Getting Serious About Stupidity: Another September Clown, Carrie Prejean and the FRC
I was all geared up to write this piece as yet another joke about the Christian Right, Republicans and the machinations of Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council. You know I'll do more than several in the next week or so. I think poking fun of present-day "social conservatives" is now in my blood.
But for the time being, let's get serious.
The salacious, humorous, and almost mean-spirited takes on America's Right Wing have been considered spot-on by many liberals (progressives, if you must) simply because they showcase hypocrisy. America loves to root for the little guy while exposing the self-righteous. A sex scandal involving a Democrat, for example, is never as heavily featured in pop media and culture as a Republican scandal because Republicans have allied themselves with the Christian Right. From right-wing pundits to talk radio to Congress, every pimple on the nose of neo-cons is spotlighted by the media.
And the true authors of hypocrisy, the Christian Right (whom we often refer to as Christofascists) don't seem to take notice. Or, if they do, they brush off incidents as "persecution," "anti-Christian," or "anti-family." Therein lies their stupidity: glossing over hypocrisy only highlights it. Brushing aside an exposed lie about the Health Care Bill, an exposed truth about financing California's Prop 8, an exposed act of blatant discrimination and racism is as good as condoning it.
The Christian Right will never monitor itself. Ever.
And pity the poor clowns who pose for them on their own runways.
FRC (Family Research Council) hosts the much ballyhooed Values Voter Summit (Sept. 18-20) It's the source of most of our featured Clowns of September. Today they trumpeted the confirmation of another speaker: Miss Carrie Prejean.
Yes, THE Miss Carrie Prejean of yes-I-had-breast-implants-and-posed-semi-naked fame. Yes, the same Miss Carrie Prejean who has a book coming out about her struggle for God's will and morality. Yes, Miss Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who verbally bitch-slapped Perez Hilton (in a nice way). Yes, THAT Miss Carrie Prejean. She'll be featured with Stephen Baldwin. With Michele Bachmann. With Bill O'Reilly. With Mike Huckabee. And with a lot of other, well... clowns.
She and her publicist may think it a distinct honor, but let's face it, trotting her out and up to a podium is criminal. Making her look the fool (even if she is one) is absolutely wrong. And stupid. Has Tony Perkins bothered to find out if she can master the English language for over ten minutes? Only ten minutes, but in front of thousands of people, it's a lifetime ripe for jokes and stand-up comics.
She'll be the glamour prop of the people who have fashioned seminars like: "How to counter the homosexual extremist movement" and "How to deal with supremacist judges."
Of course, she could be very, very good at public speaking. But I doubt if anyone has ever given her the chance to prove herself in that arena. Public speaking is not always held in as high esteem as the swimsuit competition in a beauty pageant. Or a spread in Playboy. Oh, Carrie said "God" the required number of times for FRC (at least two times per sentence), and they are supposedly spotlighting her courage for her statement against same-sex marriage. But to the hypocrites who will give Bill O'Reilly a "courage in the media" award for calling someone a killer over 20 times on national television, does anyone really think that Miss Prejean's steadfast faith would be lauded if she were plain?
No, the Christian Right, the Family Research Council, the thousands of righteous Tea Baggers, Birthers, congressmen up for re-election, pharmaceutical lobbyists, Tenthers and otherwise will applaud Miss Prejean for the window dressing they think will distract people from their attendence at "The New Masculinity" seminar. And that is stupid.
Very, very stupid.
But for the time being, let's get serious.
The salacious, humorous, and almost mean-spirited takes on America's Right Wing have been considered spot-on by many liberals (progressives, if you must) simply because they showcase hypocrisy. America loves to root for the little guy while exposing the self-righteous. A sex scandal involving a Democrat, for example, is never as heavily featured in pop media and culture as a Republican scandal because Republicans have allied themselves with the Christian Right. From right-wing pundits to talk radio to Congress, every pimple on the nose of neo-cons is spotlighted by the media.
And the true authors of hypocrisy, the Christian Right (whom we often refer to as Christofascists) don't seem to take notice. Or, if they do, they brush off incidents as "persecution," "anti-Christian," or "anti-family." Therein lies their stupidity: glossing over hypocrisy only highlights it. Brushing aside an exposed lie about the Health Care Bill, an exposed truth about financing California's Prop 8, an exposed act of blatant discrimination and racism is as good as condoning it.
The Christian Right will never monitor itself. Ever.
And pity the poor clowns who pose for them on their own runways.
FRC (Family Research Council) hosts the much ballyhooed Values Voter Summit (Sept. 18-20) It's the source of most of our featured Clowns of September. Today they trumpeted the confirmation of another speaker: Miss Carrie Prejean.
Yes, THE Miss Carrie Prejean of yes-I-had-breast-implants-and-posed-semi-naked fame. Yes, the same Miss Carrie Prejean who has a book coming out about her struggle for God's will and morality. Yes, Miss Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who verbally bitch-slapped Perez Hilton (in a nice way). Yes, THAT Miss Carrie Prejean. She'll be featured with Stephen Baldwin. With Michele Bachmann. With Bill O'Reilly. With Mike Huckabee. And with a lot of other, well... clowns.She and her publicist may think it a distinct honor, but let's face it, trotting her out and up to a podium is criminal. Making her look the fool (even if she is one) is absolutely wrong. And stupid. Has Tony Perkins bothered to find out if she can master the English language for over ten minutes? Only ten minutes, but in front of thousands of people, it's a lifetime ripe for jokes and stand-up comics.
She'll be the glamour prop of the people who have fashioned seminars like: "How to counter the homosexual extremist movement" and "How to deal with supremacist judges."
Of course, she could be very, very good at public speaking. But I doubt if anyone has ever given her the chance to prove herself in that arena. Public speaking is not always held in as high esteem as the swimsuit competition in a beauty pageant. Or a spread in Playboy. Oh, Carrie said "God" the required number of times for FRC (at least two times per sentence), and they are supposedly spotlighting her courage for her statement against same-sex marriage. But to the hypocrites who will give Bill O'Reilly a "courage in the media" award for calling someone a killer over 20 times on national television, does anyone really think that Miss Prejean's steadfast faith would be lauded if she were plain?
No, the Christian Right, the Family Research Council, the thousands of righteous Tea Baggers, Birthers, congressmen up for re-election, pharmaceutical lobbyists, Tenthers and otherwise will applaud Miss Prejean for the window dressing they think will distract people from their attendence at "The New Masculinity" seminar. And that is stupid.
Very, very stupid.
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