Outsiders might be scratching their heads at the recent anti-gay statements and actions of Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

But insiders aren’t confused at all. They see Perry’s moves as a sophisticated campaign to bring out his religious right base in the 2006 primary to beat his most likely — and formidable — opponent, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R).

And the sum total impact of Perry’s recent moves also served to bury long-standing gay rumors that forced the governor to hold an unusual press conference last spring reaffirming his heterosexuality.

Just this past month, Perry told a reporter that gay veterans might want to move out of state if they don’t like Texas laws. He also signed an anti-gay marriage amendment bill — which did not require his signature — in an evangelical Christian school, flanked by preachers.

A spokesperson for Hutchison’s campaign, Terry Sullivan, said the senator has not made a decision on her candidacy for governor yet. He would not comment on the location of the bill signing at the evangelical school but said Hutchison agrees with the legislation signed there.

Perry could not be reached for comment.

Dr. Robert Stein, dean of Social Sciences at Rice University in Houston, said that Perry’s popularity rating is probably below 50 percent. But an opinion poll is far different from an election — especially a primary in Texas.

Republican primaries in Texas, according to several experts contacted for this article, tend to bring out the most conservative voters. Stein said that between 30 and 40 percent of Republican primary voters are social conservatives. To many, the Perry campaign strategy appears to be to cast Hutchison, an extremely popular politician, as a moderate. Calls to Perry’s office were not returned.

“[Perry] can hold a majority of a small plurality,” Stein said. If Hutchison wins the primary, he hypothesized, she could “win the general election easily.”

The Texas election will act as a test case for other Republicans to see if the party has moved too far to the right, Stein said. “If Hutchison wins the race, it shows [Senate Majority Leader Bill] Frist — what you’re doing doesn’t work,” he said.

There is a reactionary tendency among Republican primary voters, agreed Jim Dallas, who runs the Texas political site, www.BurntOrangeReport.com. “There’s a method to the madness,” he said.

“If it was an open primary [Bailey] would win in a walk,” he said. “[Republican primary voters] are not just average ‘red state’ Bush people. They’re a whole different breed.”

But the strategy could backfire if he gets too extreme, said Dallas, who is supporting the likely Democratic challenger, Chris Bell.

Dan Quinn, spokesperson for the Texas Freedom Network, said Perry’s election campaign has national repercussions. It is part of a coordinated campaign to elect candidates supported by evangelical Christians across the country. Central to this network are state-based evangelical, conservative organizations called Restoration Projects that mobilize right-wing voters, Quinn said.

As reported on Houston’s KHOU, Channel 11, Texas preachers have recently developed their own Restoration Project. According to KHOU, 800 ministers will work on the Restoration’s get out the vote drive in Texas.

“We have never seen such a sophisticated, such a broad effort by a political candidate in this state to pander to religious conservatives,” Quinn said.

The election of Bush provided a model for how it can be done successfully, Quinn said. And, as Rep. Garnet Coleman (D) noted, if Perry is successful in Texas then his strategy may be duplicated elsewhere.

The gay marriage referendum is another piece of the strategy, Quinn said. It’s a way to identify voters and donors who Perry can pursue for the primary race, he said.

“Do I want a governor who is willing to sacrifice [gays and lesbians] on an altar of fundamentalist Christianity in order to win an election?” he said. “The governor is willing to stab [gay veterans] in the back to pander to the religious right.”

State Representative Senfronia Thompson, (D), said she was not surprised by Perry’s recent actions even though when he began his political career he had “some degree of humanity.”

Perry, originally a Democrat, was a legislator in the Texas House of Representatives, from 1985 to 1991. He switched to the Republican Party, a common practice at the time, before he ran for agricultural commissioner in 1990. Perry was George Bush’s lieutenant governor before he became governor in December 2000. He was elected governor in November 2002.

It’s difficult to know if Perry is acting out of personal conviction or simply pursuing a political strategy. State Representative Warren Chisum (R), who authored the gay marriage amendment, said, “He’s doing what his convictions are. He’s a committed Christian.”

Stamping out gay rumors
Internet rumors for years have whispered that Perry, who is married, is a closeted gay man. Last spring, the rumors became more specific, alleging that Perry and his wife were planning to divorce because he is gay.

Perry held an unusual press conference in March 2004 to denounce the “smear campaign” that he said was an “obvious, orchestrated effort.” He declined to name names, but slammed Texas Democratic Party Chair Charles Soechting for referring to the rumors at a political rally. Protesters outside the governor’s mansion held signs such as, “It’s OK to be gay, guv,” calling on Perry to come clean about his sexual orientation.

“[The rumors] are not correct in any shape, form or fashion,” he said at the time. “These are irresponsiblee. They’re salacious. They’re hurtful to my family.”

Experts interviewed for this report said no credible evidence to support the rumors has emerged, but the brouhaha could have created image problems for the governor among conservative Christians.

Whatever his motivations, Perry’s comments and actions are hurting Texans, some said.

“Whether someone believes it or not it’s harmful to society,” Coleman said. “Even if it’s a political strategy it sends the wrong message.”

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