As I reported earlier in the week, religious right elites are lining up in droves to support Rick Perry’s prayer fest, The Response. But there are some religious right figures who are not so keen on Perry. Ralph Reed, for one, as I mentioned in my earlier post this morning, seems to be in the Bachmann camp. And Mike Huckabee is taking a moment to remind his followers in an email that in 2008, Perry endorsed “pro-abortion, pro-same sex marriage Rudy Guiliani.”
Mitt Romney appears to not have an anti-Perry strategy yet, but to be counting on a Bachmann implosion. Writing at TNR, Ed Kilgore guesses that Bachmann has a tough road ahead of her, with her toughest challenge coming from the energy around Perry’s upcoming rally.
For my money, the revelation that Reed finds Perry a non-factor is very interesting, and here’s why: as Reed told me last fall at his inaugural Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, he sees the role of his organization as being different from that of the organizers of the annual Values Voters Summit, which include some of the heavy hitters jumping on board with The Response, the American Family Association and the Family Research Council. Those organizations, Reed said, educate activists on issues. His organization is focused on organizing those activists and getting out the evangelical vote.
