Views from the Values Voter Swag Bag
Frederick Clarkson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 12:42:34 AM EST
This year's Values Voters Summit (VVS) will be a shock to all who have claimed that the Christian Right is dead or about to breathe its last. Several thousand registrants are jamming into the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the annual political conference of the Christian Right hosted by, among others, the Family Research Council (FRC) Action, American Family Association (AFA) Action, and the Heritage Foundation. As the movement emerges from a period of transition following the passing, retirement, or semi-retirement of the founding generation of the Christian Right, I see a movement that is is increasingly focused, vibrant and angry.
After registering on Thursday evening, before the official opening, I combed through the swag bag issued to conference participants, where I found several magazines brimming with the stuff of which theocratic movements are made. If you were up late last night and following me on Twitter, you would have noticed me tweeting some of the highlights as a conference "preview."  I think that even the most casual reader -- maybe especially the most casual reader who is less accustomed to such rhetoric -- would be startled and concerned about the surprising sense of urgency expressed and the aggressive political vision of the writers.

Here is some of what I found:

In the September 2012 issue of the AFA Journal in my swag bag, Ed Vitagliano, Director of Research for the American Family Association and a speaker at the VVS, argues that "Christians in the U.K. and U.S. are on the verge of seeing the triumph of a cultural totalitarianism that will drive believers to the fringes of a once free society." And unnamed "secularists" are to blame. AFA also says it has reissued a DVD "exposing the secular left's war against public expression of Christianity in America."

Vitagliano quotes Catholic priest George W. Rutler: "The national election in 2012 will either give Christians one last chance to rally, or it will be the last free election in our nation," he declared. "This can only sound like hyperbole to those who are unaware of what happened... to Western Europe in the 1930′s" as fascism rose to power. Rutler is however, not alone in his hyperbole or the views that underlie it.

The sample issue of Ministry Today (January/February 2012), another piece of swag, contained a hair-raising set of essays that focused considerably on political and cultural power and how to get it.

Longtime African American Christian Right activist Bishop Harry Jackson said that Christians with the right "worldview" must run for every office at all levels. "We can change the direction of the U.S. government in less than 20 years," he declared.

Writing in the same issue, Rev. Joseph Mattera of Resurrection Church in New York City argues against grassroots revival as the means to conservative Christian cultural transformation. His preference: "Top-down tactics."

"The truth is," he writes, "that culture is transformed by a small percentage of the population who make up the cultural elite in a society. Thus the only way to effect cultural change is to convert the elite who formulate culture in every sphere." He says he wants to "engage and shift the influencers toward biblical values at the highest levels."

Veteran Christian Right leader and televangelist James Robison says to elect "the best" and that "It is our duty -- actually our calling -- to do so." And the late Chuck Colson wrote that the Manhattan Declaration, the premier alliance of conservative Catholics and conservative evangelicals of which he was a prime mover, is "mobilizing silent-too-long-Christians to protect life, marriage and religious freedom."

The theme of becoming unsilent and aggressively taking on those who are allegedly "silencing" conservative Christians is a major theme of a number of the articles in the magazines, and for that matter, the VVS.

For his part, actor Kirk Cameron says in an interview with the AFA Journal that Christians can't push their worldview effectively "because we don't own the microphones. But I am hoping for that to change."

This is crossposted from the special PRA 2012 Values Voter Summit Blog , a project of my new employer, Political Research Associates, where I am now a Senior Fellow. More posts to come!


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Views from the Values Voter Swag Bag | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 hidden)
A Common Theme (5.00 / 3)
Cameron cites a view that seems to run through the Values Voters Summit speakers -- we're not winning hearts and minds because those evil liberals they're spreading malicious lies about our views.

Denis Prager gave an astounding example of that this evening, when he claimed that Jews only vote Democratic because liberals have successfully painted all conservatives and Republicans as Nazis. As if the Jewish people don't have the experience to recognize fascist tendencies when they see them

And he brought up two examples to prove how misunderstood conservatives are, regarding racism:

1. He asked the audience tell him whether they would preferred an all-black conservative SCOTUS over an all white male liberal one. Not surprisingly, even the racists in the room passed that simple intelligence test. It's not hard to suppress those instincts when Prager's already planted the idea of nine Herman Cain clones in you're head.

Thus he denies that there are racist conservatives, when we know for a fact, both through sound research and personal experience, that there are... millions of them.

2. He pointed out that conservatives have recently elected the daughter of Sikhs and the son of Indian couple as governors.

Big deal -- they're both professing Christians. If either of them still adhered to the religion of their forefathers, neither would have come close to winning the Republican primary. Also, neither is African American.

Prager also mocked the idea that women are being denied equal pay for equal work, despite the fact that the evidence that they are is almost trivial to find. He asks why companies would even consider denying women people equal pay since it would be bad for their business. Maybe he should try asking some of the CEOs why they do it, if he doesn't understand. Of course, he has no interest in finding out, since he denies it's a problem.

Overall, it was a toxic mix of denial and victimhood. Denial of reality (and really, it's denial of stuff that's not that hard to dig up for yourself), and whines about the liberal press distorting their position. (Oliver North was especially childish in his abusing namecalling.)

At least Prager got to the root of one problem -- why neocon foreign policy is such a disaster. He summed it up in one sentence (supposed to be his coup de grace at the end of the speech):

"Evil is normal. America is an aberration"

It's simply breathtaking in its arrogance and cluelessness.

As for Mitt Romney. Apart from a tepid video from the man himself, you could have been forgiven if you though they had no idea who was running for President on their behalf.

by tacitus on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 03:10:42 AM EST


Glad to see you are at the VVS (5.00 / 3)
I wish I were there with you like the good old days of the NRB and Reclaming America conferences we attended together.

Actually don't you think many of the new generation is saying what the earlier generation said about taking over the spheres of life and government. The defunct Coalition On Revival had its 17 spheres, the New Apostolic Reformation has its 7 mountains (the Reader's Digest version of the 17 spheres).

Twenty years ago many were setting a political time limit of 50 years. Bishop Jackson now says 20 years.

The tocsin the RRR people sounds that Christians are about to be silenced is certainly scare tactic but it is what the late Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Lou Sheldon and company have spouted for many years.

Rev. Mattera states what the late Bill Bright and Campus Crusade has tried to do by reaching out to business people and military personnel of all ranks. For years now the RRR has said they must capture school boards, city councils, state legislatures, Congress and the presidency.

Here is California their best effort occured in 1994 when Howard Ahmanson & crowd helped to elect 25% of the legislature and for a brief time take control of the Assembly

So in many ways it is the same ole same ole just being promoted in a little different way

Jim Bakker who had Cindy Jacobs and her husband on his program all this week is pushing dooms day and selling emergency survival kits for $ 200 and food kits for up to $ 3000.

The attacks on GLBT persons, reproductive rights, labor, entertainment, etc., will continue as long as there are Evangelical/Fundamentalists and entrenched Roman Catholic bishops.

Hopefully, by attrition as the old guys like Weyrich, Kennedy, Falwell and Colson die off the generation younger than Perkins will not consider same sex marriage, birth control and most of the cultural war issues important.

by JerrySloan on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 03:50:12 AM EST

The evil govmint provides (none / 0)
survival kit info for free. I do think that every person should consider putting together a bug-out survival bag, appropriate for their circumstances. My local OMG event would be a big earthquake from the New Madrid fault.

by NancyP on Mon Sep 17, 2012 at 01:41:55 PM EST
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Harry Jackson may be right ... (5.00 / 2)
Having just heard Bill McKibben speak at F&M College on Thursday, I have to note with wry amusement that Jackson may be right about changing the direction of the US government within 20 years. It won't be the religious right doing the changing, however. McKibben quotes Jim Hansen of NASA as giving the world 16 more years at the rate at which we are now burning carbon before the tipping point will be reached.

After that, there will be no stopping the magnitude of climate change which will inevitably result in a planetary climate inhospitable to most life forms as we now know them. Dealing with the multiplying natural disasters - increasingly severe storms, extended draught, collapse of food supplies - that are inevitable as part of the process of change will demand more and more of government time and resources.

That the religious right not only denies the science of climate change but actively works against our taking any steps to mitigate the pending disaster is, in my opinion, an evil even greater than the results of their other anti-science activities. They claim to be pro-life, but on this most basic topic of survival of life on the planet, they have clearly chosen to be pro-death.

by MLouise on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 11:04:31 AM EST

Projection (5.00 / 1)
One thing that strikes me time and time again is how the dominionists and their ilk project themselves time and time again on the people they hate... on liberals, on atheists, on Muslims, on anyone not like them.  Everything they say others are trying to do turns out to be the very things that they are attempting.

Another thought that struck me is that the film that's caused so much trouble comes from the Dominionists or people aligned with them.  That says much for what they're really about - they're TRYING to start wars and conflict.  When you combine that video with the "Value Voter's Summit"... the picture should be terrifying for anyone who doesn't share their values.

Frederick, it's amazing how people STILL insist that the "Religious Right" is dying, or that they are in their last stages, when the reality is far different.  I think it's a case of wishful thinking and denial of the very real danger they pose to each of us and to this country.  They just don't want to accept that yes, a church can really be THAT bad.

by ArchaeoBob on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 11:45:00 AM EST

Let Me Try Again... (none / 0)
Frederick, it's amazing how people STILL insist that the "Religious Right" is dying, or that they are in their last stages, when the reality is far different.  I think it's a case of wishful thinking and denial of the very real danger they pose to each of us and to this country.  They just don't want to accept that yes, a church can really be THAT bad.

Talking about me?  :-)

It's been a few months (at least) since I last posted any comments on this site, but I've yet to be convinced that the Religious Right is a growing threat. Indeed, three recent developments would seem to indicate the opposite.

First, Pew released an update to their decades-long look at the religious beliefs of successive generations of Americas:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/god-dead-millennials-anyw ay

The title of the article is overblown, but it's the chart that's important, showing that there has been a steep decline in the number of Millennials (the youngest adult generation) who have never doubted God's existence in just the last five years.

The key to reading the chart is to notice just how stable each generation's beliefs are over the decades. Once a generation reaches adulthood, their religious beliefs (overall) do not change much for the rest of their lives. Given that the Millennial generation is still reaching adulthood, the continued decline in their chart would likely reflect an increasingly less religious outlook from their younger members. (When the next generation is begun -- post-Milliennials? -- I would expect the Millennial line to flatten out).

This trend isn't going to change things overnight, of course, but its a trend that's already happened in many other countries in the West, and eventually, its caused the bottom to fall out of religious conservatism. The trend appears finally to be accelerating here in the US, and there is very little the Religious Right can do to stop it.

Secondly, the Religious Right is losing the battle over gay rights, badly. So badly that some of their leaders are already talking about abandoning that particular front, saying that fighting the increasing majority of Americans who support equality is counterproductive to the overall fight over values.

DADT bit the dust and (as expected) nothing happened. It'll be years before gay marriage is legal in some parts of the USA, but the more realistic of those in the religious right admit that the universal adoption of gay marriage is all but inevitable in the years ahead.

Third, Mitt Romney. Why is he the nominee when Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann, both heroes of the religious right, were at some point, leading in the primary polls? I've been watching the Values Voter Summit, and there could scarcely be less enthusiasm for the man. Even Santorum's pimping of his vanquisher today was greeted with a decidedly lukewarm response.

In 2008 we heard how RINO McCain destroyed Republican chances of winning the Presidency, and how they would get a true conservative nominated next time, especially on the back of the Tea Party wave that energized the religious right as much as anyone. So... Mitt Romney?

Try as they might, they can't get a national figure elected, and absent a politician from their ranks who has the smarts and charisma of Bill Clinton, they never will.

Now, it's clear that there have been reversals in the progressive agenda as conservative Republican majorities at the state level have pushed through draconian changes to the labor laws, and election legislation (not to mention the usual gerrymandering), and on the backs of that, there has been a wave of anti-abortion legislation the effect of which cannot be understated, but much of the root of this cannot be attributed to the religious right. The governors of Wisconsin and Ohio may see them as useful allies, but the changes they are pushing through stem from their conservative political (and economic) beliefs, not from seeing them as a mandate from God.

I agree that right-wing conservatism is a huge problem and may not be going away any time soon, but it's no longer the religious right who are driving it. Sure they are along for the ride, because it takes them most of the way to where they want to go, but there is a difference.

So, in conclusion, I will reiterate where I think we are. I agree that the Religious Right are still a force to be reckoned with in the USA. The thrust of my argument has been, all along, that they have reached their high water mark. The only way for them from here is down. They have proven incapable of capitalizing on the re-energizing of right-wing conservatives to break through at the national level and the demographic tide is running against them.

But... just because down is the next step doesn't mean they're done. I've always said that they can get up to a lot of mischief in the next decade or more as they slowly decline in influence. But Republicans aren't going to want to keep losing national elections forever, and as the white evangelical base dies off, they are going to have to change if they want to win again, and they will leave the religious right behind.

Nothing changes overnight, but the high water mark is here (and may have already passed). We're currently on a very slow ebb tide, though I believe there is a chance that the same seismic shift that's gone on in Ireland, the UK, and Italy in the past may happen here to at some point, once the critical mass of more secular people gain the majority.

by tacitus on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 09:00:36 PM EST
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(Laugh) No (none / 0)
Actually, I'm commenting on the people I've encountered in person who think that way in the face of the growing power (and violence) of the Dominionists.  Just in the last ten years, their in-your-face tactics have gotten to the point where I expect to be proselytized in some fashion every day I leave the house - and even being in my own home isn't a guarantee that I won't encounter more of it (mailbox stuffers, getting preached at over-the-fence, online trolls, etc.).  Some of my friends see it, but others seem totally oblivious to it and yes, said things like "But they're a CHURCH, they aren't that bad!".

No, they're worse.  Far worse.

I admit I don't agree with you in the least - I think that they have a very real chance of overthrowing the government via the ballot box (or manipulations of the same), and a very real concern for several of my friends (which I strongly share) is that if they DO loose, violence will follow.  When President Obama won, I thought we were going to have the second civil war right there.  Then they got to work and we had the debacle of 2010.  If they loose this time, well, expect violence.  Unless they're stopped and stripped of their power, they will eventually win, and we (collectively - liberals, walkaways, you name it) will probably be some of the first to pay the price.

They aren't dying, they aren't even slowing down.  They're growing and spreading like some sort of cancer.

by ArchaeoBob on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 10:53:09 PM EST
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Okay... (none / 0)
Just in the last ten years, their in-your-face tactics have gotten to the point where I expect to be proselytized in some fashion every day I leave the house - and even being in my own home isn't a guarantee that I won't encounter more of it (mailbox stuffers, getting preached at over-the-fence, online trolls, etc.).

I've lived in Texas for 15 years and have never been preached at or proselytized in all that time (outside of church). I've had two pairs of JWs knock on my front door, but curiously they both happened when I was due to fly out later that day, so I didn't even have time to talk to them. I get the typical Easter and Christmas fliers through the mailbox from local churches, and did get a copy of that "Jesus Movie" that was mass mailed out a few years ago, but that's it.

The only time I've been made to feel uncomfortable was when someone I was playing volleyball with decided he wanted to lay on hands and pray over my sore Achilles tendon, and he asked me first (I was too surprised to say no!).

So, I don't know what it is you do to warrant such attention, but given what I know from my friends and my own experience, it isn't typical. Even online, I have to work reasonably hard to gain the attention of the Dominionists, even when I want to engage them!

When President Obama won, I thought we were going to have the second civil war right there.  Then they got to work and we had the debacle of 2010.  If they loose this time, well, expect violence.

Oh good grief. I'm sorry, but this is heading into conspiracy theory territory. It's the type of nonsense the fringes of religious right loves to darkly whisper about -- like the fear that this will be the last presidential election if Obama wins, since he will declare martial law to stay in power indefinitely.

It's one thing to oppose the radicals on the religious right, but it's another to fall for the same type of paranoia they spread about.

Dominionists are the fringe of a fringe. The entire power of the religious right could not stop the Republicans from nominating the most liberal, and only non-Christian candidate running, so how are a tiny proportion of that number ever going to get their man in the White House through the ballot box (even though manipulation?)

I would urge you to sit back and get a little perspective on the situation. Even if I accept that I could be wrong about the declining fortunes of the religious right, it should be clear to anyone who soberly considers all the evidence that things are nowhere near as bad as you think they are.

It's no fun living as though we are besieged from all sides. Yes, there are problems, and those who are in the firing line -- the ones whose lives are directly affected by the legislation and policies the religious right are pushing -- are suffering, but let's not go off the deep end. This is still a stable democratic nation where the vast majority of people have no interest in fomenting unrest or revolution. Indeed, almost everyone (even the religious right's most ardent supporters) have a vested interest not to.

You saw the Tea Party surveys. They all claim they want a revolution in spending cuts, but when you ask them for specifics, in reality, they can't even name one major debt generator they want to cut because they all would hurt them too.

Don't be fooled by the rhetoric. Lift up the covers and you'll find that most people do not have the revolutionary zeal you worry about. They have too much to lose.

by tacitus on Sun Sep 16, 2012 at 05:06:43 PM EST
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You haven't "walked in my shoes" (none / 0)
OK, think about this.

They torched my electronics workshop.  Tens of thousands of dollars worth of fine advanced computer-driven lab equipment I'd collected over decades as junk and rebuilt - a total loss.  Thousands of dollars worth of parts I'd scrounged from broken junk (parts tested and good).  Hundreds of rare electronics reference books.  Amateur Radio radios I was trying to fix so I could use them, parts, books.  Not only that, but several inventions I'd been working on went up in smoke... things that would have revolutionized my discipline if I'd had a chance to complete them (plus given me a rare chance to earn a living).  

How do I know it wasn't "natural"?  Because they ("Good Christians") threatened my elderly parents before they did it and ordered them to "SHUT HIM UP!" (my parents told us of the threats and demands less than a week before the shop was torched).  It wasn't investigated because I didn't have insurance and am a poor person.  It started in an impossible place, in an impossible way.  I couldn't get the firemen to listen or consider anything.  It was suspiciously hot - burned solid aluminum blocks and melted steel.  Funny, but our well was also knocked out so I couldn't put it out (though that may have been a side effect of the fire).

They've poisoned several of our kitties.

They spraypainted racist hate graffiti in front of my mailbox.

They've attacked my wife online because of her religious beliefs and views, and harassed us both repeatedly.

They internet stalked me for speaking the truth about them (some of the people here may remember that several month long period several years ago).

We've been stalked by dominionist organizations in this area, and had to order some of them to desist trying to contact or convert us.  We've caught them sneaking onto our property with oily hands (said he was going to put tracts on our car, but he had no tracts and hands glistening with what looked like oil).

Why?  Because of my public support for evolution and refusing to "return to the fold".  Because we no longer associate with mainstream churches, but go to a UU church.  Because I won't submit to their authority.

I'm not the only one.  Read about Darla Kay Wynne.  David Mullins.  Shoot, talk with Leah Burton or Dogemperor.  There have been other examples that have been discussed here.

I could name a great many other people who have had the same experiences as I have.  Most have shared their stories in private, however, and thus it's up to them to share them in public.

REGARDING THE THREATS IN 2008

You didn't hear the words and threats I heard, for instance while getting gas, back when President Obama won.  You didn't see or hear the hostility towards liberals and Democrats.  You didn't hear from friends who were terrified of the things THEY heard, like I did.

You probably don't know where the nearest hate group is to your home.  I do.  Less than a mile.  Pass by it on a regular basis.

So in a nutshell, you've had a very sheltered and protected life, at least as far as having problems with dominionists.

by ArchaeoBob on Sun Sep 16, 2012 at 11:58:51 PM EST
Parent

addendum (none / 0)
I should add that one of those friends used to be staunchly anti-gun, but after the threats and hate he heard after President Obama won, he changed his mind and said that he realized that he might need a gun to keep them from killing HIM.  He's now a supporter of the second amendment.

by ArchaeoBob on Mon Sep 17, 2012 at 12:05:24 AM EST
Parent

But typical? (none / 0)
Well, if all that is true, then clearly that would be extremely disturbing, but I really find it hard to believe that your experience is typical. While I'm not an active member of any anti-Dominionist effort, I don't exactly lead a sheltered life. I have encountered plenty of anti-Obama, anti-liberal prejudice, and know others whose relatives (especially parents) are virulently anti-Democratic, but it's all talk. There's nothing to suggest that any of these people goes as far as to commit crimes against others in support of their beliefs.

And I follow enough skeptic and atheist boards to know that your experience isn't typical even for outspoken critics of the religious right. The deliberately provocative PZ Myers gets his fair share of hate mail and passive aggressive threats, but has never been subjected to violence. They only serious threat made against him was from a mentally ill Canadian who has a history of such behavior.

Yes, people like Jessica Alquist and Sandra Fluke have been subjected to horrible things, but again, they were exposed to that by being injected into the national debate. Private citizens rarely get the same exposure. If it was happening on a widespread scale then we'd be hearing much more about it.

I'm not sure what else to say other than I hope you can find some resolution to your problems.

by tacitus on Mon Sep 17, 2012 at 03:28:23 PM EST
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end times for the religious right (none / 0)
I agree with you tacitus. The very nature of the agenda that the religious right has been pursuing is leading to its demise. Young people are  simply turned off by the punitive nature and plain mean-spiritedness of these people. It's a good thing many of the failed ideas of the old guard are about to meet their end, but too bad that their death throes will linger on a while.

by PastorJennifer on Mon Sep 17, 2012 at 12:52:12 PM EST
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DARVO (none / 0)
is what clinical and social psychologists call it: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. It's a hallmark of abusers and oppressors, individual and organized.

We, of course, must not sink to savagery. Still, one can fancy a large flight of assassin bugs alighting on their pumpkinlike behinds.

by Rey Mohammed on Sat Sep 15, 2012 at 09:06:06 PM EST
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Fred is right . . . (none / 0)
"Secondly, the Religious Right is losing the battle over gay rights, badly. So badly that some of their leaders are already talking about abandoning that particular front, saying that fighting the increasing majority of Americans who support equality is counterproductive to the overall fight over values."

Please name some of the RRR leaders who are talking about abandoning the GLBT fight. I sure don't see that sentiment in the organizations I monitor.

The RRR can't use same sex marriage as a wedge issue because they have won it in 31 states. While the marriage issue in Maine, Washington and Maryland looks good according to the polls, it did so in other states but in the end was defeated.

The Supremes will find someway to wiggle out of hearing the Prop 8 case from California just as they wiggled out of hearing the Don't Ask Don't Tell law suits although they will probably have to hear some of the Defense of Marriage Act cases.

The hardcore of the RRR (dominionists) have take a vow unto death to see the USA becomes a Christian nation ruled by biblical law so they are not going away anytime soon. As to their future influence on the political scene that is up for grabs.

It is true many of the present leaders of the RRR are worried their young people are not falling in line on GLBT issues because they know GLBT persons with whom they attend school and other social activities and see them as simply humans who are entitled to civil rights.

The RRR control the state Republican party in California and I believe they will continue to do so for many years to come.

Out biggest political worry is not GLBT or reproductive issues but all the money companies can dump into the political process.

by JerrySloan on Sun Sep 16, 2012 at 04:32:52 AM EST

Very true! (none / 0)
When you realize that a lot of those companies with all the money (and dumping it into conservative coffers) are also dedicated to establishing a theocracy in America (see Leah's List http://leahslist.info/ ), and support at least a RRR if not fully dominionist agenda, where this nation is heading is not pretty.

Another aspect is the mainstream media.  As long as they keep functioning as RRR propaganda outlets because of their corporate ownership (in some cases the same corporation that owns them also are on Leah's list and financially support the RRR), people will keep believing the lies and not wake up to the danger in front of them.


by ArchaeoBob on Sun Sep 16, 2012 at 10:47:06 AM EST
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Reply (none / 0)
To be honest, I can't remember on the RR said that, but I do recall it being reported (looked on Google but cannot find it -- I think it was about a year ago). Apologies for not being more specific.

I'm glad you agree that the younger evangelicals are not interested in the GLBT battle -- Al Mohler has witnessed as much with his own eyes -- and there is very little the older RR can do about it. You simply cannot understate just how important this is. It is a generational transformation that is going to be almost impossible to reverse. I simply don't buy that the pressure's off since they've already won so many battles previously.

They know that any gains they have made are only temporary (Prop 8, for example) and that the demographic tide is against them. They are beginning to realize that this was a last hurrah for them.

Abortion is a different matter, and probably will be a wedge issue from now to eternity (it still is, from time to time, even in mostly secular nations like the UK that don't have a religious right worth speaking of.)

Our biggest political worry is not GLBT or reproductive issues but all the money companies can dump into the political process.

Absolutely. 1000%. That and the entire American electoral system that does nobody any favors except for the already wealthy and powerful.

But it would be just as big a problem if there wasn't a religious right. Again, I point to the fact that even with virtually unlimited funding, the Republicans have nominated the most liberal candidate there was (even if he had to pretend to be otherwise) and a non-Christian into the bargain. And the odds are that he's going to lose an election he should be running away with.

by tacitus on Sun Sep 16, 2012 at 05:28:27 PM EST
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Everyone seeks to fight on the ground .... (none / 0)
Everyone seeks to fight on the ground that has advantage for them. The Democrats have not fought the battle over guns, because it is losing ground at this time. Likewise the Republicans have not brought up contraception in years for the same reason.

As long as democracy lives, theocrats will not be taking power, but they and others of less theological bent certainly have such democracy wrecking as a prime objective and are laying ground to declare as a final decision a solution to a controversy, what was never actually a controversy beyond their repeated earlier claim. Bush's claim for infinite detention was based on exactly such flimsy narratives, and yet it still survives and we can expect expansion of the concept if democracy is drowned in that bathtub.

If the vote stealing and voter suppression fail, there will be many wanting to take guns to the street. I was already nearly killed over an anti Bush bumper sticker on my car, it would not take much leap of imagination to see what an incident could lead to with Obama re-elected.

A new Inquisition only needs to suppress blowback with fear, it would have no need to win popularity contests. Anti Communism worked for the last inquisition because Russia was a convenient enemy, but with the focus on Islamic extremists, the next one will not be as secular.  I would guess that there are currently more atheists in Iran currently than any other Muslim country. It has not mattered.

by FreeDem on Sun Sep 16, 2012 at 07:56:49 PM EST
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Views from the Values Voter Swag Bag | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 hidden)

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Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (251 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (177 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (180 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (331 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (149 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

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