Employing deeply religious language that national experts say affords both power and peril for his political career, Gov. Rick Perry in late May told a group of East Texas business leaders that he was "called to the ministry" at age 27, suggested that the governor's office was his pulpit and that God put him "in this place at this time to do his will."Perry has every right to believe what he believes, of course. Trouble is, his track record at enlisting God's help to solve Texas' problems is rather weak. You might remember that three months ago he issued a proclamation urging Texans to "join together in prayer to humbly seek an end to this devastating drought and these dangerous wildfires." God, however, seemed unmoved, as the drought continued unabated, and is now the worst the Southwest has seen since 1895. Crops are dying, wildfires are burning, and through it all Rick Perry's pleas to heaven go unheeded.So maybe saying "God, you're gonna have to fix this" is a public policy philosophy with limited utility. Or maybe God just doesn't like Rick Perry. Hard to tell.According to a transcript of the private meeting, organized to raise funds for Perry's Aug. 6 "day of prayer and fasting" at Reliant Stadium, the governor stated that property rights, government regulation and a "legal system that's run amok" were threatening the American way of life and "it's time to just hand it over to God and say 'God, you're gonna have to fix this.' "
