over the past century towards getting back to a more moral country.

We stopped segregating blacks and whites, despite the Baptists who protested desegregation.

We stopped treating women like second class citizens.

We stopped looking the other way when thugs killed people simply for being gay or lesbian.

We quit ostracizing women for divorcing their abusive husbands.

We started taking care of the poorest and weakest amongst us, and we started providing for our elderly.

All in all not bad for only 60 years of progress.

Hopefully we will stop discriminating against people based on bigotry, racism, and ignorance altogether in our lifetime.  Hopefully we will treat mental illnesses as a curable disease, health care will be a basic human right and all people will be entititled to housing the way that every set of scriptures in the world prescribes.

I share your vision, Stephenc.

It would be amazing if mankind suddenly started treating each other with love and respect and compassion, in such a way that honors our creator.

Has some kind of god really blessed us?  Which one, as there have been many thousands through the centuries.  Apparently I've been too busy, and therefore unaware of this condition of being blessed.  How long has this been going on?  Do you have any evidence of this blessing activity?  Please place it upon this thread, as it seems to be a good thing, and I do not wish to miss any good thing.

The above repeats my earlier post, to which I must ask.....  creator?  If you mean nature, or laws of the universe, then, yes I agree, as there are high values and behaviors to which mankind should strive, to which nature guides us, so that we might ultimately survive as a species, so that we might live better lives as individuals and as part of all humanity on this planet. 

These are natural laws, pressures from nature, arriving within us from our ability to reason, and having high levels of morality which encourage the pressure of love, respect and compassion.  As you have said, many scriptures prescribe these values, but these scriptures are unfortunately associated in most cases with irrational religious connections and belief systems that carry the baggage of believing in mythologies and untruths that should have been dumped by mankind long ago.

I prefer to gain the guidance to good behavior and to a productive life from sources such as the experience of living, and from those wiser than me, that exclude the necessity of engaging the absurd teachings of a system frequently abusive to its followers not only by the extraction of monies in the excess, but also by espousing fictions, mythologies, and absurdities which should only insult the intelligence of those within hearing distance.

Our current political and financial predicament cannot be cured by having more believers in the virtue of hope and faith in some imaginary god who has never once in many thousands of years shown any evidence of existence, a god that was created, of necessity at the time, by the mind of man according to his needs and his ignorance.

Our future security and quality of life depends on having more people who have the courage to think for themselves, to think and behave with good reason, with objectivity, as nature has given the ability; and this, so that they might act and vote with good sense.  The continued cultivation of a culture of belief systems that should have gone from our midst with the end of the middle ages only offers evidence of a large group of self serving charlatans who should be ashamed of themselves for perpetuating a system which dupes vulnerable minds into believing a scenario of absurdities as taught by most religious systems.  Shame on Joel Osteen.  Shame on Jimmy Swaggart and his son Donnie.  Shame on Oral Roberts and his son Robert.  Shame on Jim Bakker.  Shame on Ted Haggard..... Pat Robertson...... Jerry Fallwall......and others. 

[vicupstate]

What's scary is to see how far our country has turned away for the God that has blessed us for so long. God bless Gov. Perry.

In all seriousness, how do you know that Perry isn't simply exploiting the religious beliefs of this country, for his own political benefit?  I'm not saying he is, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time someone has.  Don't you think at least a mustard seed of doubt is warranted, at least for some period of time?

[Dog Walker]

Yes, there is an American Christian equivalent of the Taliban who would love to see their beliefs made into law and enforced on the rest of us.  Scary indeed.

DW, really?  Are you really comparing Americans who publicly proclaim their religious beliefs to the Taliban?  I am sure that you would withdraw that statement if you think about it.

What I am saying is that there are religious zealots in this country who would like to impose their version of morality on everybody by law.  They would like the US to be a Christian theocracy.  They are not just "publicly proclaiming their religious beliefs" they are trying their best to get them enacted into law.

And yes, that is exactly what the Taliban did in Afghanistan, what the mullahs have done in Iran, and what the Kings have done in Saudi Arabia.  Muslims aren't the only people with an intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded version of their religion.

[NotNow]

StephenDare!,

Your reply is so...out of step...that I don't quite know how to reply.  If you have to go that far out of a discussion make some kind of point then perhaps it is not a good point.

DW,

While there certainly MAY be some Christians who wish to establish a Christian state, I am not aware of any organized movement to do so.  Since you seemed to be  referring to the article that leads off  the thread, I found your compariison (of the Christians referred to in the article) quite extreme.

To continue StephenDare!'s tone, I would hope that Christians (and all religions) can gather together and express their views without being called terrorist and other names in my lifetime.

I also find it interesting that a forum with many gay members continues to use homosexuality as a blunt instrument against others.  I find the tactic....reprehensible.

[KuroiKetsunoHana]

How would you define 'leftist'.

Well, since you asked.  My definition of "leftist" especially as it pertains to this forum would be as follows:  If a Republican said the sky was blue, a leftists would argue tirelessly that the sky was any other color  than blue rather than be in the unenviable position of actually agreeing with the Republican.  A leftists would rather see the US fail at any endeavor led by a Republican President, whether it be war, economic health, etc. rather than see any credit given to that President, or his party.  A leftist will, in a heartbeat, call you a racist, homophobe or even a terrorist if you happen to disagree with this President's policies.  A leftists hates the thought of our international borders (especially the one with Mexico) being closed to anyone who wants to cross into our country.  A leftist will argue that: certainly the State of California should provide free college tuition (among other services) to the children of illegal immigrants just because they have been here forever, regardless of the fact that they 1.  cant afford it, and 2. its wrong, 3. the taxpayers foot the bill 4. children of legal immigrants are not given this.  A leftist will ignore the fact that unions in this country are out of control and hurting the competitiveness of our evil rich corporations.  Leftists will insist on continued exorbinate union benefits regardless of whether companies, states, local govts can afford them or not.  A leftist will insist on unending unemployment benefits for everyone.  If someone suggest otherwise, then they brand them as being uncaring or heartless. A leftist never accepts responsibility for his/her actions/policies and is skilled at shifting blame and will not hesitate to do so (talk to W about this).  There is no "the buck stops here" sign on current leftist desk.    So, now you hopefully have an idea of what my definition of what a leftist actually is.  Perhaps it doesnt match what you have been taught, or teach in your elitist circles.  And as for the word regime, I meant it in the negative way that it came across.  It fits nicely with the countless (how many) CZARs appointed by the talking suit that answer to no one and ride roughshod over all those evil wealthy corporations.

[copperfiend]

Rick Perry is basically GW Bush 2.0

[avonjax]

RMHoward you scare the Hell out of me too!!!!!
(;         (I'm laughing uncontrollably as I write this)   
(Cuz you really don't scare me.)
But I do have a question. Why do you guys hate the poor so much?

[Diderot]

"A Call to Prayer for A Nation In Crisis"??  How about this: have every church in America simply pay real estate taxes on their real estate holdings? That would be a huge help for a Nation in Crisis!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charitable and religious organizations which receive a 501(c)(3) tax exemption have a clear and simple choice to make: they can engage in religious activities and retain their exemption, or they can engage in political activity and lose it, but they cannot engage in political activity and retain their exemption.

What sane person would not recognize that the religious right has become deeply embroiled within the politics of our country? Their tax exempt status should be challenged.

[FayeforCure]

"A Call to Prayer for A Nation In Crisis"??  How about this: have every church in America simply pay real estate taxes on their real estate holdings? That would be a huge help for a Nation in Crisis!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charitable and religious organizations which receive a 501(c)(3) tax exemption have a clear and simple choice to make: they can engage in religious activities and retain their exemption, or they can engage in political activity and lose it, but they cannot engage in political activity and retain their exemption.

What sane person would not recognize that the religious right has become deeply embroiled within the politics of our country? Their tax exempt status should be challenged.

So agree. What's the hold-up?

Seems like challenging the powerful and ultra-wealthy is taboo in the US, but picking on the needy, elderly, sick and disabled is super fine.

End the war spending, and make the powerful and ultra-wealthy do their patriotic duty: Pay their taxes!!

Voila, deficit reduction of 70% or more!!

[NotNow]

so you would agree that there are different kinds of fundamentalists or are you trying to avoid that answer ?

Also, would you find it reprehensible that a person who is secretly a christian had been involved in efforts to make Christianity illegal?  What if you found out that they had even gone so far as to suggest that other christians should be imprisoned and/or beaten for practicing their faith?

What would you have to say to that kind of self hatred and loathing?

I am not trying to avoid anything.  Comparing a criminal act to what was going on in the news story is just stupid.  I would be interested in what Christian organization or church is involved in shooting congregants or establishing a "Christian" government.

Rather than dance around the gay issue, I would prefer we say things plainly.  Perry has clearly stated that he is opposed to legal gay marriage.  I am not aware of any stand that Perry has taken that calls for beating or imprisoning gays.  As for the claims that Perry is gay, I have already stated my opinion. 

I don't put any faith in our politicians generally, but I am constantly amazed at what political"opposition" will come up with.  This disgusting habit happens on both sides of the aisle.  I personally believe that our politicians deserve a modicum of respect, at least until they really screw up.  And scandals happen often enough that we don't have to make them up.