Sunday, December 19, 2010

Feeling The Wrath of The FRC: Republicans Rue The Day



The Republican Party is finally feeling the wrath of the monster they unleashed over ten years ago: The head of the powerful American Society of Saints not Electing Sinners (A.S.S.E.S) also known as the Family Research Council, has declared righteous war on members of the Republican party, threatening to strip away the cloaks of righteousness of the ones who voted for the repeal of DADT. There will be a lot of hand-wringing and mea-culpas in the GOP for weeks to come as well as a lot of "distancing" from those senators and representatives who so brazenly defied Perkins and the Creator in all matters spiritual and secular.

The Republicans voting "yes" were: Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio). Collins had co-sponsored the repeal bill.
 So here is the reaction of Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler Tony Perkins:
"Today is a tragic day for our armed forces. ... now been hijacked and turned into a tool for imposing on the country a radical social agenda. This may advance the cause of reshaping social attitudes regarding human sexuality, but it will only do harm to the military's ability to fulfill its mission...It is clear why this was done: not to enhance the military's ability to accomplish its mission or to enhance national security. Rather, it is a political payoff to a tiny, but loud and wealthy, part of the Democratic base.

I like the loud and wealthy part. Loud, maybe, but wealthy? Who does he think the gay community is, the Mormon Church?

Vicious is as vicious does.

While sage researchers say that the voting power of the Christian Right has dwindled in the last ten years, the fact is that its power and intensity has grown in other ways. Think in terms of California's Proposition 8: the amount of money and the viciousness of the ads, the disingenuous non-apologies of Rick Warren, the busing of thousands of Prop 8 volunteers from outside California. The intensity of it all. Like the video game from the Left Behind Series, the machinations of the Christian Right left nothing to the imagination: destroy, destroy, destroy the Evil gays and their horrible "agenda."*

This is now a great time to monitor the machinations of America's top Christian Right Organizations and just how much they will turn on members of the Republican Party: in the Family Research Council, Focus On the Family, American Family Association, the Catholic League, and the Southern Baptist Convention, we may see the destruction of political careers with a stridency that has never been seen before. Let's look at the key victims:

Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

Olympia Snowe is no stranger to tragedy: orphaned at an early age, she endured the deaths of her husband (auto accident) and stepson (age 20, congential heart failure). She over came those obstacles to become both the wife of the Governor of Maine while acting as a Representative for Maine in Congress. Her tenure in the Senate has caused her to be labled a moderate. She is, however, a very vocal and active moderate having brokered alliances with both parties and been a leading tie-breaker in crucial legislation.

Olympia Snowe is a strong woman. The Christian Right distrusts strong women.

Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Susan Collins is considered to be one of the most liberal "moderates of the Republican Party and has worked closely with Olympia Snowe on many peace-making missions between the Republican and the Democrats. She has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, so naturally the Christian Right hates her guts.

Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts)

Newly-elected Senator Scott Brown may be the only man in Congress ever to have posed nude for a centerfold in Cosmopolitan's centerfold as Sexiest Man of the Year (he was 20 years-old). The Christian Right will certainly not get beyond that peccadillo. His Republican career as senator has yet to be established, but he describes himself as a social moderate and a fiscal conservative. From now on, his every move and vote will probably be pilloried by the CR.

Mark Kirk (R-Illinois)

Mark Kirk can, on the surface, be looked upon as an ideal Republican: he seems to have completely confused his past military and professional careers: “I simply misremembered it wrong” became his political mantra. According to vote-smart.org, however, his "interest group ratings" are enough to have him drawn and quartered by the Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler himself, Tony Perkins: Kirk's votes have backed Planned Parenthood 100%.

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Senator Lisa Murkowski had one of the most turbulent political careers in history. And not being endorsed by Sarah Palin was a high point with Alaskan voters. One of the few politicians in history to ever be re-elected as a write-in candidate, you'd think that the Christian Right would cling to her like glue. They haven't and they won't: she was oone of the few Republicans to vote for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It will just be a matter of time before Cindy Jacobs prays for Lisa Murkowski's untimely political demise.

George Voinovich (R-Ohio)

Voinovich's senatorial career has been marked by two anti-Christian Right events: he vehemently opposed the apppointment of John Bolton as ambassador to the U.N. and he, like Lisa Murkowski, voted for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Enough said.

So there you have the Christian Right's Republican Senatorial hit list. 

Let the vicious demonizing begin.


*It's notable that, according to wikipedia.com, the term "gay agenda" was " first used in public discourse in 1992 when the Family Research Council released a video series called  The Gay Agenda as part of a pack of materials campaigning on homosexual issues and the 'hidden gay agenda'. So, in a sense, Tony Perkins is the actual source of "the gay agenda." Hmmmm. 






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