As a reporter, I like to stay away from leaning one way or another on the political front. But recently, one of the front runners has caught my eye, and after seeing his recent commercial, I know who I will not be voting for in 2012.
Rick Perry recently released a campaign ad. Here is the ad:
In the ad, Perry says he isn’t afraid to label himself as a Christian, then openly bashes the fact that gays can serve in the military, but children can’t openly celebrate Christmas in schools.
The video went viral within hours of its release, and as of this post, has over 200,000 dislikes. More than I have ever seen on any YouTube video. Twitter and Tumblr users started open bashing on Perry, calling him a bigot and a moron.
This isn’t Perry’s first blunder in his campaign though. The first came during the republican debate, when Perry couldn’t think of the third thing that was needed to fix America’s economy.
And while subtle, Perry clearly values the ideals of religion over the rights of all those around us. I know this is a touchy subject for most people, but the evidence is as clear as day. This is a day and age where religion and politics need to be separate. I will not vote for a candidate based on my, or his religion. I want to see what they can do for our country.
Perry has promised to end Obama’s war on Religion. What war on religion, I ask? What war has Obama created on religion? If anything, I would say we are as free to practice now than we ever have been before. Don’t get me wrong, I am not in favor or against the re-election of Obama, all I’m saying is that Perry is wrong. There is no war on religion now.
He then states that he will fight against attacks on our religious heritage. Which attacks, Perry? I have seen no one make an attack on anyone’s religious heritage.
I am not a religious person, in any sense of the word, but I do believe we have all the right in the world to believe and practice whatever religion we believe in. Besides the controversy over the mosque being built at ground zero, I have seen no attacks on anyone’s personal right to practice religion.
If gays are allowed to openly enlist in the military, how would this prevent someone’s right to practice religion? The two ideas don’t add up. Even if gays were allowed to marry, it wouldn’t stop anyone from voicing their religion, it would only make them more apt to.
What this campaign video has shown me is that Perry is not ready to be the president in this time.
My openly gay roommate, Nathan Gomez, says this is something to be expected from a candidate like Perry.
“All it does is swing his campaign in the wrong direction,” Gomez said.
But I disagree. If you are running for president in a nation that is growing more and more liberal as the times go by, you should really keep certain things to yourself. Perry doesn’t agree.
Personally, I will not be voting for Perry and it’s not just because of his campaign video or his debate flub. Perry has proven to me that he cannot handle the attention that is being pressed on him as a candidate. Already twice he has flubbed, causing a huge downswing in his popularity as a candidate.
If he cannot even handle the running process, what is going to stop him from making a critical blunder at the presidential level? We can hardly even handle all the problems we have now. Why should we take on one more in Rick Perry who with the flub of his tongue could ignite World War III. I know this is a bit extreme, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
Perry has proven to me that he doesn’t deserve my vote or the American public’s vote.