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Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is getting some attention these days since the base of the GOP is very unhappy with its presidential choices so far. Most readers only know about Perry because of his civil war type proclivities: Gov. Perry Talks Secession for Texas at Tea Party: “Texas Can Leave Union If It Wants To” Why they think Rick Perry is someone they should support is beyond me, but whatever. I’ve been on Houston radio a few times and have been told off air that Perry has a lot of problems that the rest of the country doesn’t know about as of yet and I can believe that. But what we do know this side of his state is that he loves his extreme religious right leaders. He’s hosting a prayer rally in Houston called The Response which has its fair share of super Evangelical fringers Right Wing Watch puts together an fact sheet to some of these fringers: The American Family Association The AFA today is led by Tim Wildmon, Don’s son, and its chief spokesperson is Bryan Fischer, the Director of Issues Analysis for Government and Public Policy and host of its flagship radio show Focal Point. Fischer routinely expresses support for some of the most bigoted and shocking ideas found in the Religious Right today. He has: held gays responsible for the Holocaust and likened them to domestic terrorists and Nazis who are intent on committing “ virtual genocide ” against the military, and asserts that “homosexuals should be disqualified from public office ”; said “ we have feminized the Medal of Honor ” by awarding it to a soldier who saved his fellow combatants rather than killing enemies; demanded all immigrants “ convert to Christianity ” and renounce their religions; asserted that Muslims have “ no fundamental First Amendment claims ” and should be banned from building mosques and deported from the US , adding that Muslims are inherently stupid as a result of inbreeding ; claimed African American women “ rut like rabbit s” due to welfare and that Native Americans are “ morally disqualified” from living in America because they didn’t convert to Christianity and were consequently cursed by God with alcoholism and poverty . Then there’s the IHOP group and no it’s doesn’t involve pancakes: The Response’s leadership team includes five staff members of the International House of Prayer (IHOP), a large, highly political Pentecostal organization built on preparing participants for the return of Jesus Christ. IHOP is closely associated with Lou Engle, a Religious Right leader whose anti-gay, anti-choice extremism hasn’t stopped him from hobnobbing with Republican leaders including Newt Gingrich , Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee . Engle is the founder of The Call , day-long rallies against abortion rights and gay marriage, which Engle says are meant to break Satan’s control over the U.S. government. One recent Call event featured “prophet” Cindy Jacobs calling for repentance for the “girl-on-girl kissing” of Britney Spears and Madonna. Perry’s The Response event is clearly built upon Engle’s “The Call” model. Engle has a long history of pushing extreme right-wing views and advocating for a conservative theocracy in America. Engle: is a proponent of “Seven Mountains” dominionism , a movement that seeks to have Christians take control of all aspects of American life, including government, business, entertainment and the media;supports the criminalization of homosexuality ; claimed that universities with LGBT anti-discrimination measures are teaching students to “ accept the mark of the beast ”; is waging a “ spiritual war ” on the Supreme Court to get abortion outlawed in America; prays that Ellen Degeneres will be “converted” from homosexuality. The International House of Prayer, incidentally, remains locked in a copyright infringement lawsuit with the International House of Pancakes . And then there’s the odious Jim Garlow: Most importantly, Garlow is a close spiritual adviser to presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and leads Gingrich’s Renewing American Leadership (ReAL) . Garlow is a principal advocate of Seven Mountains Dominionism , and wants to “bring armies of people” to bring Religious Right leaders into public office and defeat their political opponents. Garlow has a long record of extreme rhetoric. He: when Prop 8 passed in California, claimed that African Americans “ saved us from the bondage and enslavement that would come upon us if gay marriage actually passed in a state” and alleged marriage equality supporters are going to “ totally destroy the definition of the family ”; likened homosexuality to bestiality , saying that if marriage equality is upheld “the next court case could conceivably say that if three people wanted to marry or four people or five people or if someone wanted to marry their dog or their horse”; compared gay adoption to children losing their parents in the September 11th attacks and said that supporters of gay rights are “ almost like an Antichrist spirit” ; told conservative activists that “ your land has cance r” and believes that the “lethal ideological ‘radiation’” of progressives “is killing our nation” and “poisoning us and our children”; argued that legal abortion is responsible for unemployment . So there you have some of the basic haters that are part of Rick Perry’s minions. Now he has Rush Limbaugh on his tail because ” He Supports “In-State Tuition For The Children Of Illegal Immigrants” I’ve written about Texas passing a Dream Act type legislation that has been very successful so since it works and helps immigrants, Limbaugh most be opposed. In 2001, Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 1403 into law after the bill passed the Senate with zero no votes. House Bill 1403 by former Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, now called the Texas Dream Act , has proven to be an incredibly successful law providing access to higher education for students who may otherwise be unable to afford the increasing cost of attending college. Texas law currently provides that all students, regardless of immigration status, may qualify for in-state tuition at Texas colleges or universities provided they have lived in Texas the three years leading up to high school graduation and resided in Texas the year prior to their enrollment in higher education. The Texas Dream Act thus recognizes that immigrant students who have been educated in our Texas public schools have strong family, community and economic ties to the U.S. The state then follows through on the investment taxpayers have made in their education by allowing them to pay the same tuition rate as other Texans who meet the residency timeline requirements. These students have been admitted to colleges and universities based on their merit and despite the many obstacles with which they are confronted — a principle every Texan can appreciate. The law is both successful and popular because it reduces dropouts, encourages access to college and comes at little expense to the state. This type of legislation should be celebrated, but since Limbaugh admits that he’s now “center of the universe for the RNC , the nativists are running the GOP so it’s a dark stain for anyone wanting the GOP nomination.