Contender puts God before politics

As RIVALS attacked his decision to vaccinate girls against a sexually transmitted disease, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry swapped politics for preaching yesterday as he sought to reassure the religious right.

At Liberty University in Virginia, which dedicates an entire department to anti-evolutionary theory and boasts 72,000 students, the Texas governor delivered a lecture heavy on God and light on policy.

It comes on the heels of a debate that threatens to damage the standing of Mr Perry among his evangelical supporters – a crucial base from which he hopes to propel himself towards the White House.

The 61-year-old governor has long pegged his policies to his evangelical beliefs. Anti-gay marriage, pro-life and a supporter of teaching creationism in schools – he ticks all the right boxes when it comes to appealing to the Republican Party’s religious right.

But a chink in his otherwise socially conservative record is being exploited by those hoping to steal support away from the presidential contender.

In 2007 he mandated the vaccination of girls in Texas against human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer.

To most it may not seem a controversial decision, the vaccine shields woman from a pot-ential killer and health officials insist it is safe. But it has become a hot topic amongst those seeking the Republican candidacy.

At a televised debate on Monday, Michele Bachmann – a contender who has most to lose from Mr Perry’s popularity amongst evangelical Christians – went on the attack.

“To have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat-out-wrong,” she said to applause from the audience, made up of so-called Tea Party activists.

Critics of the vaccination programme claim it could encourage promiscuity. Ms Bachmann added that the drug may be “dangerous” for young girls.

During Monday’s debate, Ms Bachmann accused her rival of pushing the drug at the behest of the manufacturer, a contributor to the Texas governor’s campaign fund.

Mr Perry said he was “offended” by the suggestion than he could be bought off for $5,000. But it does highlight the tightrope that the 61-year-old Texan has to walk if he is to keep business on board while still rallying his supporters on the religious right.

His appearance at the evangelical university was arranged well in advance, but it served him well as he sought to limit any damage from the vaccine controversy.

The college is influential amongst evangelical Christians in the US. Among its departments is a Centre for Creation Studies that seeks to “equip students to defend their faith in the creation account in Genesis using science, reason and the scriptures”.

During a 20-minute address to some of the university’s students he made a plea that the assembled youths be guided by God rather than Congress.

For much of the speech, the governor adopted the approach of a firebrand preacher rather than a career politician.

“We know the presence of evil is real in this fallen world,” the would-be president intoned.

Although it may put him in good stead in the race to get the Republican nod, such rhetoric may alienate Mr Perry from moderate independent voters come 2012’s general election.