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The Spectacle Blog
Rick Perry’s ad in Iowa strikes me as more odd than offensive.
Perry laments that there is “something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” Yet it is worth pointing out that gays and lesbians have been able to serve openly in our armed forces for less than three months. However, the restriction of school prayer isn’t exactly a new development. Indeed, it has been nearly fifty years since the Supreme Court ruled that school prayer was unconstitutional.
Although Ronald Reagan favored school prayer he did not have the authority to issue an executive order to nor did he pursue a constitutional amendment to restore it. If Perry were elected President, he would be in exactly the same position as Reagan on this matter. While Perry might not be in a postion to restore school prayer, he would be in a position as Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces to restore “don’t ask, don’t tell.” But as Robert Stacy McCain points out he doesn’t intend to do that. The fact he isn’t planning to restore “don’t ask, don’t tell” makes his ad seem rather disingenuous.
However, if Perry exceeds expectations in the ABC News debate tomorrow night and the Fox News debate next Thursday (both of which are in Iowa) and if liberals persist with their visceral reaction against the ad then this Hail Mary could pay dividends. But as of this moment the Hail Mary pass is still very much up in the air.
View all comments (34) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/12/09/rick-perrys-peculiar-ad
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Al Adab| 12.9.11 @ 11:16AM
Whatever the Perry ad may try to convey, it is certainly on a higher plane than the outrageuous pandering Mr. Obama performed regarding Chanukkah. Two weeks early and all candles lit. The man is absolutely shameless. This from one who clearly is no fan of Israel, but rather a converted and adopted follower of the Messiah.
Shalom
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.9.11 @ 11:20AM
Aaron,
WHAT IN THE HELL IS "PECULIAR" ABOUT THIS ADD?
I appreciate many of your thoughts , sir, but if our country can't get back to some semblance of the Judeo/Christian principles we were founded upon, then we are lost...who ever our politicians in charge might be.
Do you hate Tim Tebow too?
Aaron Goldstein| 12.9.11 @ 11:23AM
I don't hate Perry nor I do hate Tebow. Besides Tebow is running from defensive tackles, not running for office.
Al Adab| 12.9.11 @ 11:46AM
Ken,
In re Tebow, what is that all about? Didn't we incessantly put up with Muhammad Ali giving thanks to Allah? Tebow does nothing out of line. Why do the heathen (not Mr. Goldstein) rage?
NotALibertarian| 12.9.11 @ 11:40AM
"However, the restriction of school prayer isn't exactly a new development. Indeed, it has been nearly fifty years since the Supreme Court ruled that school prayer was unconstitutional"
I don't know why this is so "odd", Perry's point is about the direction the country is moving in, as demonstrated by the inane belief that it is reasonable for our armed forces to make normal men and women bunk with people who are sexually attracted to them. Because if they are grossed out, it's because they're small-minded and unprofessional, right?
NotALibertarian| 12.9.11 @ 11:42AM
This isn't about executive orders. It's about who chooses the bureaucrats that control the federal government. It's about repealing DADT and choosing Supreme Court justices.
mzk1| 12.10.11 @ 11:35AM
You mean going back to before DADT and to Ask and Tell? I think that's correct, but I wonder if we can pull that off.
Both DADT and the current policy are pretty horrible. It does work here in Israel, but I suspect that's perhaps because people are less tolerant in fact.
(By the way, people here don't have hangups about being suspected. There is plenty of physical contact between men, and no-one thinks they will be thought not to be straight.)
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.9.11 @ 11:57AM
Aaron,
you are begging the question...chicken-sh*t!
Tebow runs AT defensive tackles...and kicks their butts often... then he thanks God he still has his knees.
It would be kinda' nice if you AMSPEC writers would finally wake up to the fact that our Governor is someone special...but of course...they crucified Jesus too.
Well... I guess I'm not a very good Christian. I figure I can shoot four...or five communists...before they shoot me...
A hundred million of "me" will always win...in any war.
In my novel (thriller), "America Alone Said No" (amazon.com- kindle), Obama gets impeached for being AWOL.
Right now, Governor Perry is the only candidate who has NOT gone AWOL on our heritage.
Kiss my butt!
Margie| 12.9.11 @ 1:49PM
You say they crucified Jesus too?
And yet you are doing the same to me?
I have seen no repentance on your part for your false accusations that you made here.
You are not a good Christian?
No, you are not even a Christian, but a Reprobate:
"He who speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit." Prov. 12:17.
NOW: You have made your list here, which I have answered like a fool.
Or did your stinking lawyer put that list together? Sure sounds lawyerly.
AND YET: You STILL hav not posted any of these supposed e mails you CLAIMED you ahve to show that I want to supposedly cheat on my husband.
NOW: For the umpteenth time: POST THEM!
YOU CANNOT, because there aren't any!
Reprobate scum.
NO LAWYER can snare me because I am honest. I am REAL, and I NEVER did as you accuse.
YOUR JUDGMENT WILL BE SWIFT ON THAT DAY WHEN YOU MEET THE LORD OF GLORY.
Margie Noise| 12.9.11 @ 4:07PM
Cuckoo. Cuckoo.
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.9.11 @ 5:40PM
Margie,
you know what is funny?
I never took it as if you were having adulterous fantasies about me and you.
I took your secret e-mail as merely an expression of sadly wrong past decisions... and a rethinking of your future.
I do understand your continual posting here consigning me to hell. You MUST do that to keep from having your hiney thrown out on the street by your husband.
I forgive you....past and present....and future.
You and Vic still need to have that "long talk".
No, you two will never be as "comfortable financially" as I am. Sorry.
Over the last forty years I have "bet the farm" over and over again. Thank goodness I bet correctly most of the time. You told me you haven't. Again, I'm sorry.
God bless, and quit confusing the Old...and New Testaments.
Margie| 12.9.11 @ 5:56PM
You never took WHAT as having Adulterous fantasies?
You snake: YOU posted here that I wanted to marry you.. that would take some Adulterous fantasizing, wouldn't?
You posted you had the emails to "prove it."
NOW: Slick way of trying to slide out of your accusations!
POST THEM, liar!
It has been a few months now since you have made this claim against me.
YOU MUST either POST THEM or REPENT of your LIES or God will throw you into Hell~ you KNOW that's what HE does to liars and Reprobates.
Secret email?
POST IT, scumbag!
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.9.11 @ 6:21PM
Hi, Margie.
You know darned well you sent me the "secret" e-mail....and what you wrote.
I don't WANT your hiney thrown out on the street.
I shan't post it here...or anywhere. It is probably pretty cold up there.
Vic, perhaps you should begin that "long talk".
Margie, if in fact he throws your hiney in the street, call me on my cell713-569-3896 .
Margie| 12.9.11 @ 7:45PM
POST IT, ASSHOLE.
Your charge was that I wanted to marry you, that I expressed my undying love to you.
THAT IS A CHARGE OF WANTING TO COMMIT ADULTERY.
The you changed your story and said you didn't have the emails, plural, because I asked you to delete them.
Now you say it is one and that you have "IT."
Well, IT better be exactly what you have accused me of, idiot.
AND: what the heck are you talking about, betting the farm you creep?
Good God are you SICK.
bobmontgomery| 12.9.11 @ 1:06PM
Mr. Goldstein: The first line of your ditty says Perry's ad is more odd *than* offensive, which means you must find it at least somewhat offensive. Secondly, what difference does it make whether it has been fifty years or five hundred years since a bunch of unelected people who thought they were wiser than the American people sneered at the notion that the founding documents should be a guiding light in the conduct of public policy?
Simon Templar| 12.9.11 @ 1:39PM
Aaron, not sure what you are trying to say, please clarify.
Aaron Goldstein| 12.9.11 @ 2:45PM
What specifically would you like me to clarify?
Simon Templar| 12.9.11 @ 2:56PM
Well, from the comments in this thread, I do not think I am alone in being a bit confused about why you think the ad is peculiar. What do you find specifically strange about it?
It seems to be a valid point Perry is making and actually a common one. I have heard many others say the same thing when talking about how contradictory and upside down this nation has become in regards to culural drift and decay it has undergone. It just seems to be an ad that shows he is sensitive to conservative and traditional values would do what he could do to encourage these values. I think it clearly demonstrates the control the liberals have over the culture that they were, over a period of fifty years, able to bring us to this insane point. So, what is up?
Simon Templar| 12.9.11 @ 3:07PM
Sorry about the typos.
Aaron Goldstein| 12.9.11 @ 4:22PM
What I found odd was his linkage between gays and lesbians serving in the military and school prayer. I realize that many conservatives the establishment of the former and the abolition of the latter are signs of moral decay. But these developments took place during different periods in our country's history.
The debate about the propriety of school prayer goes as far back as the late 19th century when the Wisconsin Supreme Court banned school prayer in 1890.
The debate in this country over gays and lesbians openly serving in the military only goes back two decades and the policy has been effect for less than 90 days.
Even if Perry is elected President there's not a lot he can do about school prayer short of putting all his muscle into a constitutional amendment. But he could most certainly can do something about gays and lesbians serving in the miltary in his capacity as Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces. Yet if Perry objects so virulently to gays and lesbians serving openly in the military then why are his campaign officials publicly stating that he hasn't taken a position on whether he'll restore DADT? That's what makes the ad so disingenuous.
I hope this clarifies things for you.
Simon Templar| 12.9.11 @ 6:26PM
Yes, it does. Thanks.
Dan| 12.9.11 @ 11:57PM
Have you observed the problems that the Catholic Church has experienced by allowing in vast numbers of flamers into their ranks?
Now why would you even risk America's military experiencing something similar, by allowing gay cliques to pass performance reviews, to promote and protect their own, to allow certain bases to become known as gay billets, to have politicians find certain gay officers that they extend political protection and patronage too.
Take a look at the hold that the lavender mafia has in Hollywood.
These aren't boogymen hauled out to scare the unsophisticated.
These are things that society has and is currently experiencing.
Don't conservatives LEARN from experience?
Why are you seeking to render Conservatives all, as Mark Steyn quipped, cool and casual with flamerism?
Do you believe in a moral code?
Do you think there is something termed Natural Law?
Do you think that the brain is equipped to discern what is right and what is not, what is moral, what then is also not moral?
Or are you one of those of a mind that all opposition to flamerism is of a piece with Jim Crow?
Margie| 12.9.11 @ 1:56PM
Well, I liked the ad. Who else has the "gall" to say what he said about "Gays?"
Oh my! Where are the Reprobates to say how "judgmental" he is?
Where are the Idolatrous Papist Trolls to insult, demean and destroy this man?
No, he is correct. But Aaron is kinda right though.. at the end of the ad Perry says, "As President I will end Obama's war on Religion."
Yet, how will he do that, really. and I think that's what Aaron's asking.. right?
Well, one thing is that he did say earlier he would be for a Constitutional Amendment defining Marriage as between a man and a woman.
He really should have said that in this ad. I wonder if he forgot about it already?
I mean, that is one way of showing he plans on actually doing something about what he's preaching.
What say you, Mr. Perry?
rssg| 12.9.11 @ 2:29PM
Gays should NOT be allowed to serve in the Armed Forces, but it's too late to fight that fight anymore. When I was in, back in the 80's, one had to QUALIFY to join the Armed Forces and if one was a homosexual, you were deemed as "unfit" to serve. I agree with that. Likewise, "immigrants" (often illegal aliens) , who are not even Americans, should not be in the Armed Forces either. And the number of women in uniform should never have been allowed to grow as much as it has.
The Armed Forces today are nothing but just another govt. "diversity" social program.
Simon Templar| 12.9.11 @ 3:06PM
I think the comparison was actually brilliant.
Here is why. On one hand you see how easy it was for the liberals to push their agenda on gays and overturn the laws that have been overwhelmingly in their disfavor for decades and on the other their ability to push an unconstitutional restriction on first ammendment rights via the court system and have it held there for fifty years without it being overturned. Aaron, did this escape your notice? That to me is the ESSENTIAL aspect of this whole topic and the most important lesson to be learned. It was not lost on Perry.
Aaron, you are a great writer and have good insight. I just do not get this article and what your point is, however.
Aaron Goldstein| 12.9.11 @ 4:23PM
Please see my response to your earlier post.
Joe Sahyan| 12.9.11 @ 6:14PM
Mr. Goldstein, you're partly right...and partly wrong. Prohibitions on school-prayer do, indeed, go way back, but the politically correct horror at the idea of Christmas pageants, or Santa, or carols, in school, is relatively quite new...and tend to make Governor Perry's case. Skip the prayer in school part, and he's precisely right. It was bad when school-prayer was banished, but it's getting worse, and homosexuals in the military is part of that downward progress.
Butch| 12.9.11 @ 3:39PM
Was the ad for Iowa? Evangelicals are a pretty big deal in the Republican mix there, that's why Huckabee did so well there last time. Some Christians don't bend the knee, no matter how smeared as bigots they will be. As to the war on Christmas--and Christianity--in many public schools, that's just a fact.
I don't think it's odd, just an appeal to Evangelicals. Perry knows them because Texas is full of them. All the Southern states are.
Montemayor| 12.9.11 @ 5:30PM
The problem with a constitutional amendment allowing for school prayer is that, because of the Establishment Clause, the amendment would not be singling out Christianity. So in order to make it possible for one school to have, say, a Christian prayer in an assembly that includes non-Christians, it also makes it possible for another school to have an Islamic prayer in an assembly that includes non-Muslims.
Consider the law that forced public schools to allow student assemblies on public property for bible studies, etc. It wasn't written just to allow prayer groups and bible studies. And it turned out to be instrumental in establishing GLBT (gay/lesbian/bi/transgender) groups in public schools, even over the objections of parents and administrators.
If you don't mind having the same rules apply to everyone, then fine. But if people are imagining a law that would let them make other people feel uncomfortable without themselves being on the receiving end of the same thing, they're in for a rude awakening if they ever get what they're asking for.
Pogo| 12.10.11 @ 12:32AM
You nailed it, Mr. Montemayor. Freedom is something you can never have, unless you are willing to give it away to everybody else.
"If the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by law in theory, can ever rise in practice under the overbearing inquisition of public opinion, [then and only then will truth] prevail over fanaticism. "
(Thomas Jefferson, in letter to Jared Sparks, 4 November 1820.)
texabama| 12.9.11 @ 5:31PM
I saw nothing odd or offensive about this ad. To me it conveyed the thought that there is something wrong with the way we are doing business when a very vocal minority can impose their will on the majority...be it about sexual orientation or when and where we show our devotion to God.
Bob K.| 12.9.11 @ 5:49PM
It is good to know that Perry has a sense of irony. That is always good in a leader or one who aspires to be a leader. Think of all the politicians in this country, both Democrat and Republican who do not have it---and think of all the journalists who don't have it either.
Nite| 12.9.11 @ 8:34PM
I agree with texabama and Bob K. Perry was making a comparison. Obama and his minions have made war on religion in this country. Nothing wrong with this ad.
Dan| 12.9.11 @ 11:52PM
I'm all against flamers in the forces too, but Perry's ad is so nakedly pandering that it's insulting the intelligence of those he tries to ingratiate himself with.
And there are those who are still persuaded that Perry is the guy to go with..................
And this is the kind of crap that passes for competence in Texan politics.