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.
