“Among the things of most concern to citizens, according to the polls, are the war in Iraq, education and public health. But it’s possible that the real challenge for Obama or McCain will have nothing to do with these. Rather, they’ll have to address an item that is directly responsible for the problems in public health, education, and Iraq: religion.”
“Never in the history of the United States has religion had such a definitive presence in the decision-making of government. North American believers like to think that their country was founded on religious principles (God is mentioned in many parts of the nation’s lore, from bank notes to the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag), but the truth is that not even the most notoriously evangelical presidents, from Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan, have ever permitted the design of national policy on the basis of religious arguments. The Bush White House, however, is the closest things possible to a church.”
In his book, Schecter makes the case for why, although he supported McCain in his run in 2000, McCain no longer deserves support and in fact, his candidacy should be fought actively, without hesitation and on all fronts. Schecter outlines his reasons for these sentiments and fills in those reasons with more details than you may be able to absorb. Schecter draws a portrait of both McCain’s political trajectory and the parallel trajectory of how his political choices since 2001 are a thumbing of his nose at the very people who got him to the presidential precipice in the first place.
A couple of disclosures before I offer you my phone interview with Cliff: I’ve never been a McCain supporter. And I haven’t known of Schecter that long either - here’s the first post I ever wrote about Schecter. However, it was fascinating talking to someone with a seemingly vast knowledge base about someone whom I’ve never really studied.
JMZ: You argue on behalf of former McCain supporters who should be able to realize that McCain isn’t what he once was. Who, then, is the alternative and why?
CS: Well. There’s always, “What we have versus what we’d like to have.” I’m an Obama supporter and he has a lot of appeal to Independents. But he hasn’t done it the way McCain did it – by attacking his own party in big speeches. Obama has done it by standing up, not by splitting. Obama talks about rising above partisanship and reaching out to all people on all sides and getting past the muck where politics has gotten so nasty. Obama says, I’m going to talk to you like an adult. And that’s what McCain had called “straight talk” – but he hasn’t given us much of that [this election cycle.] Read the rest of this entry »
May 23rd, 2007 by DR. CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTÉS, TMV Columnist
Where does the money come from to fund Pastor Fred Phelps’ church congregation air travel and hotel stays all over the country? The Phelps’ church is composed of about 35 family members whose sole activity besides maintaining a website www.godhatesfags.com appears to be protesting the funerals of gay people, military and most recently Jerry Falwell’s funeral as well. This, about Reverend Falwell from Phelps’ website:
“As a young man, Jerry Falwell was a Calvinistic Baptist preacher who told some truth. But he soon ran after gain, teaching what he ought not for filthy lucre’s sake. Lying about God’s Word to anyone who would listen to his satanic bilge, Fraudwell cozied up to Christ-rejecting Jews, Catholic boy-rapists and is second only to Graham in culpability for the lies spread in the name of God in doomed america. He recently boasted that he had 20 years left, but the Lord his God had a different, glorious, omnipotent perspective on the matter: Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Luke 12:20.”
On Phelps’ website there are the following postings letting others know where the Phelps’ clan will be standing next to ‘protest’ funerals along with their signs: God Hates Fags, It’s Too Late to Pray, and God Killed your Son Because You Love Homosexuals, and Fag Lover.
The following are listed under the title “LOVE CRUSADES.” WBC stands for Westboro Baptist Church which is Phelps’ home base. I place the list here in case you would like to write a note of condolence to the families of the warriors. I would recommend addressing your letter in care of the church or chapel address listed below.
WBC to picket funeral for Air Force Staff Sgt. John T. Self - at 12:15 p.m., Wed., May 23 - at West Heights Baptist, 328 W. Oxford St., Pontotoc, Mississippi.
WBC to picket funeral for Army Sgt. Allen J. Dunckley - at 9:45 a.m., Thur., May 24 - at Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Ave., Philadelphia, PA.
May 22nd, 2007 by MICHAEL STICKINGS, Assistant Editor
On Saturday, Newt Gingrich gave the commencement address to the 2007 graduating class of Liberty University. Having already cozied up to James Dobson, and establishing himself as the would-be candidate of the religious right for ‘08, he used his address both to praise the university’s recently-deceasedbigot-founder, Jerry Falwell, and to rail against what he called a “growing culture of radical secularism”. Here’s a sampling of his advice to the graduates:
I urge you to seek the joy of life and the after life and to rid yourself of your dry, miserable, and spiritless materialistic existence.
Actually, that’s from a speech by Osama bin Laden to the American people (as quoted in Morris Berman’s Dark Ages America, from Michael Scheuer’s Imperial Hubris). But it fits, does it not?
In essense, what Gingrich actually asserted was that “radical secularism,” whatever that means, has taken over the United States at the expense of, and in opposition to, religion, however understood. He claimed, for example, that “[i]n hostility to American history, the radical secularists insist that religious belief is inherently divisive,” that radical secularists are using “contorted logic” and “false principles” in their attack on religion, and that “[b]asic fairness demands that religious beliefs deserve a chance to be heard”. Indeed: “It is wrong to single out those who believe in God for discrimination. Yet, today, it is impossible to miss the discrimination against religious believers.” Read the rest of this entry »
Religion is well beyond the scope of the Crystal Ball (thank goodness), but there is no denying the intersection of religion and politics in America.
In 1928 Democrat Al Smith lost in part because of his Catholicism, and John F. Kennedy nearly lost in 1960 for much the same reason. (At least one study has suggested that a generic Protestant Democrat would have handily dispatched Richard Nixon, in place of JFK’s squeaker win with a fraud-expanded 119,000-vote national plurality.) Jimmy Carter in 1976 brought fundamentalist Christianity out of the political closet, and it may have assisted his victory in many GOP-friendly Southern and Border states. Ironically, Carter felt the lash of many of those same Christians in 1980. They had become disillusioned with him because of his liberal positions on many social issues (including his acceptance of Roe v. Wade), and they defected in droves to Ronald Reagan.
Of course, leading the Reagan charge among conservative Christians was the Rev. Jerry Falwell and his “Moral Majority.” His death this week has reminded us of the extraordinary role he played in American politics. Yes, Reagan would have won in 1980 had Falwell never been born, given Carter’s economic mess and the Iranian hostage crisis. But Falwell should be given at least partial credit for turning millions of politically apathetic Americans into a lasting force. The press has noted all this with sweeping generalizations about Falwell’s towering influence.
That is only part of the story. Falwell’s sway was in GOP nominating battles, not general elections, from the start. Low turnout primaries and caucuses are made to order for well organized, dedicated cadres. The general election is something else again. What has not been stressed enough is what a lightning rod Falwell became, and very quickly–with the preacher’s negatively charged electrons frequently dispersing more November voters (independents, well educated suburbanites who were fiscal conservatives but social libertarians, the young, etc.) than attracting them.
I asked the former Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and author of ‘Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction’ a couple of questions recently about what Jerry’s death means to the evangelical movement and where it’s going next.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell may be gone, but the sea of controversy that surrounded him during his life has not receded one inch.
In fact, no sooner did he abruptly leave the earthly scene (to go upstairs or downstairs, depending on your feelings towards him) than cartoonists had a field day. (We ran two, but quite a few were alike. A GOOD COLLECTION IS HERE.) And bloggers and commentators seemed sharply divided into “love” and “hate” camps, with little in between.
Cadillac Tight contends the left has a “rage problem” and contrasts it with conservative reaction ot the death of liberal columnist Molly Ivins. John Aravosis of the hugely lively and constantly-updated weblog Americablog labels Falwell “a bigot” and in this post looks at how Republican 2008 Presidential nominee wannabes have handled his death.
But the biggest batch of outrage towards Falwell’s critics who won’t say nice things about him now that he’s dead is aimed at writer Christopher Hitchens, a self-avowed atheist, whose latest controversial book "God Is Not Great" has provided a lot of material for talk show hosts, panel discussions and seems to be becoming a kind of Bible (or…whatever) for atheists who’ve felt marginalized in America. Hitchens was on CNN and his comments on Falwell were absolutely withering.
Over the past years, the liberal mainstream media has produced gushing tributes to deceased “secular saints” such as Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. It would have been practically sacrilegious for these outlets to air any kind of immediate criticism of such figures. Yet, in the 24 hours or so since the death of Christian conservative leader Jerry Falwell, the mainstream media has given air time to every sort of criticism of the late evangelical. On Tuesday night’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” noted atheist Christopher Hitchens launched one of the most vitriolic attacks to date on Falwell. Among the terms Hitchens used to describe Falwell were “ugly little charlatan,” “bully,” “fraud,” and “little toad.”
Some of Falwell’s critics would agree with Hitchens (just read blogs or listen to Air America). But watch his appearance below and see if you agree or disagree with him:
The Populist (EDITED) on the reaction of some ‘progressives’ (bloggers and commenters) on Falwell’s death yesterday:
I just want to say that I am disgusted by the vile hate and nastiness, that I have been reading on the Liberal Blogs. You idiots ought to be ashamed of yourselves! I didn’t care for Falwell either, because I am somewhat of a Fundamentalist, Albeit, a more progressive one, Christian, and Falwell walked away from Fundamentalism, and rejected the King James Version of the Bible as a antiquated version of the Bible, and gravitated towards the evangelical movement. For some very good reasons, I feel. Further more, He embraced the ecumenical movement, Which true-blue Fundamentalists reject as not scriptural. Of which I agree. However, to bash a dead man to the point of just being vile, is just plain disgusting and wrong, and totally reprehensible. I’m ashamed of the blogging community, you guys are just wrong. and I’m quite frankly embarrassed to be a part of this. My Point is this, Just because you don’t like someone or disagree with his Political stance or Religious Beliefs, it does not give you a license to be uncivil and asinine.
I agree completely: some of the comments I read were highly insensitive, rude and, yes, even hateful. Ironically enough, that’s exactly what those same people say about Falwell.
Many of them are not much ‘better’ than Falwell: they are just two sides of the same coin.
Americans United issued a statement on the death of Jerry Falwell; Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United:
“Jerry Falwell politicized religion and failed to understand the genius of our Constitution, but there is no denying his impact on American political life. He will long be remembered as the face and voice of the Religious Right.
“Falwell manipulated a powerful pulpit in exchange for access to political power and promotion of a narrow range of moral concerns. I appeared with him on news programs dozens of times over the years and, while I disagreed with just about everything Falwell stood for, he was a determined advocate for what he believed.
“Falwell reached his apex of power in the 1980s. Since then, leadership of the Religious Right has passed to James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, Donald Wildmon and others. However, Falwell remained influential in politics, with Republican presidential candidates seeking his support this year.
“Americans United extends its condolences to members of Dr. Falwell’s family, the congregants of Thomas Road Baptist Church and the students and staff of Liberty University.â€
Agreed, agreed and agreed.
A loss to many: may God bless his soul. I am a Christian myself and can honestly say that I did not agree with much Falwell said. He was, firstly, too right-wing for me and, secondly, he used God a bit too much; and I’m not talking about in Church. Thirdly, he was a bit too anti-everything for me.
has provided a lot of material for talk show hosts, panel discussions and seems to be becoming a kind of Bible (or…whatever) for atheists who’ve felt marginalized in America. Hitchens was on CNN and his comments on Falwell were absolutely withering.
