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April 3, 2006
WB: The Whirlwind
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Paul Krugman in todays column on John and Jerry
Senator John McCain obviously believes that he can’t get the Republican presidential nomination without Mr. Falwell’s approval. During the 2000 campaign, Mr. McCain denounced Mr. Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson as “agents of intolerance.” But next month Mr. McCain will be a commencement speaker at Liberty University, which Mr. Falwell founded.
On “Meet the Press” yesterday, Mr. McCain was asked to explain his apparent flip-flop. “I believe,” he replied, “that the Christian right has a major role to play in the Republican Party.
…
Just to be clear: this is a free country, and Mr. Falwell has a right to say what he thinks…, any political party has a right to include Mr. Falwell and his supporters… But if you choose to make common cause with religious extremists, you are accepting some responsibility for their extremism. By welcoming Mr. Falwell and people like him …, Republicans are saying that it’s O.K. — not necessarily correct, but O.K. — to declare that 9/11 was America’s punishment for its tolerance of abortion and homosexuality, that Islam is a terrorist religion, and that Jews can’t go to heaven. …
As for Mr. McCain: his denunciation of Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson six years ago helped give him a reputation as a moderate on social issues. Now that he has made up with Mr. Falwell and endorsed South Dakota’s ban on abortion even in the case of rape or incest, only two conclusions are possible: either he isn’t a social moderate after all, or he’s a cynical political opportunist.
Love this from annie’s link.
Harris’ Senate campaign ‘imploding’. Whore.
sorry
Posted by: beq | Apr 3 2006 11:41 utc | 3
One can only assume that McCain’s strategists have decided that he is too moderate to make a good Republican presidential candidate.
How about the folks who think that IED’s are god’s punishment for tolerating gays in the military?
Posted by: ralphieboy | Apr 3 2006 12:46 utc | 4
one can only assume that mccain is himself finally experiencing the stockholm syndrome
Posted by: b real | Apr 3 2006 14:31 utc | 5
oh don’t fret about McCain. He and lieberman will make a fine team. it will be billed as the unity ticket.
people don’t remember how sleazy politicians are. if they did there would never be anyone getting re-elected.
Posted by: Anonymous | Apr 3 2006 14:45 utc | 6
I read:
Senator John Kerry obviously believes that he can’t get the Republican presidential nomination without Mr. Falwell’s approval.
and was only moderately surprised…
Posted by: a swedish kind of death | Apr 3 2006 15:37 utc | 7
America has always sought strategic alliances in function of specific aims, which leads to disloyalty and swop and change. (Nothing remarkable about that, and it is not alone!)
Second, US-style electoral politics means pandering to groups on particular issues. As the issues are monomaniac and often ‘social’, political parties don’t, in European eyes, build positions based on a wide-reaching ideology, presenting some model of society that must be strived for. (That’s a bit of an exageration, but everyone will see what I mean.)
They all act as if they lived in a stable, enduring, fixed society, a fine one moreover, where citizens’ opinion – and particularly their criticism, as if everything is fine only bad things need be tweaked – count.
Which leads to:
a) a drift to the center, as pols try to grab as many votes as possible, eschewing the extremes where votes are sparse. A kind of strong arm tussling takes place in the center..
b) a reliance on personality politics and vague and empty pronoucements. Struggling in the center is dangerous because one risks loosing distinctiveness. To conserve identity, a football-club mentality has to be promoted, allegiance through symbol, personality, etc. is sought. Numbers of adherents becomes more important than policy.
c) a gradual shift to the right, moving the center bit by bit. The right’s pronunciamentos are (for reasons I won’t go into here) usually more radical, determined, sharp, and even appealing. In a goopy mess, where criticisms of the actual state of affairs is the most thrilling thing to do, even if the critcisms never leads anywhere, the right has an advantage.
Thus, the only window of opportunity open in the US political system is on the far right. It is, if one likes, the only ‘revolutionaries’ that stand a chance.
US religiosity and concentration on social issues; dismaying economic conditions; loss of status for poor whites; erosion of old-world cosiness through globalisation; and so on, have seen to it that a huge number of votes can be taken in that sector. Bush Junior, meaning Rove, realised that, no mystery there.
But the alliance is purely opportunistic, and is understood as such by all leaders, and probably intuitively by a large part of the voters as well. It is a political game, a game of posturing, of last-ditching, of lies and manipulation.
Although fundamentalist nuts can be found everywhere, there are very few Americans would actually give up the right to abortion, for example. Even if it was forbidden, they would expect to be able to obtain it somehow – life just goes on as usual. Who cares about the law? Its just the Gvmt, they are full of sh*t, one can get round it.
It is a strategic alliance, can be broken at any time.
— The main point, not overt, is that the the ‘deeply religious’ part of the electorate approves of killing towel heads to promote US supremacy. Their backs are to the wall, and their sons and daughters can be sacrificed.
Posted by: Noisette | Apr 3 2006 16:22 utc | 8
Remember when Ronald Reagan was the Great White Hope of the religious right? Except that he only used them to get elected and quickly abandoned them as soon as he had established his power base (and when Nancy’s court astrologer told her that the starts were right).
Well, hell hath no wrath like a fundamentalist scorned. This time they made sure they would not back a candidate who was not fully committed to their cause, carefully laid the groundwork, and found the ideal candidate in George Bush. They are now too well established to be discounted by any potential Republican candidate.
Posted by: ralphieboy | Apr 3 2006 16:40 utc | 9
Yes, they have been working within the system for like 20 years. Not against it, within it. Get this man elected, do this and that, go out into the parish, etc. Patience. Small steps. Committed. From the pulpit!
May all come to nothing I fear (for them.)
Posted by: Noisette | Apr 3 2006 16:58 utc | 10
But the alliance is purely opportunistic, and is understood as such by all leaders, and probably intuitively by a large part of the voters as well. It is a political game, a game of posturing, of last-ditching, of lies and manipulation.
christianity on the pedestal! one might think we could shake the chains a little w/out getting thrown out of society. we have to drag it out of the intuitive, game of posturing and get in their faces about their “plucky little cult called christianity” whose members constantly whine persecution,and maybe this poltical season we could strip the facade of the opportunistic alliance and lay bare the scumbags for what they really are.
they say there is a War on Christianity? lets put some heads on the block shall we! or take bill meyer’s suggestion and feed the lions.
” i don’t mind if you’re part of a dress up cult that hates sex and worships magic, but the paranoia , that does scare me.
christian right is now official the party of paranoia.
the people bitching loudest about being persecuted for their christianity aren’t christian at all they’re demigods and con mans and scolds and the only thing they worship is power.if you believe jesus ever had a good word for war or torture or tax cuts for the rich or raping the earth or refusing water for dying migrants, then you might as well believe bunnies like painted eggs, and jesus never said a word about gay marriage, he was much to busy hanging out w/12 guys.
thomas jefferson called the type of christian who trumpets his own belief in the divinity in jesus rather than the morality of jesus pseudo christians and thats who’s running our country today.
and since they thrive so much on turning water into whinning, and get off on their endless pretend persecution. lets give them what they want , lets go to the zoo, get some lions and feed them tom delay.”
let the fun begin
Posted by: annie | Apr 3 2006 18:32 utc | 11
Fortunatley, most of those good churchgoing Nascar families want to know that abortion is still an option available in the event that their daughters do not live up to their pledge to remain “abstinent only” until marriage.
Posted by: ralphieboy | Apr 4 2006 5:50 utc | 14