First it looked like Gov. Rick Perry wanted to become President Perry. Now it seems he is becoming Pastor Perry. On June 5, the governor announced that he’s making Aug. 6 “a day of prayer and fasting for our nation’s challenges,” and he has booked Houston’s Reliant Stadium for an event he has dubbed the Response. While Perry’s staff claimed that this is a “non-denominational, apolitical, Christian prayer service,” the key organizers include his former speechwriter Eric Bearse, former Republican Party of Texas Executive Director Wayne Hamilton, and several groups specializing in mobilizing fundamentalist religious voters for Republican candidates. Still, even with noted anti-gay marriage campaigners like the American Family Association and the Skyline Wesleyan Church on board, the event is not fundamentalist enough for one group of evangelical homophobes. Margie Phelps, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps, tweeted that the extremist group will take a break from its normal schedule of disrupting military funerals, synagogues, and gay rights parades to “picket [the] phony ‘prayer’ political rally.”

This article appears in June 10 • 2011.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.