Rick Perry's Brainless Pursuit of an American Theocracy

It’s clear to me that in eliminating a federal government department that he can’t remember— the US Department of Energy — Rick Perry’s brainpower is totally overpowered by Texas swagger. His incoherent speech in New Hampshire was followed by one of the most stupefying moments in political debate history. Even Democratic pundits came to his rescue with possible medical explanations of brain freeze.

I am speechless that America is even considering putting a man man who appears braindead into the White House at this moment in the nation’s history. When Rick Perry’s college grades were published in the summer, I was astounded, refusing to believe that a man with these abysmal grades has the brainpower to lead the nation.

Perry’s smug stupidity in his recent debate puts him at the top of my list of good ‘ol boys. His reputation as governor is one of not wanting to involve himself in understanding complex issues. The pest control guy perhaps spent too much time around chemicals.

I don’t know his medical health status or IQ, but Rick Perry scares the bejesus out of me, and that’s not a reaction to his good friend Mike Bickle writing that Oprah is a forerunner to the Antichrist and women like me are harlots.

The Rick Perry Report, quoted by Conservative Daily News blog, commented on the Texas governor’s Oct.29, 2011 intelligent speaker debacle at New Hampshire’s Cornerstone Church speech above, writing that Perry was channeling his Yell Leader days at Texas A&M.

A Yell Leader at A&M requires a variety of voices to get a point across. They can be serious, angry, funny, engage in hyperbole, or anything else to get the crowd at Kyle Field to yell so loud that the opposing team cannot hear the next play that’s called.

It’s hardly encouraging to read the Rick Perry is an expert at being a rabble-rouser, as if Washington needs more partisan cheerleaders who specialize — not in intelligent strategy-making — but soundbites guaranteed to drown out the voices of the opposition, smart or stupid.

Rick Perry’s Grade D in Principles of Economics, Grade F in Organic Chemistry II

HuffPo Publishes Perry’s College Transcript The Texas Tribune

Read what Perry’s own The Texas Tribune had to say about Perry’s grades.

Perry originally attended Texas A&M University to pursue a pre-veterinary major but switched to animal sciences, reportedly because of his low GPA. In his freshman and sophomore year, Perry struggled with core science classes, earning D’s in several organic chemistry classes and C’s in general chemistry and physics.

But after Perry switched his major at the beginning of his fall semester in 1970, his grades didn’t improve. Perry got a C in Reproduction in Farm Animals, a C in genetics, a D in Feeds & Feeding, a C in Sheep & Angora Goat Production and two C’s in animal breeding classes.

Many of Perry’s other classes involved military education. Perry has previously credited his time in the A&M Corps of Cadets with giving him the necessary discipline to complete school.

Perry got two C’s in Development of Air Power and took four levels of World Military Systems, earning two C’s, a B and an A. The A was one of only two Perry earned at college — the other was for a class called Improv. of Learning.

The future governor only took one political science class while he was in school — American National Government, for which he earned a B. Other classes outside of Perry’s major included Shakespeare and Writing for Professional Men, which earned him two D’s.

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Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi said in Rick Perry: The Best Little Whore In Texas, ” … as a presidential candidate, Perry has mainly distinguished himself with a kind of bipolar wildness in” the debates: sullen and reserved one moment, strident and inarticulate the next. He sweats profusely. He can’t stand still. When he does manage to get off a zinger, he cracks a smug grin, looking like he’s just sewn up the blue ribbon in a frat-house dong-measuring contest.”

American Kids Flunking Science

I know that smug and loathe it — because our kids our flunking math and science for real, and we need an intelligent president.  At a time when America’s kids can’t keep up internationally, the “oops” guy appointed three consecutive creationists to head the Texas State Board of Education.

What is wrong with appointing creationists to these positions? Our kids are flunking biology and science — just like Rick Perry. In a staggering example of just how screwed up American has become, Penn State researchers published research this spring that only 28% of American biology teachers teach Darwin’s theory of evolution in high school. The Texans say we will teach creationism — not intelligent design — but a literal interpretation of the Bible in how the world came to be. Texans dictate the content of our textbooks, although the Internet and publishing on demand is diffusing their power.

My fellow Americans, this is insanity.

Making America a Theocracy Like Iran

At Perry’s August 2011 “God-tacular” called ‘The Response’, the Texas governor read from the Book of Joel: “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning!”

Most AOC readers don’t know about The Book of Joel, very popular with Perry’s friends Alice Patterson and CJ Jackson, leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation.

Believers in the NAR say that God is coming back to set up a “kingdom on Earth” with a church that will be “organized more as a military force with an army, navy and air force,” that will dispense justice and take out the nonbelievers as a prelude to the second coming of Jesus. NAR is committed to conquering the so-called “seven mountains” of earthly culture, including business, government, media, arts and entertainment, family, religion and education. (Note that Michele Bachmann embraces the same beliefs.)

Every top American business leader says that the brain drain in America is terrifying, prompting grave concerns that America will lose its place as an entrepreneurial nation and job creator. Rick Perry’s proposal to turn over all education to the states will only make this problem worse. For those who seek a theocracy in America, critical thinking is a bad-bad word. Questions are not allowed. Goosestepping is the order of the day.

Rick Perry supports states rights at the expense of the freedoms of ALL of America’s citizens, including women and minorities. I don’t kid myself that restoring Americans to our god-directed, proper place isn’t the goal of almost all Republican candidates.

Yet not all Republican candidates make me worry about their actual IQ and ability to digest complex information in an entangled interests world. Rick Perry does make me very nervous, as does Michele Bachmann — who also seeks a theocracy, although I believe she is significantly more intelligent than Rick Perry.

Intelligence Is an American Liability

Being a realist, I understand that intelligence is a liability in today’s America, where God will provide for our divine-right nation needs. My intelligence is a perceived liability, something to be stamped out — especially in a woman.

I am ill at the thought that America has so lost its way, that we want to put a blubbering idiot who supports a theocracy in charge of dismantling the federal government.

There is no doubt that Rick Perry would not support President John F. Kennedy’s use of federal troops to integrate the University of Mississippi. When I try to imagine the vision of America held by these Republicans, it does give me bad dreams.

For the second time in 2011, I had a nightmare about American politics this week. These Republicans really do scare the bejesus out of me; and anybody who reads me knows that Obama is not my favorite cup of tea either, because he lacks resolve on critical issues. President Obama is a spineless negotiator. 

Obama 2012 Election

Watching ‘The Kennedys’ recently, I asked myself if Obama would have had the resolve to integrate ‘Ol Miss with federal troops. I answered ‘no’ — he would stand down.

Only Hillary Clinton has those guts among current politicos, as did her husband — when he believed in the issue. Woops. Add Nancy Pelosi to the list.

President Obama states that Joe Biden is staying on the 2012 ticket and there’s no chance that Hillary Clinton will be running for vice president.

Clinton herself says she will leave her post as Secretary of State at the end of Obama’s first term and do foundation work and writing, with a focus on women’s issues. 

We’ll see. Leaving my doctor’s office this week, I overheard a group of educated, professional, older guys talking about the situation for 2012 Democrats. They had no doubt that Hillary Clinton will be called upon to save the second term of the Obama presidency and avoid turning the country over to Republicans, who are waging fierce wars on all the issues that matter deeply to her. Anne

James Meredith and Integrating Ole Miss