Rick Perry

Quick Summary
Rick Perry, Republican Governor of Texas, is an anti-American theocrat and far-right extremist who routinely ignores facts.

Details

 * Perry is under criminal investigation for attempting to withhold funds a DA's office as part of an effort to force a DA to resign.
 * Perry believes the Great Recession is part of God's plan to force the U.S. to "return" to Biblical principles.
 * Perry has organized a prayer event intended to convert non-Christians, violating the Constitution's prohibition of establishing a state religion and violating the separation of chuch and state.
 * Perry called the BP oil spill "just an act of God that occurred" that "cannot be prevented." He said this at a conference partially funded by BP, which has insisted it followed safety procedures at the rig even though evidence they did not continues to mount.
 * Perry let a potentially innocent man be executed and then impeded an investigation into it when evidence showing he may have been innocent began popping up.
 * Perry wants to repeal the 16th Amendment and 17th Amendement of the U.S. Constitution, even as Republicans claim they are strict adherents to the Constitution.
 * Texas is the U.S.' biggest polluter, so Perry sued the government when the EPA published disapproval of Texas' air quality standards.
 * Perry criticizes the economic bailouts and recovery funding, but he turned around and used that money to balance the Texas state budget.
 * Perry threatened Texas would secede from the U.S. because he didn't like Obama's policies.
 * Perry believes Texas has the best health care in the country, even as it has the worst rate of uninsured residents in the country.
 * He threatened to secede because of Obamacare, but then turned around to seek funding for it.

References and Further Reading

 * 4/14/2014.  Josh Kilburn / AATTP.  BREAKING: Rick Perry is Now the Focus of a Criminal Investigation.  http://aattp.org/breaking-rick-perry-is-now-the-focus-of-a-criminal-investigation/  Last accessed 4/14/2014.
 * 8/20/2013.  Ashley Alman / Huffington Post.  Rick Perry Seeks Obamacare Funding For Texans.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/20/rick-perry-obamacare-funding_n_3787510.html?ref=topbar  Last accessed 8/21/2013.
 * 6/13/2011.  Erik Eckholm.  Perry Prayer Event Faces New Criticism.  http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/perry-prayer-event-faces-new-criticism/?ref=politics  Last accessed 4/14/2014.

Speaking at Trade Association Funded by BP, Gov. Perry Claims Rig Disaster is an 'Act of God' // Fang, Lee // 05-03-2010 // http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/05/03/94941/bp-perry-god/

Top 10 Things Texas Gov. Rick Perry Doesn't Want You to Know About Him // Keyes, Scott // 06-10-2011 // http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/06/10/241830/top-10-thing-texas-gov-rick-perry/