Posted on 09/15/2011 1:10:30 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Drudge linked to an article about Rick Perry’s faith in this morning’s Washington Post: “Perry casts himself as spiritual, forsaking talk of jobs for a day”
But before I talk about the article and the role of faith in today’s politics, I want to point out that both the web title and URL of the article are very different from its published title: “Perry casts himself as anti-intellectual, says life shaped by faith“. Something tells me that the WaPo editors intervened before the article went to press, but weren’t able to change the working title of the piece that was saved on their server. Oops.
And so, once again we see the urban intellectual mindset in its full glory, revealed in a cyber Freudian slip. The Anchoress explored this topic a few weeks ago in response to a piece by New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, which called for “tougher questions” to be asked about the religious beliefs of Republican candidates. A commenter replied, “For Bill Keller, the votes are in: Belief is the leading indicator of stupidity unless you’re Episcopalian or Afrocentric Church of Christ.”
Anyway, back to the WaPo article. Amid the description of Perry’s recent address at Liberty University and the analysis of his remarks by various individuals, a quote grabbed my attention. It’s by Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention: “He talks about his faith in terms that evangelicals will find completely identifiable.”
I don’t think we spend enough time talking about the importance of words and phrases as signifiers in the context of religion. But this is a part of many faith traditions, and an especially essential element of the American Evangelical tradition. In fact, it’s the primary method by which Evangelicals judge the sincerity of a public figure’s faith, if little is known about his private life. Evangelicals look for sincere expressions of salvation (being “saved” or “giving my life to Christ”), a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ following conversion, and “following God’s will” via regular Bible study, prayer, or active participation in a faith community, as one’s spiritual growth progresses.
When a candidate stumbles through the use of these religious signifiers in a way that shows, beyond doubt, that he is unfamiliar with them and uncomfortable using them, the warning lights go off. Of course language isn’t the only thing that Evangelicals take into consideration. Bill Clinton, who was raised a Southern Baptist, “talked the talk” very well on the campaign trail, but his fondness for women other than his wife left an indelibly negative impression in the minds of Evangelicals than no amount of religious talk could remove.
Barack Obama suffers from an impairment where Evangelical religious signifiers are concerned. He was raised in an agnostic household and sporadically attended Unitarian Universalist congregations during his youth, mostly (along with his mother) as a participant in anti-war and social justice activities. As an adult he became involved in a very controversial United Church of Christ congregation. Obama’s use of overly broad religious terminology and symbols in his public speeches no doubt appealed to the highly educated urban whites that make up a significant portion of his party’s power base, but to Evangelicals they conveyed an implicit message that Obama had never really experienced a transformational encounter with Christ in his own personal life — despite his claims to the contrary.
In contrast, at Liberty University Rick Perry candidly discussed a crucial element of Evangelical faith – God’s will:
“He who knows the number of drops in the ocean, he counts the sands in the desert, he knows you by name … He doesn’t require perfect people to execute his perfect plan. God uses broken people to reach a broken world. The mistakes of yesterday say nothing about the possibilities of tomorrow.”
I won’t beat around the bush when it comes to my impression of Perry’s speech — he is obviously working hard to appeal to the large base of Evangelical Republican voters. But wrapped up in that appeal is a sincerity that will be impossible to dismiss. And trying to appeal to a large voter base makes Perry … well, nothing more than an astute politician.
So how will Rick Perry’s faith be derided? For starters, he will be subjected to ridicule centered around the assumption that in his own mind, EVERYTHING he does is “God’s will”. That kind of mockery plays heavily on the assumption that religious individuals are either too stupid or too gullible or too arrogant to objectively use history, reason, or the counsel of others when making decisions. He will also be subjected to the same kind of “If Perry really was a TRUE Christian then he would …” second-guessing that liberals heaped on George W. Bush, especially after the US invasion of Iraq. This will be folded into another attack strategy that seems to be underway, namely that Perry’s record as Texas governor proves that he is callous and lacks compassion for the poor. The WaPo article quotes William Martin, a professor at Rice University: “I looked at his policies, and they didn’t seem to be something that would flow from a heart full of Christian love, so I was thinking he had found religion conveniently. But as best I can tell, it seems to be a long-standing conviction of his.”
Of course it’s still far too early in the campaign to know what affect Perry’s overt Evangelical faith will have on his current dogfight with Mitt Romney (a Mormon, just in case anyone didn’t know) over the front-runner spot as the primary season approaches, or how well it will play against Barack Obama, should Perry eventually win the nomination. But it is very clear at this point that he is not only well-versed, but sincere, in the use of religious language that will appeal greatly to middle America and the South.
And that’s a pretty big deal.
Gov. Rick Perry at Liberty University - speaks of how he grew up, about liberty, freedom, military, 9-11, evil, "we must engage allies and build alliance for freedom and be like Ronald Reagan and speak past the rulers and directly to people by yearning to be free," his faith, his path, trust in God......
****Perry’s record as Texas governor proves that he is callous and lacks compassion for the poor. The WaPo article quotes William Martin, a professor at Rice University: “I looked at his policies, and they didn’t seem to be something that would flow from a heart full of Christian love, so I was thinking he had found religion conveniently.*****
Well, isn’t that special.
p.s. Billy Martin: Confiscating other people’s money (taxing) is theft and controlling the poor with tribute is not Christian charity - it is slavery.
We’ve seen what the Harvard and Yale “intellectuals” have done to this country.
Alex, I’ll take nation’s most corrupt governors for $200.
Social Conservative creds are important, but focus on jobs, Rick.
Republican Presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, answers questions after a speech
before a Virginia Republican fundraising event in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011.
You have got to wonder who the idiot was who decided “this year we’re going to call people who believe in God dumb” in a country where 83% of the population identify themselves as Christian and thinks that will work out for them.
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Simple enough -- but wrong. Romney's no stronger on this front than Perry, the frontrunner in the polls. The core reasons: Perry's support among the party's base, and his strength on the key issues of the economy and job creation.........[big snip]............Perhaps in a normal year, the more moderate candidate would be the more electable one. But in these times, the GOP needs bold colors, not pale pastels, to win. "
I think the last real intellectual left this world sometime in the last century.
admittedly...I don’t know much about Perry. why do you say he’s a rino?
You have to wonder at the term “anti-intellectual” as well.
The left wants it to mean “opposed to smart/thinking people”, carrying on the meme that liberals are just by definition smarter than anyone of conservative ideology.
Sowell’s definition of “intellectual” is a person whose only product of effort is in the realm of ideas and is someone who never has to face judgement based on the consequences of those ideas; an elitist.
Yes, in Sowell’s definition of “intellectual”, most of us ARE “anti-intellectual” because WE are the ones to bear the brunt of their bad ideas. Their ideas, for the most part, are self-stroking, so they get to feel good about them and we get to pay for them.
The GOP needs a real conservative rallying point, someone who will stand in contrast to the social, moral, educational, political, and economic rot.
That standard bearer will have simultaneously to engage rotten teachers' and government-employee unions, rotten gay-PAC and child-molester NGO's, abortion-pushers, crony capitalists, outright neo-Stalinist Communists infesting the Dim party, and Yacht Club poseurs who think everything is okey-dokey as long as they still have enough money and income to keep themselves high above the water level and well out of the rain.
The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party.
I read that quote this morning [the paragraph before that: "William Martin, a professor at Rice University who studies religious conservatives, has questioned the compassion of Perry’s health-care and socioeconomic record."]
More on Professor Martin and is study of religious conservatives:
I wish we could have a “Rick Perry Caucus” as compared to articles on Rick Perry. Then, maybe, we could avoid running into the usual fanatical Perry enthusiasts.
“I think the last real intellectual left this world sometime in the last century.”
Bill Buckley passed away in 2008
Rick Perry giving a speech that focuses on his spiritual convictions is a part of any politicians campaign for president because as a nominally religious nation, people care about such things. However, giving Governor Perry the full benefit of the doubt that he is 100% sincere in his Christianity, which I approve of, we’re not electing a Minister-in-Chief or a church Elder but the Republican candidate for president. No politician is going to govern via a theocracy in a nation that has always maintained a secular government, and this is how I, as a Christian, like it. So, although I’m pleased to learn that a potential president holds Christian beliefs, that is simply not my criteria for voting for him. I prefer Sarah Palin, who is also a committed Christian, but that aspect of her life is not why I would support her if she runs. It’s political positions that determine my choice to vote for a specific politician, not their views on the Trinity. However, I appreciate Rick Perry and any other candidate stating what they believe and why, even if I don’t consider such a statement a requirement for office.
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