It might be that Perry is purposefully reaching out to the Christian base of the GOP. The 2016 Republican nominee needs to win primaries first.
I don't really care about homosexuality. It doesn't offend my Christian values because I don't care to judge the gays. That doesn't make me a supporter of to the gay cause.
Perry's comments don't bother me in the least. I don't think it hurts his brand in 2016, and I see no need to condemn him as being inarticulate or ineptly falling into the media trap. I'm not certain Perry was off message.
Perry was asked the question by a "member of the audience".
Read the news about the response, the news... not the conservative blogosphere.
If you adhere to the idea of the media as an extension of the progressive movement, questions like these are set ups to create talking points which drive the debate away from the issues I listed in my response, as well as a rallying cry to liberals, progressives and moderates who read that Perry (by extension the TEA Party and by extension all conservatives) thinks that homosexuality is a curable "disease" and paints everyone to the right of Adlai Stevenson as a raging political right-wing Neanderthal.
That the Christian "base" of the GOP would be looking for a political candidate to support based on their views on homosexuality rather than on whether or not this candidate could manage the fiscal needs of the nation, provide clear and strong foreign policies, work on creating an environment that encourages increased manufacturing and employment, enforce our laws and defend our Constitution, is simply baffling.
It would be like this "base" refusing to support a candidate who could do all the things I just mentioned simply based on the fact that he was a Mormon.
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