Political heresy as religious heresy
Published November 08, 2003
"If the Republicans continue to drift in that direction, we will walk," the Rev. Donald Wildmon, president of AFA, told Mr. Racicot. Mr. Wildmon's AFA owns and operates about 200 radio stations across the country and provides programming to about 20 affiliated stations. Well, that was the threat. Were President Bush politically astute enough to call him on it, and if Wildmon really made good on it, the Schwarzenegger equation would likely mean a net Republican gain.
According to this conservative analysis,
[A] welcoming attitude toward gays can be a winning strategy since almost 9 out of 10 Americans agree that homosexuals should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities.NOTE: I left in the above link to illustrate another example of a pattern by anti-homosexual activists. They apparently don't want people like me to be able to read or cite their links — a phenomenon noted by Mike Silverman earlier.Also, exit polls showed 4% of voters in 2000 self-identified as gay or lesbian (and nearly 75% voted for the Democratic Gore-Lieberman ticket). Exit polling in congressional elections have showed a gay electorate of more than 5%. That's a larger demographic than the Jewish vote. Even shaving just a small slice away from Democrats could prove pivotal to cementing the GOP's status as the majority party. Moreover, many independents are turned off by anti-gay rhetoric, negatively viewing it as a broader barometer of intolerance.
Yet the FRC spent a week recently using its website to expose the Bush administration's ties to the "homosexual agenda." One online installment was "Homosexual Lobby: Follow the Money" — which, apparently, leads to Republican coffers. What better example of how the religious right's paranoia mirrors the gay left's dementia?
It remains to be seen if the White House can continue to reach out to gays, however tepidly, without making the religious right even angrier.
Why would any organization be afraid of its own words?
For the same reason that some Republicans are now afraid of Dick Morris's words, perhaps?
NOTE: The above essay can also be read at my blog.
- Political heresy as religious heresy
- Published: November 08, 2003
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- Section: Politics
- Writer: Eric Scheie
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It's always seemed to me that Democrats are hell bent on having the biggest tent, and less concerned with stuff like principle, integrity, or Constitutional adherance. Naturally they would have more uneasy alliances than the Repubs.
I do love those log cabiners. (in a strictly generalized way of course) They seem principled just for resisting the shameless divisive pandering of the left. Same goes for conservative minorities.
In my fantasy Country, the Republicans win the pandering battle, the Democratic Party dries up. All the ultra-lefties move to France. Then a rainbow coalition of Constitutionally enlightened constituents challenges the Republicans for the allegiance of all the folks who have had to hold their nose while they voted Republican.
Now that would be progressive! Or in a sense, regressive.
I and many other Californians did not see the recall issues as choices of gay or Gray or Jesus.
The major issues were the fiscal crisis and the pay-for-play state Democrats. Gray was recallable so he was recalled. In the next election, we'll work on the equally-culpable Democratic legislature (which will be tougher because of the 2001 redistricting pact between the Dems and the Reps).
Arnold was the second-best outcome for us, but a step in the direction of the fiscal conservatism McClintock represented, with no ties to special interests (yet).
Although Arnie's decision to investigate himself on the groping charges is making me start to wonder:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, did I grope anyone at all?" :-)
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Actually, the religious right probably isn't nearly so troublesome to the Republicans as black groups are to the Democrats. The religious right generally are not necessarily more moderate than the black groups, but considerably more pragmatic.
Black interest groups, having gotten pretty much every possible reasonable concession, have gone to demanding reparations, and other such utter nonsense.
Religious conservatives on the other hand are content to get half a loaf. They will be well satisfied with the widely popular partial birth abortion ban, and not push at this point for an overall legislative or constitutional ban on all abortions, for example.