Is this man a “reasonable” Republican?

The Republicans are off in search of “reasonable” Republicans (e.g. some one not as blatantly whacko as Bachmann and Santorum)  that will pass muster with both independents and their  religionist base.  So, is Texas Governor Rick Perry the man to fit the bill?  Let’s just look at some of the things this ‘reasonable’ man has said and supported in the past.

First, Perry has very odd ideas about about some amendments to the constitution including the one that made U.S. Senators subject to democratically held elections rather than appointments by state power brokers.

PERRY WANTS TO REPEAL THE 16th AND 17th AMENDMENTS, ENDING DIRECT ELECTION OF U.S. SENATORS AND THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX: In his 2010 book Fed Up!, Perry called the 16th and 17th Amendments “mistaken” and said they resulted from “a fit of populist rage.” The 16th Amendment allows the federal government to collect income taxes, which is the single biggest source of revenue, accounting for 45 percent of all receipts. The 17th Amendment took electing U.S. senators out of the hands of political insiders and allowed the American public to decide their representation instead. If Perry had his way, the federal government would be stripped of its current ability to fund highway construction projects, food inspectors, and the military, and the American public would not even be permitted to elect their own senators.

Perry also has made it clear that he thinks a state should be able to opt out of both Social Security and Medicaid.  He also believes that Texas has the best health care system in the country. There are approximately 3.6 million low-income Texans on Medicaid.  Texas has the highest rate of uninsured individuals in the country yet it has the highest threshold for medicaid eligibility.  More than 1 in 4 Texans lack coverage of any kind.   There are more uninsured Texans than there are in 33 states combined. Texas is also well known for its extremely high rate of poverty for children.   Perry opposed the expansion of SCHIP.  I guess his idea of  best health care system is defined by keeping the “riff raff” away so every one with insurance doesn’t have to deal with them.

It is widely believed that Rick Perry sent an innocent man to his death by refusing to hear significant evidence that showed the man had not committed the crime of which he had been convicted and that the officials in the case had carried out the investigation poorly.    The case against Todd Willingham is considered by many to be a horrific example of the death penalty gone wrong.

The Innocence Project obtained, through the Freedom of Information Act, all the records from the governor’s office and the board pertaining to Hurst’s report. “The documents show that they received the report, but neither office has any record of anyone acknowledging it, taking note of its significance, responding to it, or calling any attention to it within the government,” Barry Scheck said. “The only reasonable conclusion is that the governor’s office and the Board of Pardons and Paroles ignored scientific evidence.”

Perry–rumored frequently to be gay–has joined the culture wars against women’s reproductive health and GLBT civil rights.   He designated legislation designed to force women seeking abortions to have sonograms and state sanctioned lectures on fetal development as “emergency legislation”.  Additionally, any fetal heartbeat must be played for the woman.  He rushed the legislation into law.  After a Texas sodomy law was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court, Perry supported the Texas legislature’s insistence that the law remain on the books.

Perry supports teaching “creationist” myth as equal to the scientific theory of evolution.  Perry signed a parental notification bill in the gymnasium of Calvary Christian Academy of Fort Worth in 2005. This is an evangelical Christian school.  Perry believes that non-Christians are doomed and has said as much in 2006 following a sermon by Rev. John Haggee attended by Perry and other Republican Candidates.

Throughout much of the 90-minute service at Cornerstone Church, Mr. Perry sat on the red-carpeted stage next to the Rev. John Hagee. Mr. Perry was among about 60 mostly Republican candidates who accepted the invitation to be introduced to the megachurch’s congregation of about 1,500, plus a radio and TV audience.

“If you live your life and don’t confess your sins to God almighty through the authority of Christ and his blood, I’m going to say this very plainly, you’re going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket,” Mr. Hagee said during a service interspersed with religious and patriotic videos.

Asked afterward at a political rally whether he agreed with Mr. Hagee, the governor said he didn’t hear anything that he would take exception to.

He said that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who don’t accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell.

Hagee has been accused of anti-Catholicism and  antisemitism having said things against both the Jewish and Islamic faiths.  Perry has made antisemitic comments also notably about   humorist and entertainer Kinky Friedman who is an outspoken,  Jewish independent candidate for governor in the 2006 election.  Perry stated this about Friedman: “He doesn’t think very differently from the Taliban, does he?”

Rick Perry also told Tea Party supporters that “Texas might have to secede” from the US.

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) was one of the dozens of Republican lawmakers who are addressing the anti-Obama tea parties today. He told the crowd he didn’t believe they were all “right-wing extremists,” as others had sought to portray them. “But if you are, I’m with you!” he shouted. After, he told reporters that Texas might have to secedefrom the union:

Perry told reporters following his speech that Texans might get so frustrated with the government they would want to secede from the union.

“There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that.”

What reasonable governor would go on record calling for a new Civil War?  Actually, what reasonable person would say or do any of these things?    If  Rick Perry and Tim Pawlenty come from the ‘reasonable’ side of the Republican Party, the party needs to consult a dictionary or reality.