Rick Perry - Playing Politics With God

Rick Perry is not the brightest governor Texas has had (being far too much like the incompetent fool that he replaced). His regime has seen a thriving Texas economy turned into a state in trouble -- with a $27 billion deficit for the next biennium. His solution to this mess was to cut $4-$5 billion from the state's education system (which will result in the layoff of tens of thousands of Texas teachers) and slash huge dollars from social programs helping the poor, the elderly, and abused children.

But while cutting over $4 billion from education, he has somehow found the money to keep his corporate welfare program alive (the Texas Enterprise Fund), spend over $100 million to fund Formula One Racing in the state, and fund a widening of 28 miles of freeway between Dallas and Denton (which will cost $4 billion -- the same amount he cut from education). He's not against spending money, as long as its not to help school children or other hurting Texans.

This would be bad enough, but as he is doing these things he has to strike a pose as a "godly" man to further his own political career. When the state was ravaged by wildfires recently his only solution, other than to beg the federal government for money (the same federal government he had been bad-mouthing for spending too much money), was to declare a state-wide day of prayer, so the citizens could pray for rain to end the drought and the fires.

Of course the silly prayer day didn't help anything (except maybe Perry's standing among fundamentalist christians). The drought persists and the fires were handled with help from out-of-state firefighters. But that won't stop the poser governor from taking credit.

Now he's decided that playing the god card worked so well for him politically during the wildfires that he's going to do it again -- this times to solve the nation's problems (and appeal to the fundies in case he decides to jump into the presidential race).

Perry has now declared August 6th to be a day "of prayer and fasting" in Texas, saying, "Right now, America is in crisis: we have been besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters. As a nation, we must come together and call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles, and thank him for the blessings of freedom we so richly enjoy."

He didn't bother to mention that the financial crises the nation is in was caused by him and his Republican cohorts, or that Jesus (or any other religious figure) had nothing to do with the freedoms this nation enjoys. Those freedoms were established by men creating a free secular state, and defended with the blood of patriots from all religious beliefs (including atheists). This attempt to mix god and politics for his own political benefit is distasteful at least and probably downright un-American.

And just to make sure that his religious play for votes got the maximum media coverage, he has extended an invitation to all 49 other governors to join him in the day of prayer and fasting. One governor has already declined the ridiculous invitation -- the Republican governor of Michigan.

I thought George Bush was an embarrassment as governor (and he was). But Rick Perry has set a new low for Texas governors.