Posted on 08/14/2011 12:46:55 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON (JTA) – To some conservative Jews, Texas Gov. Rick Perry would make an excellent presidential candidate. He’s been to Israel more than any other candidate already in the field and has said he loves it. And Perry creates jobs.
But other Jewish conservatives seeking the anti-Obama candidate look at the three-term governor and see something arresting: He believes he’s on a mission from God.
Perry has nonplussed longtime Jewish supporters by claiming that he has been “called” to the presidency and by hosting a prayer rally this month that appealed to Jesus to save America. Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post’s “Right Turn” columnist and a bellwether of Jewish conservatism, took liberals to task on her blog for treating the event as “a spectacle” -- it was borne of deeply considered worries about the country’s parlous state, she said – but Rubin also expressed caveats about the rally.
“His words at the event were restrained but not ecumenical,” she wrote. “And his use of public office to promote the Christian event was, to me, inappropriate. The event, while scheduled last December, is still reflective of the man who would be president. Would he do this in the Oval Office? Does he not understand how many Americans might be offended? Is he lacking advice from a non-Texan perspective?”
Fred Zeidman, an influential Houston lawyer who has known Perry for decades and has hosted him at his home, said, “None of us remember him being quite as devout as he seems to be now, but we wouldn't necessarily have known.”
Zeidman, who for eight years served as chairman of the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, supports Mitt Romney. but Zeidman told JTA that before endorsing Romney that he checked with Perry last December to ask whether he would be running. At the time, Perry said no.
On Saturday, Perry threw his hat into the ring.
"A great country requires a better direction," he said, declaring his candidacy. "A renewed nation needs a new president."
Perry has been a conservative since before he switched parties in 1989 to became a Republican. A cotton farmer and former air force pilot, he led efforts in his first five years as a Democrat in the legislature to pare the budget.
Perry, a devout Methodist, was attracted to Israel from the launch of his career. One of his first acts after being elected agriculture commissioner in 1991 was to create the Texas-Israel Exchange, which promoted information and research sharing. In a 2009 interview with The Jerusalem Post, when he led a delegation to Israel, Perry – who around the same time flirted with Texas secessionist rhetoric – said the alliance was a natural one.
“When I was here for the first time some 18 years ago and I was touring the country, the comparison between Masada and the Alamo was not lost on me,” he told the Post. “I mean, we're talking about two groups of people who were willing to give up their lives for freedom and liberty."
As much as Perry’s heartfelt love for Israel makes him attractive to Republican Jews, it is was the other reason he was in Israel at the time – seeking out job creation initiatives, as he has across the globe – that has been the basis of his Jewish support.
“I became intrigued by Rick Perry when I read his book ‘Fed Up!’ because it was exactly what I was feeling,” Robin Bernstein, who heads Perry’s fundraising in Florida, said in an interview. “His economic success in Texas is a model for the entire country.”
Texas has managed to weather the recession comparatively well, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has reported that half of all U.S. jobs created from June 2009 to April 2011 were in Texas.
Published last year, “Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington” blames America’s woes on an arrogant power elite in Washington – Perry, in his first chapter, accuses it of “chutzpah” – and is music to conservative ears seeking relief from what they see as government unbound.
“We are fed up with being overtaxed and overregulated,” Perry writes. “We are tired of being told how much salt we can put on our food, what windows we can buy for our house, what kind of cars we can drive, what kinds of guns we can own, what kind of prayers we are allowed to say and where we can say them, what political speech we are allowed to use to elect candidates, what kind of energy we can use, what kind of food we can grow, what doctor we can see, and countless other restrictions on our right to live as we see fit.”
It’s a message that resounds with Jewish conservatives – save, perhaps, for its defense of public prayer.
By the same token, Perry’s declaration last month that the presidency is “what I’ve been called to” sent a shudder through some among the conservative Jewish establishment. This month, it was Perry’s leadership in organizing the massive Houston prayer rally, dubbed The Response, and his insistence that “we must come together and call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles," that led some Jewish conservatives to go on the record with their discomfiture.
"My response to The Response: No, thanks," wrote Jacob Sullum in The New York Post. "My people have managed without Jesus for thousands of years. Why start now?" Sullum also criticized Perry for seeming to abandon his previous let-the-states-decide view on social issues in favor of amendments to the U.S. Constitution that would outlaw abortion and same-sex marriage everywhere in the country.
Sixteen rabbis were among 50 Houston clergy members who urged Perry not to host the rally. National groups like the Anti-Defamation League also opposed it.
“He called this rally as a governor,” Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director, said in an interview before Perry’s formal declaration of his candidacy for president. “He didn’t try to camouflage anything. He's pleasant and he's smart, he has good relations with the Jewish community, but this is a conscious disregard of law and authority. What troubles me most is, this is his perception of where America is at.”
Bernstein, Perry’s Florida backer, said such concerns are overstated. “Nobody criticized Moses for being ‘called,'” she said. “The fact that he upholds the Ten Commandments is very important. I like to believe a man of faith has a moral compass.”
Jewish Democrats are eating up the controversy. In a statement, the National Jewish Democratic Council said it was “encouraging” Perry to run, “given that his record will help repel American Jews and remind them why they support Democrats in historic numbers.”
Zeidman wondered if, with the rally, his old friend was miscalculating. “I don’t know that he has not gone too far in his appeal to the conservative wing of the party,” Zeidman said. “That could prove harmful in a general election.”
Still, Zeidman said, it would be a bigger mistake to underestimate a governor who in 11 years in office has wrested much power from the legislature, where it had been concentrated for decades, and who knows how to win.
“He should never be underestimated in terms of his campaigning ability,” Zeidman said.
I wonder if Zeidman is aware that Romney's religion considers him and all Jews to be gentiles?
Is this true? Michele Bachmann worked in an Israeli kibbutz for a summer.
I am not interpreting other’s faith—you are!
You seem to KNOW what is in other people’s hearts—and if they are “good” Christians.
My only point is -—No! You, even if you think you are god—can never know, for sure, what is in other people’s heart. Only God can (and should) judge.
I am just judging “ACTIONS” and you seem to think that actions are not connected to belief. You seem to be very Clintonian—notice, I say “seem”—in that, you think if people say the “right” words, and their actions don’t support those words-—then you should believe all that they say, anyway. Hogwash!
I judge only actions....I don’t pretend I am a god—I just read St. Thomas Aquinas and Cicero and Locke and Reid and the Federalist Papers, so I have an understanding of the intent of the Founding Fathers when they designed the government of the US, so I know what beliefs should underlie the philosophy of people who run for office. They are not running for office in China. There is a difference in philosophy—and that philosophy is VITAL.
Then, I see what politicians actually do. I’ve learned many years ago, you can’t believe anything politicians say—only a few Statesmen, who are very rare. It is good to be skeptical when it comes to politics. I am.
Religion....well, that is different-—I believe in God—not in people or idols, who can never be perfect. I put more faith in some people, than in others—but I judge only by their actions—never by just words. Even if I think someone is very devout and holy—I could be wrong, because I can not see into their heart. I always know that, but there is a place for the “educated” guess—that is the best we can do—and that comes from watching actions.
Perry is a politician and, as such, he is probably better than a lot of them and far better than the one in office at the moment—no doubt.
But, he has his flaws as does everyone. I just argue on the points of the Constitution—and Christianity—I don’t know what truly is in Perry’s heart—power tends to corrupt though and politicians say what is expedient to which ever group they are addressing.
We are supposed to be a nation ruled by Law (not man) and when you don’t apply laws equally (illegals) you are getting people killed and favoring some over others....it leads to chaos in the end—or tyranny, and it rewards evil behavior (illegality) which will always create more of it. BTW, Jesus would never condone breaking the laws of Caesar.
Jesus did believe in Just Law—there is nothing unjust about our immigration laws. Mexico is the corrupt hellhole. The Pope even condemned the government of Mexico and the evil of their system which separated families. Our government should have put an end to this illegal activity years ago so Mexico would maybe have been cleaned up in the 60’s, instead of completely being taken over by cartels. You don’t encourage evil acts, ever!!!
That is just common sense.
Some of the most pagan people I know advocate the name of Jesus—and they have lesbian pastors. Just saying words do not make one a Christian—it is the actions consistent with the Bible. His advocation of NY laws acknowledging immorality concerns me deeply—it is anathema to Christianity and also to the philosophy of the Founders which the Constitution is based on—”Right Reason according to Nature”. That statement of his was very troubling to me. I think Just Law is crucial to our nation—and homosexual marriage makes a farce of that concept and destroys logic and reason and Natural Law Theory (teleological design by God). No Christian can ever be for homosexual marriage, anymore than they could be for child rape.
I just don’t trust Perry because of what he said, that is inconsistent with Christianity and with the philosophy of Rule of Law. I can not see what is in his heart, and can not say if he truly believes in Christianity. True, sometimes he says the right words—but words never mean anything....it is actions. Just remember Clinton carrying that huge bible smiling on Sunday, as he just had finished with Monica. Politicians are what they are (Machiavelli), and some are so much better than others.
The fact that Perry supported Giuliani (pro abortion and pro gay agenda) in 2008 makes everything he says suspect to me.
I have no clue what reality you live in. Texas has a very healthy economy and is being run quite well.
Good luck finding the Jesus Christ of politics. Until then, mere mortals need to be elected to office, and we need to work with the people actually running for the nomination.
The only potential candidate who has not point blank denied interest is Palin, and we can find just as many bones to pick about her record. I would consider her candidacy too, but she is not perfect, either.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Interesting, because the liberals are all attacking Perry because of his moves to secure the border, end sanctuary cities, etc.
Don’t confuse people with facts!
What is his stance on immigration?
The only thing I’ve seen is his ending sanctuary cities, creating special state task forces to do the federal government’s job, and getting a lot of flack from liberals for being “anti-immigrant.”
The only place I’ve seen Perry called “open borders” is F.R.
Agreed. A quick Google search of “Rick Perry anti-immigrant” pulls up many hits.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s anti-Hispanic Agenda Goes Down
Rick Perry Resurrects Measure To Curb Illegal Immigration In Texas
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Pushes Harshest Anti-Immigration Bill Yet .
I didn't say anything of the sort. Jesus's concerns were primarily of the next world not this one. He was above the petty debates of the world and certainly had no time for those who exalt worldly governments.
It would not be the first time in history that the successors of civilization had slipped in ignorance and descended into a mire of chaos.
Absolutely-—it is the story of civilizations. But it usually defines the end of one.
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