Texas Governor Rick Perry Promotes Theocracy

He uses his bully pulpit to Praise the Lord and denounce "ungodly secularists."  His speeches are designed to give the most reticent Baptist minister a raging spiritual hard-on.  His public remarks are peppered with Christ this, Jesus that, and Washed in the Blood of the Lamb - and there's always a prodigious dose of Old Testament condemnation thrown in for good measure.  Like every other evangelical with a taste for Rapture, Gov. Rick Perry wears his religion on his sleeve and is dismissive of constituents who refuse to worship "correctly."  Texans (and particularly gay and lesbian Texans) who disagree with his fundamentalist views should move elsewhere, Perry says.  And the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment?  Not worth the parchment it's written on.

Now this Bible-quoting, gun-toting secessionist who can't take a breath without invoking the Holy Spirit has announced that there should be MORE religion in government, not less.  Last week Perry told a gathering of fellow believers at the New Life Christian Center in San Antonio that the notion that laws should not be dictated by religion is an "extreme" one.  He challenged the faithful to "speak up to defend those whose rights are being eroded by an increasingly secular culture." 

In his speech, Perry couldn't resist conjuring the specter of Evil Government.  "You know, they're telling us which cars to buy and which light bulbs to use now.  But they ought not be telling us whether we can go to Baptist, Methodist, whichever one...  But it is quite different and, I would say, extreme, to say that our laws should not be inspired and informed by the views of the faithful. Freedom of religion is not to be confused with freedom from religion."  (That's Perry's philosophy in a nutshell.  Citizens should never be allowed freedom from religion.  The very idea!  Baptist or Methodist, those are your options.)

The governor works tirelessly to indoctrinate the state's youngsters into his narrow Christianist ideology.  Under Rick Perry's rule, Texas educators have become virtually indistinguishable from Sunday School teachers.  In pursuing his goal to keep students ignorant of earth sciences and vital health issues (like AIDS prevention), Perry just tapped another of his Creationist/Diversity Denier cronies to head the Texas Board of Education.  Rackjite dissects the governor's latest appointment, a fundie automaton named Gail Lowe:  She rejects the science of Global Warming and Climate Change, she will not tolerate gay friendly books in public school libraries and of course she not only believes that the Earth is 6000 years old and men live in gigantic fishes at the bottom of the sea, but wants to teach that to children in Texas Public Schools...  This (appointment) keeps the board unchanged with 7 to 9 of the 15 votes being evangelical fundamentalist Creationists deciding what Texas children read and learn.  (At this very moment our Texas teachers are being trained by "religious scholars" on how to best implement a state law signed by Perry that mandates the study of Scripture in high school classroms.)  

From The Guv's self-righteous lips:  "Faith is both a private thing and a very public thing for me - private in the sense that every morning I get up and read a little Scripture.  You'll appreciate that I get a daily Scripture lesson off the Internet...  The Scripture talks about praying incessantly.  It's not out of the ordinary for me to have a word of prayer in the midst of a meeting."  ("'Scuse me, sir, did you hear what we just said about the teen pregnancy rate in Texas?"  "Shhh. Quiet. The governor is worshipping God.")     

There's a reason why progressives here refer to Rick Perry as the Taliban in a Ten-Gallon Hat.  It's because if he had his druthers, the King James Bible would overrule the Constitution and we'd all be forced to swallow his noxious religious beliefs.  As a proud liberal Texan, I'd sooner dine on cow patties.

Comments

[Amanda]

Governor Perry is the one who should move - to Iran. He'd feel right at home under Sharia law.

[Bee Girl]

It's the school kids I feel sorry for. Any young future scientists living in Texas will have to unlearn all that Creation crap before they start their REAL education.

[Trent]

With all the religion going on in schools there, why bother with church? Oh wait, I know. The money.

[Donald Eric Kesler]

This is just really tragic. I can't believe that the majority of people in Texas are comfortable with this sort of man.

[Richard Fisher]

As a fourth Generation Texan I am appalled by this self-serving hate monger. The right continually uses religion to justify extreme positions and then calls opponents "ungodly". This is the very reason the founding fathers wanted separation of church and state. After all they knew what harm religious wars did. There is not an instance in history where the combination of government and religion did not lead to atrocity.

[Davey]

If Gov. Perry doesn't believe in separation between church and state, why aren't churches taxed to help pay for the state?

Imagine if all the churches in Texas started paying their fair share of taxes. Texans wouldn't have to go to heaven to see streets paved with gold, they could have it here on earth!

[Zedge]

It seems the Gov. has discovered why politicians love religions. He's a lying scumbag and is using religion to endear himself to the religious masses. If the prevailing belief was Pastafarian in Texas, He'd wear his pirate hat to work and force the teaching of the origins of the meatball in public schools.The real problem is that the religious will never notice that he is a con man and would say anything to get there vote. He doesn't care about the people of Texas he cares about votes oh, and the governor of Texas!

[Larro]

I don't envy my secularist brothers and sisters in the Lone Star State. If only they had a stronger voice to keep the Texas Right from spewing their garbage onto the rest of the country. Maybe Texas should secede but I don't know as that would solve the problem. At least the US wouldn't have to worry about having a right-wing Texan in the White House.

[Kenny]

I am a Texas atheist who is home-schooling our child thanks to the stupidity of the Texas government. I really do not understand why they can't keep religion separate from public schools. They can have Sunday school every night for all I care - but keep it out of PUBLIC schools!

You know what's funny - my rights to home school as a parent in Texas are thanks to the Christian groups who don;t want their children being taught evolution! Bizarre!

[Nicole]

Good on you.

This guy is frankly terrifying. The Age of Enlightenment need never have happened, the Founding Father never need have crossed the Atlantic and everything would be classed as "God's Will."

We need a lot more rationality in this world.

[James Smith, João Pessoa, Brazil]

It shows that, to be a politician, you must have yourbrain AND backbone removed. Let's remember Texas also gave us George W. Bush, the worst president of all time and the most hated human in the history of the race.

[mgb]

There's a difference between being liberal and being stupid... so rick perry believes in God.. and you know what, since he's become governor the crime rate in texas has dropped, the schools have picked up their averages amongst the nations best of schools, and while I don't particularly care for the man, I see nothing wrong with Religion... in fact, if he's following what his religion tells him to follow i can't fault him at all whether I agree or disagree with him, because at least he's doing what most of the "religious" people fail to do.. and that's follow his beliefs.. I'm personally voting for Medina.... ooorah.