Email from CREDO Re: Susana Martinez and Texas Prayer Meeting

Here's another interesting little "something" from the MeanMesa email bag.

Tell Gov. Martinez: Don't attend discriminatory "Day of Prayer" event. Gov. Martinez has been invited to attend a Texas prayer event sponsored by a known hate group. Clicking here will add your name to this petition to Gov. Susana Martinez: "Tell Texas Governor Rick Perry that you will not attend his discriminatory 'Day of Prayer' event." Dear MeanMesa, Texas Governor Rick Perry is exploring a presidential run. And like George W. Bush before him, he's starting by courting the extremist evangelical vote. Instead of looking for serious solutions to our nation's very real economic problems, Gov. Perry is proposing a conservative, evangelical Christian prayer event, and he's sent a special invitation to every U.S. governor — including Gov. Susana Martinez — to participate. What's worse, he's put the organization and management of this event firmly in the hands of the American Family Association, a Mississippi-based conservative Christian organization that's so vehemently anti-gay, they've been identified as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.1 Tell Gov. Martinez: Reject your invitation to attend Texas Gov. Rick Perry's discriminatory prayer event. Click here to automatically sign the petition. This is no ecumenical prayer event that is inclusive of Jews or even progressive Christians. On the event's web site it's noted that the meeting "has adopted the American Family Association statement of faith," which includes the infallibility of the Bible, the centrality of Jesus Christ and the eternal damnation that awaits nonbelievers.2 Gov. Perry's extremist event has raised alarm among religious and non-religious civil liberties groups alike. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State even told the New York Times, "I have followed religion and politics closely for 35 years, and I have never seen a governor initiate and lead this kind of Christians-only prayer rally."3 Tell Gov. Martinez: Reject your invitation to attend Texas Gov. Rick Perry's discriminatory prayer event. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Let's be clear about Gov. Perry's true intent. It's widely speculated that Gov. Perry wants to throw his name in the hat to become the 2012 Republican nominee for president. It's also widely known that the Republican party's most solid base of supporters are conservative evangelical Christians. Conveniently, this national prayer event is scheduled to take place just one week before the straw poll in Iowa. Our elected leaders should be working to solve the tough problems facing this country, not participating in a discriminatory event aimed at burnishing Gov. Perry's credentials with the rightwing evangelical base. Only Sam Brownback, Governor of Kansas, has indicated publicly that he will attend the event. Your governor needs to hear from you now. Tell Gov. Martinez: Reject your invitation to attend Texas Gov. Rick Perry's discriminatory prayer event. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Thank you for standing up to rightwing extremists. Mark Anthony Dingbaum, Campaign Manager