RSVPs just aren’t what they used to be. And for Gov. Rick Perry, that might mean he’ll be left at the altar (pun absolutely intended) this Saturday at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
The latest word out of Kansas is that its governor, Sam Brownback, may not be coming to Texas for Gov. Rick Perry’s prayer and fasting rally at Reliant, after earlier telling Perry “That sounds awesome! I’m totally there!”
OK, so that last quote was completely made up. Here’s how the Topeka Capital-Journal reported it back in June when The Response was first announced:
Sherriene Jones-Sontag, Brownback’s spokeswoman, said the governor will pay his own expenses to attend the event.
But now, according to the Houston Chronicle, Brownback’s appearance is “not a sure shot.” Here’s what Gov. Brownback’s office is saying now:
The governor is on vacation and it will be at his discretion and expense if he goes.
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of what has become an increasingly controversial event, largely because of the extremists helping organize The Response.
So if Gov. Brownback does in fact drop out as it appears he is trying to do, that will mean the total number of governors at The Response will be (forgive me if I’m wrong, I’ve never been good at math) one. Just one: Gov. Perry, who sent RSVP requests to the nation’s other 49 governors and got back perhaps none. And given that it’s still unclear what role Gov. Perry will play at the event, his recent comments attempting to distance himself from the extremists organizing it, and comments he made about same-sex marriage that didn’t sit well with those same extremists, we’re not willing just yet to put any money on Gov. Perry making it to his own event.
This event is starting to look like a textbook example of buyer’s remorse. Some of the big players, probably anxious about the cynical use of faith for political purposes, are already looking for the exits, and the doors to Reliant Stadium haven’t even opened yet.
Do you have to pay to get in? Last I saw there was supposed to be 7000 people there. Seems like you could get at least 7000 rational people to hop in there just to dilute the expected insanity.
Not me, though. I’ll be watching my grass dry.
It’s probably something like the famous Parent Interview required to get into a Christian fundie school. They ask you a bunch of questions to determine whether you and your kid are “compatible” with what goes on in the school—or in this case Reliant Stadium.
1) They want to make sure your beliefs are just like theirs so they will remain happy. They don’t really give a warm crap whether you or your child are happy with them
2) They want to make sure that no “Satan Child” gets past their membrane and starts spreading hopelessly radical and evil ideas such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It could corrupt the other children and scar them for life.
At Reliant Stadium you probably have to recite a secret code or phrase to get in. It’s probably something like “Dipped in the blood of the lamb.” From what I have seen so far, the people who are coming to this thing have surely been dipped, but it was in something other than sheep blood. Icksnay on the it shay.
It’s probably something like “Dipped in the blood of the lamb.” — You, sir, owe me one pair of pants.
Charles, Eric, you both crack me up! During 1980, I was tired of seeing my brown lawn, so hubby and I spray painted the lawn a nice shade of green. The Water Fuhrers tried to give us a ticket for watering. I asked them to smell my lawn. All it took was ones sniff to prove it wasn’t green from watering.
As a non-Christian, I roar at some of the concepts that the funny-mentalists have. “Washed in the blood of the lamb” would have to stink to high heaven, not to talk about sticky feeling one would get when they’re up to their tank tops in blood. Yeech!
It’s too bad that they don’t know what they are talking about. That is what comes from not reading scripture properly.
There is one group of folks who I think are canables. They EAT the flesh of Jesus and DRINK his blood. That just smacks of cannibalism.
For all, if you know anyone with psoriasis, could you get them in touch with me on FaceBook? The National Psoriasis Foundation has FINALLY started a group in the D/FW area; I’m on the board. Psoriasis is a serious autoimmune disease that can kill.
Here is an interesting factoid: I am here in Chicago, and Joel Osteen is having a big rally/revival here this weekend. So he will not be at the Response, even though his church is the biggest in the country.
I plan on visiting Texas next week, and I might start the drive down on Saturday, so I will not be seeing Mr Osteen.
I was surfing around You Tube and ran into this old speech quite by accident. I had never heard it before. Given the flagging economy, the disturbing governmental events of the past week and the upcoming Rick Perry rally, I thought you might be interested in listening to this blast from deep in the American past. It struck a chord with me. You’ll need to turn up your volume a bit. I personally dedicate this film clip to Rick Perry and all his friends in Reliant Stadium:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nuElu-ipTQ&feature=fvst
He had me until he mentioned being dipped in the blood of the lamb. I was not expecting that. But seriously, that was great. Seems like the same battles over and over.
Hey goingtotexas:
Osteen is arguably a pretty benign character in the overall fabric of the Religious Right. In fact, I am not even sure that I would count him as a member of their ranks. I think he would be uncomfortable with that collection of fruitcakes in Reliant Stadium.
Charles, I agree. The far right would consider him “not a real Christian,” wouldn’t they?
Yep. In addition, the far right has always been suspicious of Billy Graham because he does not fully buy into their beliefs and activities. My suspicion is that they view Billy in the same light that the Tea Party views Jimmy Carter.