November 28, 2004

Binge and purge

Oh, I just haven't been able to keep up with the cavalcade of horrors creeping across the headlines lately. The public leash-yank of Arlen Specter as prelude to assaults on reproductive rights, the Senate GOP's scheme to get rid of the filibuster rule, you name it. But this was just too much:

[Conservative Christians] believe that if their agenda is not implemented quickly — if their concerns are not addressed in a timely fashion — God will be angry.

Dr. James Kennedy delivers sermons at Coral Ridge ... He dismissed the concerns of people who worried about the impact of Christian conservatives on the U.S. government.

"Repent," he said with a laugh. "Repent. That's what I'd say."

... Asked about the millions of Americans who are not Christian, or have a different interpretation of Christianity, Kennedy said with another laugh: "I couldn't care less. It's true."

Oh! Oh, you arrogant shitbag! Evangelism is supposed to be about converting people, not coercing them, moron! ARRRRRRRRRGH

Anyway. Another quote that set me off.

Gary Cass, head of a grassroots political organization affiliated with Coral Ridge, called the Center for Reclaiming America ... wants a U.S. Supreme Court that will outlaw abortion and gay marriage. "Do you want to take your children to a National League baseball game for instance and have homosexuals showing affection to one another? I don't want my kids to see that," he said.

He also doesn't want them to see heterosexual affection before football games, I bet.

Anyway, I'm sure that Gary Cass is apprised of the fact that people who aren't married display affection in public all the time. Although homosexuals are generally more cautious about where they do it, so as to avoid having the shit beaten out of them by jerks.

Quick rule of thumb, Gary: if you're talking about a gay couple, substitute the phrase "interracial couple" into your sentence, and see if it's something you'd still be willing to say without embarrassment.

Finally, you know how we liberals like to defend gay marriage against people who feel that it threatens "traditional marriage" by saying, oh, what about Britney's quickie Vegas marriage? It's not like heterosexual marriage is so perfect. Well, maybe we should have kept quiet about that.

Posted by Francis at 09:21 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I'm hoping that the analysis of the Republican-evangelical relationship in Thomas Frank's "What's the Matter with Kansas" turns out to be true. Frank believes that the Republicans go after the evangelical vote because playing up "moral values" is a cheap and easy way for them to grab votes from the people least likely to be helped by right-wing economic policies, and that the Republicans never actually deliver significantly on the "values" message because they'd rather please their corporate masters. After all, the corporations have money, and the evangelicals don't.

Not that I'm not worried about who W. might put on the Supreme Court, but it's important to remember that not every Republican in Congress is a total right-wing nutjob, making it harder for the evangelicals to get what they want. Plus the Republicans don't have enough of a majority to block filibusters, so I think at least for now, they'll have to continue to play ball with the Democrats.

Posted by: Debby at November 29, 2004 10:13 AM

Well, about the filibusters -- if the dealy passes that makes a simple majority enough to break a filibuster, then we're well and truly fucked.

Choosing to believe that Bush will appoint a not-crazy-Republican to the Supreme Court *is* the thing letting me wake up in the mornings without screaming, but it seems a whole lot like denial. In my heart I believe he will appoint another crazy person, and again, we will be fucked.

Posted by: Rose at November 29, 2004 11:47 AM

How would they address "deliberate childlessness"? Bring back the draft and give deferments for having children?

Posted by: Eileen at November 29, 2004 10:07 PM