Rick Perry: Perfect Christian, Perfect Candidate, Superhero, Or None Of The Above?

Today is the day. This day has been debated throughout the political community for some time now. Will Rick Perry, Governor of the Lone Star State, throw his hat into the ring for the 2012 Presidential race? Today Governor Perry made it official! Yes, he is running for President!

There are as many conflicting arguments on this debate as any other political topic, ranging from Rick Perry is “Reagan incarnate“, to he is a “Bildergberg plant”, to he is a “strong man of faith“, and many other arguments in between.

As a very proud citizen of the great state of Texas,  I must admit that I, too, have conflicting views when it comes to Governor Perry.

If you have read any of my previous articles on the Governor, you will more than likely assume that I am Rick Perry’s number one advocate. What you may find intriguing is in the 2010 Governor’s election I did not want him to be re-elected. In the primary, originally, I was a supporter of Debra Medina. I liked the fresh face on the scene, someone who was not “establishment”. However, before the primary election, Ms. Medina lost my support. In the end, Governor Perry was my only choice.

I am relatively new to the political world. You also may find it odd that while I am heavily involved in politics on this side of the fence, I absolutely despise the entire system! I was one of the “ostrich’s” with their hand in the sand for many years. I did not care about politics in the least. The only “involvement” I had politically was voting in the “big elections”.

When Barack Obama came on the scene, I woke up! In fact, I will never forget the first time I saw him. It was the 2006 election, where he won the Senate seat in Illinois. He was a virtual unknown at the time, but my husband, a Political Science major, made the comment, “Watch that man! This is not the last time you will see him!”

Interestingly enough, though I still wanted nothing to do with politics, I remember that day very vividly. Maybe it was the matter-of-fact tone- somewhat ominous in nature-  in my husband’s voice. Whatever the reason, the fanfare of his victory lived on in my mind’s eye.

When I became involved in the political conversations, I am quite sure my husband almost had heart failure! I was still quite frustrated with the entire process, and at one point had determined I was not even going to vote in the 2008 Presidential election. I had started paying attention just enough to realize one of the main reasons I had avoided politics so vehemently before. Politicians are all the same, no matter what initial is behind their name (R, D, I). Thankfully, Sarah Palin came on the scene, and she was someone I could vote for and not feel dirty afterwards! Unfortunately, John McCain was the one actually running for office!

When I told my husband I was not going to vote, he was not happy in the least. There were times we bordered on arguments about it. I told him I was tired of having to choose the less of two evils. While this is true, I find it comical that I had never really thought much about that in previous conversations. I’ve always voted Conservative- and that did not always mean the Republican candidate.

In the Texas Governor’s primary of 2010, after Debra Medina made a debacle of her campaign, I sat down and researched EVERY SINGLE PERSON running for EVERY SINGLE OFFICE I would be voting on. Previously I had not done that. Most of the time I relied on my husband (and my dad, before I got married), to tell me which was the better candidate.

In the end, I voted for Governor Perry. In my research, there really was no comparison. At the time I was not happy because I still felt that I was having to choose the lesser of two evils. I wanted someone who had never been in politics before to come in and shake up the establishment. In fact, I still want that in all aspects of politics.

Strangely, when the rumors of a possible Presidential run by the Governor, I liked the idea! This was a surprise to me, that a man I was not really in favor of just a few short months ago for Governor, now I love the idea of him as President! Why?, I wondered.

The answer lies in the fact that Governor Perry has made a stand.

Many have criticized Governor Perry for his 2009 speech at a Tea party event in Austin, where he said:

“There’s a lot of different scenarios…. We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot.”

If you know anything about Texas, you know there is a unique spirit among the majority of the Lone Star citizens. We are the Republic of Texas. We were our own country before, and in many ways, we still are. Yes, I am an American by birth, but I am a Texan by the grace of God!

It is that attitude of independence, survival, and pride that makes us uniquely Texas. Rick Perry is uniquely Texan in his attitude!

Is Texas perfect? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We still have the same political games that every other state- and our Federal Government- has. Most recently two very controversial issues failed to pass that should have passed in a state known for going against the grain. While they both failed to pass, Governor Perry did listen to the people and put one of the initiatives on the special session ballot.
Governor Perry most recently has received a great deal of criticism for the prayer rally at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, The Response, which was a call to prayer for a nation in crisis. Through the criticism and attempts to stop the rally through the courts, Rick Perry still stood strong.

Is Texas Governor Rick Perry a perfect candidate? A perfect Christian? A clown? A Bilderberg plant? Reagan 2.0? A superhero? Just a great husband? Or none of the above?

I can answer just two of those questions. No, he is not a perfect Christian! There is NOT a perfect Christian! Search high and low, and you will not find one!  Neither is he a perfect candidate! I also do not believe there is a perfect candidate that exists. There will ALWAYS be something we do not agree on, with every single candidate.

The real question is this: Will Rick Perry be the best candidate for the Conservative party?

America– it’s up to you to decide!