NYT: John Danforth(R): In the Name of Politics

[dw]

This is like listening to the Spring thaw in the Arctic. A clearing sky and the sound of thunder from all directions. dw

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd&pagewanted=print&position=

...snip...

The problem is not with people or churches that are politically active. It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement.

When government becomes the means of carrying out a religious program, it raises obvious questions under the First Amendment. But even in the absence of constitutional issues, a political party should resist identification with a religious movement. While religions are free to advocate for their own sectarian causes, the work of government and those who engage in it is to hold together as one people a very diverse country. At its best, religion can be a uniting influence, but in practice, nothing is more divisive. For politicians to advance the cause of one religious group is often to oppose the cause of another.

...snip...

As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.

The historic principles of the Republican Party offer America its best hope for a prosperous and secure future. Our current fixation on a religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction. It is time for Republicans to rediscover our roots.

[Kerrytravelers]

1. It's time for the Republican party to take it's party back from the

Neo-Con Death Cult. Only then will we have balance back in Washington. Right now, we have a mix of fascism, theocracy and a dictatorship salivating at the opportunity to complely wipe out anyone with a differing opinion than their own opportunistic, greedy and murderous agenda.

[Dr.Phool]

16. One reason this is so explosive

Is that Danforth is VERY conservative. He's the guy who gave us Clarence Thomas, and was the religious rights early favorite for President in the 2000 race.

Maybe some of the Kool-Aid is starting to wear off.

He actually sounds more reasonable this morning than Jesse Jackson sounded yesterday.

[Goathead]

54. The neo-con agenda is really only a foreign policy agenda

They don't really dabble in the domestic agenda, as long as the domestic agenda props up their foreign policy needs by maintaining their stranglehold on power.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Some of the more principled Republicans are starting to choke on

the bile that the RW Fundamentalists are bringing to the party.

[Robbien]

3. But with Delay being the powerhouse of the party

and his financial backing coming from the Christian Coalition and the Focus on the Family mob all funnelled through Abramoff/Casinos, what are the chances of the party breaking ranks with the religious agenda?

[necso]

7. The chances are roughly...

zero!

The fundies and their political allies control much of the Republican Party mechanism and comprise a large Republican (some nominally independent) voting "block".

Changing this (in actuality and on the ground) does not promise to be easy. The fundies are not causing a groundswell because of mere chance -- they are causing a groundswell because they are strong -- and they are feeling it.

And sure, the fundies' numbers are not that huge. But they have political allies in other believers of many types, believers who are pressing for some if not all of the fundies' (open) agenda. And sure, some of these allies aren't nearly as bad as the fundies -- some are even a little embarrassed by the fundies -- but the fundies have been successfully dragging the whole alliance in the direction of extremism for a long time.

In any event, some time ago the Republicans mounted a tiger, thinking that they could treat it like a donkey. And as long as the tiger behaved like a donkey, the Republicans were fine.

The Republicans' trouble now is that the donkey has woken up and has discovered that it is a tiger.

It won't be quite so easy to deal with the beast now.

So after a little pontificating, the Republicans are simply going to put back on those familiar blinders and go back to their pandering. -- Because doing otherwise might require men of conscience to act. And you wouldn't want to have that -- it would be bad for the Party (in the short term) -- and it would be bad for these men of conscience.

[Stevepol]

57. The Fundies also can't be voted out of office due to the DREs.

This is the reason they can say and do anything they damn well please and not be worried in the least. The second the vote counting becomes fair and democratic these guys will begin to disappear.

[ktowntennesseedem]

20. They might not break ranks yet, but I foresee considerable splintering.

The tighter the grip of the religious-right on the party, the more that free-thinking Republicans, even conservatives like Danforth, will feel squeezed out by their exclusive policies and their growing refusal to tolerate dissent. I don't look for a mass exodus, nor any significant growth in the ranks of Democrats. But a do see a weakening of the Republican party as they rely more and more on the religious extremists and discover all too late that their numbers aren't as great as their rhetoric would suggest.

I just hope Democrats don't think we should try to pick off disgruntled moderates and independents by moving to the right. I feel we have to stick to our roots and stay with traditional positions. But we can still appeal to those splintered Republicans, IMO, because those traditional positions are "liberal" only as defined by their detractors; we need to pro-actively define them as "American" values. Then, even the most conservative disenfranchised Republican will discover that those liberals they used to so afraid of are actually not that far removed from themselves.

[BiggJawn]

41. Too late, they've already tried that.

"I just hope Democrats don't think we should try to pick off disgruntled moderates and independents by moving to the right."

Well, given Joe Lieberman, Evan Bayh, Terry McAuliffe, Donna Brazille, and the wooing of John McCain, I'd say there are some Democrats who DO think the road to control is paved with "ReTHUG-Lite" intentions.

But the Doctor is In now...

[ktowntennesseedem]

52. Yeah, there are plenty of DINO's who buy into this flawed logic.

Let's hope the leadership ignores them. Like you, I'm glad the doctor is in; should make ignoring the DINOs a lot easier.

[BiggJawn]

56. I wonder how many DEMOCRATS stayed home or voted for Nader?

Based on the idea, after seeing Liebermanm and the others, of "If I wanted to VOTE for a Republican, I'd BE a Republican and vote for the real thing, not these imitations."..

And to think that McAuliffe actually got paid for his stratergy of "Oh! people keep electing Republicans, so WE need to run candidates that walk and talk like Republicans, too, but not TOO Republican!"

[babylonsister]

4. HOT STUFF! A failure admitted?

A Repug man actually worrying about the right things? I might just faint!

[Gloria]

5. If I'm not mistaken, Danforth is a minister....

didn't he take part in the 911 service in Washington?

[w13rd0]

8. Yes...

...he's considered quite 'religious'...

[cornermouse]

9. Don't get too excited about Danforth.

He was Clarence Thomas' main backer.

[enough]

11. Never to be forgotten.

Danforth and Specter need to be remembered for this major insult to the nation. Putting the young Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court guaranteed that his influcence will be felt for decades.

[ktowntennesseedem]

22. I don't expect Danforth to start kissing donkeys anytime soon.

But I am excited that someone as conservative as he is going public with concerns over the direction of the Republican party. If someone as conservative and religious as he is this unconfortable, imagine how much squirming and tongue-biting real moderates and RINOs must be doing now.

[DirtyDawg]

33. No, but he can bend over....

and kiss his own ass goodbye...assuming that he had been planning a run for re-election. You don't seriously think that this bunch will allow one 'their own' get away with this heresy, do you? 'Onward Christian Soldiers' ain't about to let one or two whining moderates stop their juggernaut just when it was gettin' started do you?

[ktowntennesseedem]

39. Yep, silence all dissent.

Danforth might as well become a Democrat; he won't get any fewer Republican votes if he does.

Welcome, DirtyDawg!

:hi:

[DirtyDawg]

42. Thanks...

By the way, I didn't know there were any Dems in Knoxville...Just Big Orangers.

[ktowntennesseedem]

45. Oh there are plenty of us here, though very few liberals.

In fact, although Tennessee is quite red, and all of the counties in East Tennessee are even redder, the precincts within the Knoxville city limits actually voted for Kerry in '04, though it was by a very slim margin. (I think I'm telling that right.)

[MnFats]

43. Hate to break the latest news to you guys..

...Danforth has been out of office for 10 years....

[janetle]

27. Danforth is an Episcopal Priest

[Gloria]

30. I knew it was a "mainstream" denomination...If I'm not mistaken,

he was at the UN and was "eased" out by Bush. He disagreed with much of Bush's policies toward the UN.

Danforth also has ties to ADM, the food empire, no?

[understandinglife]

6. Nominated. Should persist for days and should be spread far...

...and wide.

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Tesla]

10. send it to your Republican friends

[shantipriya]

12. Danforth

Too late for Danforth. He and all repugs vote strictly on party lines.They leave their concerns ,principles and conscience at the door pf the Capitol when it is time to vote .

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Thanks for posting, dw --

and for your lovely introductory note to this piece.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

14. Message to Right Wing Conservatives...

Don't listen to this man. The Republican Party is YOUR PARTY and you should destroy it before surrenduring to the forces of secular humanism.

I think DU'ers should all send contributions to people like Alan Keyes to make sure that lunatic fringe remains firmly in control.

[tofubo]

15. similar thought i posted on another board

how to win back congress in 2006 - run on two simple ideas

1. call for a single, meaningful, transparent, independent investigation into abuse, torture, and deaths and financial mismanagement of public funds for the war in iraq
one that has full subpoena power and is allowed to go wherever the investigation leads

2. balance the budget
raise taxes where appropriate and lower spending where inappropriate
we cannot continue multi hundred billion dollar deficits, it is unsustainable

we need to stop the fanatical theocracy trying to overtake the government. we are not a christian nation, we are a nation of christians, and jews, and muslims, and atheists, and buddhists, and wiccans, and on and on and on
the 'public face' of government should be independent of any religion, let alone a fundamentalist fanatical minority

we need to reintroduce responsibility and accountability back into the government, the buck doesn't stop with majors and e-1's, there has been no colonels or better in the military or civilian leadership held to account for anything that has happened under them on their watch
that congress has not called for an investigation is criminal in its dereliction of oversight over the administration, instead, there has been an onslaught of criticism of the judiciary, who'da thunk

vote the incumbents out, vote democratic and independent/third party candidates in
if the republicans gain in 2006, this country will have officially become a fundamentalist theocracy aiding and abetting a kleptocratic war profiteering police state that continues to remove civil liberties from americans on the premise of fighting a never ending war on a transitive adverb

[newyawker99]

28. Hi tofubo!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[moggie12]

46. Welcome tofubo

Good thoughts, all of them.

:hi:

[NVMojo]

17. Excellent!! We need more of these people to speak out!!

:applause:

[madrchsod]

18. he is an Episcopalian

politics and religion stopped at the church`s door in his day. he is correct- religion and government should never mix.

[iconoclastNYC]

19. We must expose the Republican party

Not only is Bush ruining the country, he's ruining his party. He alienates so many moderates and independents he has to suck up to the religious fundies in order to maintain power. Bush is giving them unprecedented power within the party in exchange for short-term political expediency. This makes the Republican party vulnerable.

The theocrats of the right truly hate America -- they hate us for our freedoms. Most of all the freedom from meddlesome religious involvement in our government. Their biggest goal is to repeal the first Amendment and remake the USA into a Christian Fundamentalist nation ruled by Biblical law. Right-wing "Christian" evangelicals are our version of the Taliban and their extreme beliefs are to Christianity what Whahabism is to Islam.

The grass-roots of the Democratic party will soon wrest control of the party from the spinless leaders that have failed us so spectactularly. The revitliazed Democratic party, unafraid to fight aggressively in defense of our country, will pull off the faux-populist mask of the Republican party and reveal to the horrified masses the true face of the Republican party.

[formerrepuke]

21. Does anyone really have a problem with the Republican party

having the RW-Xtian parasite on its back? Parasites usually end up killing their hosts- or at least severely diminishing the host's health. It is for precisely the reasons Danforth has spelled out that have sent my entire family away from the Republican party. In a few more years- who knows what will be left of them....

[Teena]

23. Danforth paid for this?

I'd be careful not to start celebrating too soon. Hasn't it been the tactic of the Bushies (and every other politician, for that matter) to plant stories in the media to influence public opinion? Perhaps Mr. Danforth has been hired to write this head-hanging, weepy revelation so as to appear to soften the serrated edge of the religious right's hold on the Republican Party. Tom DeLay and Bill Frist have just embarassed the hell out of a lot of Republicans if you believe the polls that say that 82% of those asked said that the government should stay out of personal family business. No wonder Democrats, wisely, stayed clear of that hanging rope! I hope someone finds the Bush employee who paid Danforth, and soon!

[newyawker99]

29. Hi Teena!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Teena]

31. To newyawker99

Thanks for the warm welcome. I decided to get beyond bumperstickers and Letters to the Editor and start communication with others who pay attention to more than what's on mainstream news. I'll jump in whenever something really stirrs me up.

[mgmstl]

24. I have always been puzzled why...

Danforth, who is reasonably intelligent sponsored Clarence Thomas a man he knew to be guilty of what he was accused of, to the Supreme Court and saddling us with this idiot for life.

I have also wondered WHY he left the Bush Administration in such a hurry, and look at WHAT they are putting in his place, John Bolton.
That in itself should show us why he left the administration of W.

All of that being said, now he speaks out against the right wing of the party, and the fact that the party leadership has turned the Republican Party into a theocracy, and essentially the country.

Here in Missouri, the state legislature is EVEN MORE FRIGHTENING than the congress.. Cutting medicaid, closing care facilities for the mentally retarded & handicapped, outlawing stem cell research, cutting the stipend for families who adopt children, actually declaring war on the middle class and the poor, the disabled, & generally the disenfranchised. While cutting health care & medicaid
for the poor, the adopted, the disabled, these State legislators enjoy primo benefits of a great health care plan for themselves and their families. We have a Governor, who is a dullard & a zealot, and a Lieutenant Gov. that is a theocratic moron. It is frightening.

Danforth IMHO with some exceptions, has always been more of a moderate
within the party. I felt that this was why he left his post at the UN
and this is why he wrote this piece. I am more than convinced now that the damage that has been done to the Republican Party by their rabid attack dogs such as: Delay, Frist, Santorum, O'Reilly, Limabugh, Coulter, Ralph Reed, Randall Terry, and the adoption of these right wing evangelicals, has done more than the crack the foundations of the Republican Party it has caused it to crumble. We
as a party need to pick up on this, stand united against the right,
give hell to these DINO legislators in Congress, and work to elect
real Democrats. This piece tells me that the time is ripe, and that Danforth's revelation shows that many within the party are dissatisfied with the turn to the extreme right. 2006 & 2008 could be our years, IF it is done right. Take no prisoners, and treat your opponents as your enemy.

[Aries]

25. They read this on C-SPAN this morning

on Washington Journal.

[Atlanticist]

26. Why do the high-profile RINO's stay ?

Precisely what exactly does Susan Collins have in common with Tom DeLay - or Olympia Snowe or Lincoln Chafee ?

Come on - what are these reasonable people still doing taking the Republican whip? They're all from North Eastern states - couldn't they run as Democrats and still retain their seats ? Has Jim Jeffords had to restand for election since becoming an independent ? If so, how did he do ?

Anyone know the answers ?

[maxsolomon]

32. throwing moderates a bone

this matters not.

we're on the road to fascism. its going to be nearly impossible to turn back, especially when the gas gets scarce.

someone will be scapegoated, and de facto state control of the media will make sure it isn't those in power.

start hoarding ammunition.

[byronius]

37. You are perturbably correct. It's too late.

There are pretty clear indications that Neocons will let nothing stop them. Anyone who would manufacture five million fake votes will have no problem with a 'Reichstag Fire' and subsequent martial law. I envision many right-wingers belatedly manning our side of the barricades -- I suppose we'll have to just take all the help we can get, although the moment to choose between life and death for America passed in November 2004.

[ginnyinWI]

34. As the GOP continues to be strangled by the Religious Right

We Democrats have to use this opportunity to get our act together and emerge unified and strong. There is a companion piece in the Times by Bill Bradley about this, also on the Greatest Page. Every Democrat needs to be aware of the problems we are having in the party, and commit to helping it rebuild. We need to keep our values and not move to the right! We just need to be better organized.

[ExclamationPoint]

48. That's a good message

positive suggestions like that will help us more than ranting about bush (though I myself do that everyday, it's impossible not to) ever could.
I suggest that everytime you hear two dems. arguing, remind them of their common enemy, and their common need to hear that message.
thanks ginnyinWI

[Me.]

35. Any Port In A Storm

at this point is a help. Danforth does have past mistakes to answer for, but perhaps it's a beginning. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this. And I did wonder when he quit the UN if a schism was growing. Hopefully he will continue in this vein and will be joined by other like minded pugs, until till there is a preponderance of opinion on his side and his party kicks the fundies' butts and boots them out of their party.

[ClintonTyree]

36. Can I get an "Amen"......................

:applause: Well, you know what I mean. It's about time some of these Republicans start worrying more about their country than their party. You can lie, cheat, steal....do anything to win. But in the process you can lose the soul of your party, making those victories hollow and meaningless.
This is where the republican party stands today. Which direction they choose from here on, will define them as a political party.

[gasperc]

38. Billmon.org has a great post on this

in fact if it isn't it's own post, it should be

one of his choice quotes is that "the GOP needs the religous right like Terri needs her feeding tube" where this goes is anybody's guess but as he points out they are getting angrier and angrier by the day.

[XemaSab]

40. Wow

"As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around."

That'll get you sent to gitmo for being a terriss, danforth.

[TedsGarage]

44. The Tipping Point

I've been telling people, the Terri Schiavo case was the tipping point for the power of the religious right. Just as modern liberalism peaked in 1965, the religious right is peaking in 2005. (But with far fewer long-term achievements.) Now, even sensible Republicans like Danforth and Chris Shays are speaking out against "theocracy."

[moggie12]

47. I hope that is the sound of the ice cracking, dw

There are still moderates in the Republican ranks. I hope Danforth speaking out gives others the courage.

[pinto]

49. The former Sen (R) from Missouri makes a good case against his party's

capitulation and cooperation with extremists. For whatever purposes he chose to write the piece, I'm glad to see it in the national press.

[izzie]

50. As I have said for years, this is not the party of my father or----

the one I was in for years.I left the party years ago when I sat down and figured out I really was a Dem. but still even in my father's day the GOP was never in line of mixing church and state, running us into endless wars and debt.:hide:

[TedsGarage]

53. Religion and Politics

The Democrats used to mix religion and politics as much as the Republicans. Bush's grandfather lost his first Senate election when his opponent accused him of favoring birth control. That didn't play among the Catholics in Connecticut.

[docdaddy]

51. Had Enough!!

[Up2Late]

55. "...it has become the political extension of a religious movement..."

Sort of like Shin Feign and the I.R.A.!?!:beer:

When do we declare the Republican Party a Terrorist Organization?