Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council—a leading Christian right organization—has created headaches for moderate Republicans by pronouncing the real issue in the congressional-page scandal to be “the link between homosexuality and child sex abuse.” Perkins has an impressive résumé. He ran (unsuccessfully) for the U.S. Senate while still in his 30s, and before that he served two terms in the Louisiana legislature. Today, though only 43 years old, Perkins runs one of the most powerful “pro-family” lobbying organizations in the country. (It’s the job that first brought Gary Bauer to national prominence.)
Why would such a successful person want to fudge his bona fides?
Perkins’ bio refers to him as “Dr.” Perkins (see below, third paragraph), but Perkins is in fact working toward a master’s degree from Louisiana State University (see below, last paragraph). The “Dr.” honorific derives from an honorary degree he received from Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell (see below, last paragraph).*
*Correction, Sept. 12: An earlier version of this column suggested that Perkins had further padded his resume by claiming, falsely, to have once been a deputy sheriff in East Baton Rouge, La. Citing a spokesperson for the East Baton Rouge sheriff’s department, the column stated that Perkins was merely a reservist; that reservists were not permitted to carry guns; and that there was no record of Perkins ever having served in East Baton Rouge as deputy sheriff. These last two assertions are false. The human resources director for the East Baton Rouge sheriff’s office today affirmed that although Perkins was a reservist, he was a reserve deputy, and that reserve deputies are permitted to carry weapons. Perkins is therefore fully justified to call himself a former “deputy sheriff.” Slate apologizes for the error.
