Our guest blogger is Sally Steenland, director of the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at American Progress Action Fund.

When you’re running at the back of the pack, you’re tempted to do bad things. Sadly, Rick Perry has succumbed to temptation. In a despicable new campaign ad, he tells lies, advocates for discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans, gets history upside down, whines like a victim — and does it all in the name of Christianity. He should be ashamed of himself.

Responding to his false claims feels like spreading a virus, but viruses do turn into pneumonia, so it’s important to stamp this stuff out now. In his ad, Perry claims that children in America can’t openly celebrate Christmas. He should get out more. Last time I checked, Christmas pageants, caroling, and all the rest were popping up in cities and towns across the country. Perry also smears the honorable military service of gays and lesbians, many of whom are Christian men and women fighting for our country. One of our country’s founding principles is religious liberty, which means each of us gets to worship (or not worship) according to our conscience, and without government interference. Get that, Rick? It means that one strain of religious doctrine isn’t allowed to monopolize the country, which works out best for all of us. It also means that our vibrant religious heritage, which by the way liberals passionately defend, is a beacon of hope around the world.

And if that’s not enough, Perry viciously smears President Obama by falsely accusing him of waging a war on religion. Never one to let facts get in the way, Perry seems to think that telling a lie will make it so. He needs to reread the Ninth Commandment—and pay attention to the news which regularly reports on Obama’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships which has offices in 12 federal agencies that work with faith-based groups across the country. Just this week the office met with Chicago clergy and directors of federal agencies to discuss how partnerships with government could help create jobs, promote economic growth, and create healthy communities.

And President Obama himself is a devout Christian, proclaiming in more than one speech that “Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him. It is a source of strength and sustenance that I don’t walk alone.”

Pretending to be a victim but acting like a bully is an old trick, and Perry is an old pro. In his ad he warns that Christians in America are under siege. The claim would be comical if it weren’t so offensive and false. In fact there are many countries where Christians are persecuted and killed because of their faith –but America is not one of them.

In recent Republican debates and interviews, Rick Perry showed himself to be uninformed about basic policies and unable to remember simple talking points. In this new ad he shows himself to be incapable of telling the truth.

Anoka-Hennepin School District, the largest district in Minnesota, has come under fire over the past year as an unsafe school for LGBT students and faces a lawsuit from several students who say it has not appropriately responded to bullying. At the heart of the conflict is the school’s “neutrality policy,” which prevents teachers and staff from providing any education about the nature of sexual orientation. Now, the school board is considering a new policy that does not explicitly address sexual orientation, but implies that it is a “controversial topic“:

The study of controversial topics shall contribute toward helping students develop techniques for examining controversy, be appropriate to maturity and developmental level of students, be of significance related to course content, and presented in an atmosphere free of bias and prejudice.

Teachers and educational support staff shall not advocate personal beliefs or opinions regarding controversial topics in the course of their professional duties.

This new language — if enforced — provides just as much confusion as its predecessor. Tammy Aaberg, whose son Justin committed suicide last year after enduring bullying in the district, points out that there is no clear way to determine what is “controversial” and that it’s demeaning to suggest that a student struggling with coming out is in any way “controversial.”

Also at question is what might be construed as a “belief” or “opinion.” Conservatives regularly oppose LGBT equality and safety by simply disagreeing with facts. Would a teacher be accused of “advocating personal beliefs” for telling a lesbian student that her sexual orientation is healthy and normal? Would it be an “opinion regarding controversial topics” to point out that ex-gay therapy is fraudulent and harmful? Would it constitute “bias and prejudice” to interrupt bullying that treats a person’s sexual orientation as wrong or immoral? Under the guise of “controversy,” this new policy might still prevent teachers and staff from providing the proper facts about sexual orientation to ensure students’ safety and health.

There are many long-term health consequences to bullying, and even just the influence of a  conservative anti-gay community can contribute to suicide risk. Conversely, research also shows there are benefits to being able to safely come out and find affirmation in the school environment. If Anoka-Hennepin truly wants to ensure student safety, the district should stop catering to anti-gay conservatives and actually teach students what they deserve to know about their identities.

GOP Rep. Allen West (FL) knows what America is about — freedom. Reacting to President Obama’s speech yesterday, West registered his concern with Fox’s On The Record host Greta Van Susteren over the president’s use of words like “equality” because they fly in the face of liberty, apparently.

“I’m very concerned about this very divisive rhetoric the president is using when he continues to talk about ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’ and this thing that I think is really contrary to the principles that I mentioned, as far as life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness,” he said, adding, “Because the government cannot guarantee happiness.” Watch it:

West has previously compared sexual orientation to an ice cream flavor preference and predicted that gays and lesbians would “break down the military.”

“But the U.S. military is not there as a social experiment and for those who will sit up there and say, Congressman, you should understand because you’re black. Unless I’m Michael Jackson, I can’t change my color. But people can change behavior,” he explained earlier this year.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Rundown today, Steve Scheffler, the influential social conservative and president of Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, tore into Mitt Romney over his past positions on “homosexual marriage” and for not addressing the “the life issue” on the campaign trail or appearing at conservative events in Iowa.

Scheffler also said Evangelical Christians were not concerned about Newt Gingrich’s complicated martial history, telling Chuck Todd, “I actually sat with the Speaker about a year ago with a group of pastors in talking about some of his past history and that he was regretful of that and that he’d asked God’s forgiveness. And I think by and large most Evangelicals accept that for what it is, that their concern for somebody’s present lifestyle as opposed to their past.” Watch it:

Polls show that conservative Evangelical voters prioritize the economy over social issues like marriage or abortion and most — 34 percent of white evangelicals expected to attend the Republican caucuses on January 3 — now support Gingrich. Romney is attracting 10 percent of the Evangelical vote. While the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition has yet to endorse a candidate in Iowa, another powerful social conservative group, the FAMiLY Leader, may be close to backing the former speaker.