A response to the response to The Response

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they [already] have their reward." Matthew 6:5

Remember back when Governor Rick Perry proudly announced that there would be a day of prayer and reflection in August, that he wanted to fill up Reliant Stadium in Houston, and that he was inviting the other 49 governors across the nation to it? Perry then put himself in the center of it, named it "The Response," produced videos promoting it, and sent out his minions to tout it.

Well, the response to The Response has been tepid, at best.

The event, to be held later this week, only has 8,000 RSVPs, in a stadium that holds 70,000. Only one of the nation's other 49 governors, Sam Brownback of Kansas, said he'd come, and now there are rumors coming out of the Kansas statehouse that he may back out. Recently, even Rick Perry has been distancing himself from the Rick Perry campaign event that Rick Perry created to promote Rick Perry, saying that he may not even speak. He's joked that he may be an usher.

While I would not, and do not, question Perry's faith, I've said from the start that this event is political, not religious. The event's most visible spokespeople are political consultants, not religious leaders. The sponsoring organizations most associated with the event are ones which frequently insert themselves into public policy and elections.

It's painfully obvious that Perry's handlers are using God as a political prop for Perry's Presidential campaign, which at best might be seen as offensive to some. At worst, the event - which looks from this angle to be a wash-out likely to generate bad press for Perry on the eve of his campaign roll-out - is a major distraction from the core message which gives Perry his only hope of catching on as a Presidential contender: the Texas economy.

To the 8,000 people, undoubtedly sincere, who have RSVPed to attend the event, I would say this: Governor Perry has used the members of the Texas Legislature as extras in his political movie for years. Even some of his closest Republican allies in the House and Senate have grown weary of it. His success on that front undoubtedly leads him to believe that he can use you in the same way.

At least 48 governors, and maybe 49, decided they have better things to do this Saturday than be bit players in Perry's movie. There will be at least 62,000 empty seats at Reliant that day, undoubtedly hidden behind a sea of rented pipe-and-drape camouflage, representing tens of thousands of others who reached the same conclusion. Meanwhile, more than 50,000 people - more than eight times the number attending Perry's event - have RSVPed to a humorous response to The Response, the Day of Debauchery and Gluttony event which was playfully initiated on Facebook.

Governor Perry's handlers had undoubtedly hoped that The Response would be the perfect prelude to his Presidential campaign roll-out. Instead, the event is more likely to generate Perry's first round of negative national media - the analysis pieces pointing to the event as a key indicator that Rick Perry may not be ready for prime time.

When people use religious views as a public relations prop, they risk, and deserve, whatever ridicule is thrown their way.