One Iowa in the News: Perry ad on gays in military triggers backlash, especially online

from The Dallas Morning News.

Rick Perry’s newest TV ad, aimed at social conservatives in Iowa, has triggered a backlash from gay-rights advocates and others — especially on the Web, where negative buzz quickly spread.

In the 30-second ad, airing in Iowa and on Fox News, Perry underscores his Christian faith and criticizes the rollback of the government’s policy of prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

...The message is the latest in a series of recent attempts by Perry to make a fresh go at evangelical Christian voters. But it took on a life of its own online.

Critics accused Perry of unabashed pandering to social conservatives in advance of Iowa’s Jan. 3 GOP caucuses.

“He is brazenly attacking people who are gay,” said Connie Ryan Terrell, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, a nonprofit group that advocates religious freedom. “He is entangling his personal faith with his desired role in public life, and that is certainly inappropriate.”

Troy Price, executive director of One Iowa, a gay-rights group, called the ad’s message “the definition of intolerance.”

...“To me, this smacks of a desperate campaign,” Price said.

Bob Haus, Perry’s campaign co-chairman in Iowa, dismissed the criticism as the “forces on the left vent[ing] steam.”

“They all talk about tolerance and understanding. But tolerance is a two-way street,” he said. “It’s a little hypocritical to chastise someone for standing up for their beliefs when you’re asking someone to be tolerant of your beliefs.”

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