Dem: President Perry would have people ‘praying for our country to survive’

By Alicia M. Cohn - 08/11/11 04:24 PM ET
The Hill

Americans will find themselves praying for the country to survive if Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is elected president, a liberal Democrat said Thursday.

“Under a Perry administration, we would see significantly more prayer across America,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). “People would be praying for our country to survive someone whose primary emphasis will be on right-wing ideological zealotry.”

Perry led a crowd in praying for the nation and President Obama on Saturday at the “The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis” event. Perry shared the stage with Christian faith leaders at the rally, which was attended by approximately 30,000 people at Houston’s Reliant Arena.

Most observers say Perry’s announcement that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination will be imminent. Signals indicate he will enter the race soon and challenge front-runner Mitt Romney.

Doggett, who has been positioning himself over the past week as the man to “introduce James Richard Perry to America,” also hinted that the rest of the country would not be distracted from questioning Perry’s record by his emphasis on “right wing ideology.”