I try not to make it a habit of writing purely political posts but the new Rick Perry YouTube video threw me over the edge. If you like the video, you probably won’t like this post.

There is no shortage of reasons I don’t think Perry should be a presidential candidate for the Republican party. I don’t even think he should be the Governor of Texas. It’s not just because he’s a goof who embarrases most people from Texas, like myself, it’s the way he markets himself as a candidate.

For whatever reason, the loud, far right conservative politicians on the scene these days treat culture and intelligence as negative attributes. They forget that Christian law, much like Sharia law, is not United States law. They forget that smart people create solutions where others can’t. They forget a lot of things, many of which were their founding principles. I’m not talking about all Republicans, I’m talking about people like Rick Perry.

In my head this is a skit from Saturday Night Live. There is just no way that this is real. And yet it is. What does someone’s sexual orientation have to do with their ability to serve in the military? What makes someone a Christian and why does that even matter in politics? Who is keeping kids from praying in school or saying “Merry Christmas”?

Faith made our country strong? I’m not sure faith has made any country strong, though I’m certain it has caused hundreds of years of war and millions of lives lost. It doesn’t surprise me that this video is currently the second most disliked video on YouTube. This video makes me so mad that I find myself unable to fully convey my thoughts for fear that it will turn into yet another one of my 5,000+ word opuses.

Instead I’ll share the first of what will surely be dozens of parody “Strong” videos.

Point of clarification. There are good, smart and honest Republicans just as there are corrupt, stupid and dishonest Democrats. Sadly, the good, smart and honest Republicans don’t speak up nearly as loudly as the others.

Ok, now on to happier posts to follow.