Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R).<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickperry/5063661666/sizes/z/in/set-72157625123096632/">Texas Governor</a>/Flickr
In the 2012 GOP presidential race, the quickest way to the top of the polls is to just stop campaigning. Maybe go on a book tour, sail around the Aegean for a bit, or teleconference with your friends in Norway. Live a little! No one has passed that bit of advice on to Rick Perry, however. On Monday, desperate for the support of social conservatives in Iowa, the Texas Governor signed the Family Leader’s Marriage Vow—a controversial pledge that Mitt Romney previously called “undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign.” The pledge commits signatories to a range of positions—including support for a federal marriage amendment, the appointment of “constitutionalist” judges,” and marital fidelity.
But it also extends beyond standard-issue talking points to some more fringey positions. In signing the Marriage Vow, Perry has also promised to reject Islamic Shariah law (first they came for the turkeys!), save women from the corrupting influence of pornography, and promote “robust childbearing and reproduction.” Shariah is defined in the document as a form of “totalitarian control,” which, while not approaching Herman Cain territory, is sort of an odd way to talk about the customs of one of the world’s major religions.
The marriage pledge is best known, though, for the slavery provision. The document originally noted that “a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.” That language has since been stricken from the vow, but only after an outcry from prominent GOPers like Romney turned the pledge into something of a toxic asset.
Perry has previously signed the National Organization for Marriage’s pledge to “appoint a presidential commission to investigate harassment of traditional marriage supporters.”
