So a slick, folksy Governor of Texas just parachuted into the Republican Presidential race. Remind you of anyone? Hair coiffed, teleprompter set to patronisingly moralistic, Rick Perry — who previously promised America he would not run for President — has decided that the country needs yet more faith-based initiatives, public prayer and foreign excursions. In his own words:

One in six work-eligible Americans cannot find a full-time job. That is not a recovery — that is an economic disaster.

He’s right. But of course — rather than investing in dilapidated infrastructure — Perry believes that righting our economic woes is just a matter of getting right with God. From CNN:

On August 6, Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants you to drop the Texas BBQ, grab a moist towelette and fold your hands to pray. On Monday, Perry declared the date a “day of prayer and fasting for our nation’s challenges.”
“America is in crisis, ” the Republican governor says on a website promoting the event. “We have been besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters.”

Perry invited the 49 other governors in the U.S. to issue similar proclamations, “encouraging their constituents to pray that day for unity and righteousness for our states, nation and mankind.” He wants other governors to join him at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Houston Texans, for an August 6 event called The Response, organized by a conservative Christian group.

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