Perry confronted over fracking, gays in military

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Chickasaw Event Center in New Hampton, Iowa, Dec. 18, 2011.

/ AP

DECORAH, Iowa - What had been for Rick Perry a calm day filled with church services and friendly audiences, ended on a sour note as the governor found himself in two confrontations during his last town hall Sunday over controversial natural gas extraction techniques and gays serving openly in the military.

In the first exchange, Perry found himself debating a college student over whether hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" -- a method for natural gas extraction -- pollutes surrounding groundwater.

After the event, Perry had to explain to a 14-year-old girl - who later told reporters she was bisexual - why he opposed gays serving openly in the military.

The first conflict began innocently enough. The Texas governor had just fielded a question about construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project that gave him an opening to advocate support for the pipeline and further exploration of domestic energy resources. The next question came from 22-year-old Carrie Kauffamn, a student from nearby Luther College, who asserted that it had been proven the solution used in fracking pollutes groundwater.

"No ma'am," Perry said. When Kauffman insisted, Perry cut her off, replying, "We can have this conversation, but you cannot show me one place where there is a proven - not one - where there is a proven pollution of groundwater by hydraulic fracturing."

When the audience began to voice support for the young woman, calling out, "it's false," Perry challenged them to bring him the study in question. A follow up conversation with Kaufmann revealed she was talking about a recent Environmental Protection Agency study out of Wyoming that showed chemical contamination of the area's groundwater was the likely result of fracking.

Perry's tone began to betray his frustration.

"I am truly offended that the American public would be hoodwinked by stories that do not scientifically hold up," he said, his voice rising. "If that was true it would be on the front page of every newspaper, it would be on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, everybody would be running that story. We have been using hydraulic fracturing in my home state for years, and this is a fear tactic that the left is using and the environmental community is using that absolutely - excuse the pun, that does not hold water."

EPA suspects fracking linked to pollution

The audience continued to protest, and he ended the exchange by challenging them to bring him evidence once again, and saying he would concede their point if they could do so.

In a follow up interview with several reporters, Kauffmann stuck to her guns. "He's wrong," she said. "If I had a smart phone, I would have looked it up right there."

The event only continued a turn for the negative. As Perry shook hands, a girl approached him and asked why he opposed gays serving openly in the military. Her question ended with a charged clause: "and why you want to deny them their freedom when they're fighting for your rights."

What Perry didn't know during the exchange was that the girl, 14-year-old Rebecka Green, is herself openly bisexual.

"This is about my faith, and I happen to think that there are a whole host of sins, homosexuality being one of them," Perry said, adding that he himself was "a sinner" so he wouldn't "be the first one to throw a stone."

Reflecting on another question he had received this week about how he would feel if his own child were gay, Perry said, "I'd feel the same way. I hate the sin but I love the sinner."

"I'm openly bisexual and I didn't want to be told that if I wanted to serve in the military that I couldn't, and I just think [the Don't Ask, Don't Tell] policy is completely ridiculous," Green told reporters after the exchange. "Nobody should be able to tell somebody who they can or cannot love. I just don't agree with it."

Her father, Todd Green, a professor at Luther College, said he and his daughter came to the event after Green saw an ad Perry is airing in Iowa that questions why gays can serve openly in the military while, "our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school."

"He seemed to get that backward. Christians are not being persecuted in the United States of America. They've been in a position of dominance and power and privilege throughout the history of the United States of America. LGBT persons have not," he told reporters.

The rest of Perry's event, to a crowd of about 125, was standard stump speech fare that focused heavily on his record of job creation in Texas and the need to bring an outsider to Washington.

He also continued to take jabs at his rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Romney for raising corporate taxes in Massachusetts and Gingrich for using the Social Security fund to help balance the budget.

[Delgoth]

An openly bisexual 14 year old girl? Sound like someone's parents need smacked in the mouth for letting their 14 year old be sexually experimenting...

It was probably a setup question honestly.

[TheresaAB]

They did not say she was physically experimenting with anyone! But honestly, you are right, no 14 year old girl would be able to tell if she liked boys or girls...or both...I am sure that you didn't know which you were sexually attracted to at 14. Did you?

[Freepress1111]

Rick Perry obviously doesn't believe in equal rights or in religious freedom for anyone except Christians. And he wants to be president of the United States of America? Give it up, Rick. You don't believe in what America stands for enough to be president.

[ladyang]

Why is the media giving a voice to any of these "other" candidates? Romney will be the pick of the neocons/teabaggers - after all he share their values and all - TODAY!

[Dianna-Rene]

I would tend to agree with Mr. Perry, some of his most prominent backers have probably been 'fracking' Texas for years.

[bruiser101]

RON PAUL 2012 liberty. peace. smaller government. keeping our money at home. no war. please stop killing our children. god bless RON PAUL 2012

[signseeker1717]

Ron Paul: Legalize hard drugs (not just marijuana); isolationism and a weak, punchless national defense that encourages our enemies; eliminate consumer protections and work, health and safety standards and turn corporations loose to harm and exploit the public at will; sell off National Parks to developers so they can damage and destroy public lands without repercussions. BTW: There's no draft, so no one MAKES "our children" participate in the military.

NO thanks.

[venusvegasvada]

Gay = Sodomite

Maybe, there are some people in the US that don't like the idea of Sodomites in the military?

[Dianna-Rene]

As there are many people who do not share the opinions of holy-rolling zealots who employ antiquated terms to veil their condescending religious bigotry.

[medicalprof2]

Yup, when people actually question the politicians, we find out they are as stupid and narrow minded as we suspected. I don't care if ur anti-gay or not, but the fact is no republican-nominated runner can be anything less than a puppet of big business and the catholic church. There is no argument with this statement. You are deluded to think otherwise or you simply haven't peeled back all the layers yet. Keep digging I assure you you'll find the truth in all that muck that's piled up for years.

[medicalprof2]

Correction "puppet of the fundamentalist christians..." I forgot the catholic church actually agreed on an equal but different policy and that many biblical scholars had actually proven that all 8 verses of the bible pertaining to homosexuality had been modified since the original writings and that the word "sodomite" in the bible was directly translated at the time to mean "rapist" not "homosexual" or one who engages in anal sex.

[Inis_Magrath]

Dear Republican Primary Voters:

Please nominate Rick Perry as the Republican candidate for president. Please please please please pleeeeeeeeze!

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Democratic Party Voter

[kansas1946]

This is about my faith, and I happen to think that there are a whole host of sins, homosexuality being one of them," Perry said, adding that he himself was "a sinner" so he wouldn't "be the first one to throw a stone."
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So, with that convoluted logic, no sinner should be allowed to serve in the military, himself included. These bigots can never come up with an argument that makes any sense, because their position doesn't make any sense. They think these arguments will hold because they are delusional.

[Lindag10]

Agree with you about that one. Also Perry's claim that groundwater pollution from fracking "doesn't happen" shows that he is owned by the oil companies. When the people in Wyoming near the area of fracking are warned not to drink, bathe in or use the water from their wells, it's hard to deny there is pollution which didn't exist before the fracking started.

[addict42]

Why don't these idiots you constantly spout religious verbage to justify their carnage just tell the public a theocracy is what they truly seek for America.