Not a Prayer for Far Right with Perry

To quote an old Texasism, the religious right in the Lone Star State must feel like it’s been rode hard and put away wet. When Rick Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president last week, he gave his former base the equivalent of the middle finger salute. It really makes you wonder how much they’re going to be willing to take before simply going back to church and leaving politics to others.

From 2004-’06, no one courted the far right more zealously than Perry. Realizing he was likely to face a primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Perry wanted to make sure that the strongest, most reliable segment of the GOP would be in his corner. He bent over backwards to please them, even going to church to “celebrate with Christian friends” and signing measures prohibiting same-sex marriage and further restricting abortion.

The strategy worked like a charm. While a lot of voters had problems with Perry and started looking for alternatives, the right wing didn’t budge. Her protestations to the contrary, that’s why many believe Hutchison opted to stay put in the Senate rather than jump into the 2006 gubernatorial fray. It’s also the reason Strayhorn could never get traction and after seeing Republican primary polls suggesting she could get beat as badly as 3-to-1 by Perry, suddenly decided she had become an independent.

Perry almost immediately snubbed the far right following his re-election when he came out in favor of the mandatory HPV vaccine, a stand very much opposed by Christian conservatives because they felt it would promote promiscuity. But the Giuliani endorsement takes snubbery to a whole new level.

Rudy is regarded on the right as pro-gay, pro-choice and anti-gun. In other words, he’s on the wrong side of every issue nearest and dearest to the hearts of the Right.

Perry says it was “national security” that drove him to make the endorsement. “Personal security” would have probably been more accurate. Giuliani is currently the front runner and seems to be the only one in the GOP pack with a snowball’s chance of actually winning the general election. By being the first governor to come out in support of him, Perry garners a lot of goodwill, something that could come in real handy for a former governor.

There was immediate talk about a possible Vice Presidential nomination. That’s doubtful since after George Bush, most don’t want a Texan anywhere close to the White House, much less a heartbeat away. What’s more likely driving Perry’s endorsement is a future cabinet appointment. Names like Marc Racicot, Tommy Thompson and Tom Ridge should all jump to mind, all governors who supported W and wound up with nice jobs in his administration.

So while the practical aspects of the endorsement shouldn’t be lost on anyone, the right wing might be getting a little tired of practicality. For years, they’ve been listening to Republican politicians tell them what they want to hear only to be sadly disappointed when it comes time to actually do something.

Folks will only stand for being taken for granted for so long. Soon, the religious right might decide time is better spent in the pews than at the polls.

(Originally published by Examiner Newspaper Group)