Wife: Rick Perry ‘brutalized’ by GOP rivals for his faith

Anita Perry said her husband, Rick, has been “brutalized” by his GOP presidential rivals and their party in part because of his faith.

Perry reflected on what has been a “rough month” for the Texas governor in his bid for the White House during a South Carolina speech in which she touched on religion and politics.

According to MSNBC’s First Read, Perry is quoted as saying:

It’s been a rough month. We have been brutalized and beaten up and chewed up in the press to where I need this today…We are being brutalized by our opponents, and our own party. So much of that is, I think they look at him, because of his faith. He is the only true conservative – well, there are some true conservatives. And they’re there for good reasons. And they may feel like God called them too. But I truly feel like we are here for that purpose.

Rick Perry joined the GOP presidential race in August and quickly shot to the top of public opinion polls. Perry’s stock has plummeted after poor debate performances and hits on his policy stances. He lags Mitt Romney and Herman Cain in several surveys.

Today, Anita Perry recounted the story of someone recently giving her husband a piece of Scripture, as a way of saying, “God is testing you.”

Before he officially joined the campaign, the governor told the Des Moines Register that he believed he was being “called” to run for president. He clarified that he didn’t necessarily mean the word in a religious context.

Rick Perry grew up a Methodist and for a long time attended the same Austin church George W. Bush did when he was governor. Perry and his family began attending Lake Hills Church, a non-denominational evangelical church, while the Governor’s Mansion was being renovated, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

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