Conventional Facades: Why the Republicans Have to Hide their Agenda

[Q]

August 17, 2004

Conventional Facades: Why the Republicans Have to Hide their Agenda
by Maureen Farrell

MAHER: I mean, this is scary stuff. Because it's completely irrational. It's like half this country wants to guide our ship of state by a compass. A compass, something that works by science and rationality, and imperial wisdom. And half this country wants to kill a chicken and read the entrails like they used to do in the old Roman Empire. And I'm with the compass people."

"Some wonder if the president might be influenced by evangelical teachings that envision an end-of-the-world battle between Israel and its enemies. It would be dangerous for a president to take a particular theology like that and apply it to world events." -- Former Nixon aide Charles Colson, U.S. News, March 10, 2003

"Their beliefs are bonkers, but they are at the heart of power: US Christian fundamentalists are driving Bush's Middle East policy." – The Guardian, April 20, 2004

"Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move." – The Village Voice, May 18, 2004

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Soon after Dick Cheney told Sen. Pat Leahy to "go f**k himself," the Republican National Committee feigned outrage over actor Alec Baldwin’s assertion that the GOP has been "hijacked" by "fundamentalist wackos." While the word "wackos" is indeed jarring, there are few suitable descriptions for the Harry-Potter-fearing, Armageddon-embracing, End-of-Days experts the White House reportedly cavorts with.

And while the Guardian used the more colorful term "bonkers" to describe this mindset, regardless what one calls it, a palpable stench of weirdness fills the air. After uncovering notes proving that White House staffers were "taking two-hour meetings with Christian fundamentalists," the Village Voice announced, "apparently, we're not supposed to know the National Security Council's top Middle East aide consults with apocalyptic Christians eager to ensure American policy on Israel conforms with their sectarian doomsday scenarios."

But politics being what they are and diplomacy being what it is, former Clinton administration official Robert Reich denounced the use of the abrasive term "wackos," while agreeing with Baldwin on principle. "Undoubtedly the Republican Party is relying to an extraordinary extent -- it has relied to an extraordinary extent -- on right-wing religious conservatives. . . that is well documented " Reich said, "just look at who the ground troops of the Republican Party are."

Despite the fact that Karl Rove needs an extra four million evangelical votes in 2004, (Ironically, Baldwin’s younger brother, Steven, appears to be among them) and despite the fact that the Bush campaign has been caught crossing church and state lines to hustle votes, these ground troops will be mostly MIA at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

With undecided battleground states carrying substantial clout, it seems that God’s Own Party is conjuring up a special made-for-TV GOP fantasy world wherein John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger rule the roost and GOP Grendels -- the folks Lee Atwater once referred to as the "extra chromosome" conservatives -- remain hidden beneath the convention floorboards.

http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/04/08/far04028.html

[chuck555]

1. Because it sucks.

Even "Poison Ivy Lee" couldn't sell endless war.

[Kinkistyle]

2. Bill Maher probably meant "Empirical Wisdom".

That should probably be "Empirical" not "Imperial".