Rick Perry’s Prayer Rally Allies: A run down
On August 6, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will host The Response, a ‘prayer rally’ in Houston, along with the extremist American Family Association and a cohort of Religious Right leaders with far-right political ties. While the rally’s leaders label it a “a non-denominational, apolitical Christian prayer meeting,” the history of the groups behind it suggests otherwise. The Response is powered by politically active Religious Right individuals and groups who are dedicated to bringing far-right religious view, including degrading views of gays and lesbians and non-Christians, into American politics.
In fact, a spokesman for The Response has said that while non-Christians will be welcomed at the rally, they will be urged to ‘seek out the living Christ.’ Allan Parker, a right-wing activist who participated in an organizing conference call for the event, declared in an email bearing the official Response logo that including non-Christians in the event “would be idolatry of the worst sort.”
Perry told James Dobson that the rally was necessary because Americans have ‘turned away from God.’
The following is an introduction to the groups and individuals who Gov. Perry has allied himself with in planning this event.