Rick Perry believes he’s being attacked because he’s a Christian

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Anita and Rick Perry (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Rick Perry believes he’s being attacked because he’s a Christian

Senior Political Reporter

By Holly Bailey | The Ticket – Fri, Oct 14, 2011

Is Rick Perry being targeted in the Republican presidential campaign because of his Christian faith?

That's what the Texas governor's wife suggested at a campaign stop in South Carolina Thursday—a sentiment that was subsequently backed up by Perry himself in an interview Friday with ABC's Good Morning America.

In a speech at North Greenville University, Anita Perry became emotional discussing her husband's rough few weeks on the campaign trail, implying he's come under attack because of his faith.

"It's been a rough month. We have been brutalized and beaten up and chewed up in the press to where I need this today," she said, per NBC's Ali Weinberg. "We are being brutalized by our opponents and our own party. So much of that is, I think they look at him, because of his faith. He is the only true conservative — well, there are some true conservatives. And they're there for good reasons. And they may feel like God called them too. But I truly feel like we are here for that purpose."

Asked about his wife's comments by ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Perry said he agreed with her.

"I'll stand by my wife. I think she's right on both cases. My understanding is that she said I'm the most conservative candidate in the race and 'he's a Christian.' So I haven't got anything I can add to that and she's hit me on my mark both times there," the governor said.

You can watch the interview:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/rick-perry-believes-being-attacked-because-christian-153135771.html

Don't Forget that Christ Healed the Sick

"Go out and preach the gospel. And if you must, use words."

-- St. Francis of Assisi


This week I watched the GOP round-table debate. It still startles me to hear words and moral claims from candidates who must believe we've never seen their deeds. I'm a big believer in the separation of church and state ... but let's suppose we were a "Christian Nation," not just a nation made up of Christians, Jews, Muslims, old believers, pagans, atheists and free-range hippies.

Could we, this new "Christian Nation," pick the Beatitudes as our rule of law? Personally, I prefer the "Blessed Ares" to the "Thou Shalt Nots." My guess is the current crowd of sanctimonious X-ians (Christians sans Christ; think "Merry X-mas") would be at the front of the line crying out for the separation of church and state.

The greatest cries from the "Moral Majority," misnamed because it is neither moral nor the majority, center on the right for women to choose to be mothers or not and the "homosexual agenda." I've often wondered where these folks would be if there were a first trimester fetal test for gayness. Think about that for a second.

We hear the terms "sanctity of life" and "pro-life" from the GOP presidential candidates, our governor, local lawmakers and officials more often than we do from most preachers. The constant whining about how America has lost its morality fails to mention the crippling, insatiable greed of our corporations combined with the rapid rise of poverty and hunger among our citizenry.

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Remember these things when you listen to politicians of either stripe tell you how much they love God. Watch what they do, how they vote and what their priorities are.

If they are going to brag about their faith they should be prepared to defend their actions. Rick Perry's wife said he'd been "brutalized" for his Christianity.

No, Mrs. Perry, your husband and so many of his ilk who run for office are not brutalized for their faith. They are being called out as fakes.

It's different.