On March 6th, Will The Rest Of The GOP Candidates Be Raptured?

The end of the world will not come if a Christian Right advocate does not win the race for President.
But tell that to the Christian Right.

With the religiosity that has covered the GOP presidential primary race, it's a wonder that the candidates have not formed a denomination of their own: the "I'm Christian, Dammit!" denomination. The pandering, the moralizing, the attacks on Obama's Christianity have given America a panoply of righteousness that has never been seen since Pat Robertson's bid for political legitimacy. Some people think it came to its peak with Santorum's "vomit" statement about JFK's speech concerning separation of church and state.

However, some people do not. Nor do they want it to peak. They certainly don't want it to die.

Rapturists believe that certain people will be bodily taken to heaven before the end of the world. So it stands to reason that if they think that the end of the world will come with the re-election of Obama or a non-quite-so-overtly-Christian politician, people will be raptured. Yes, I know that's a stretch in reasoning, but look who we're dealing with here:

And as the time line goes the book of Revelations says there will be 3 1/2 years of false peace before the end of the world. obama promised peace in the world. So if Obama is the anti- christ then the time-line would be june 2012. But it is all in God's hands now. - Yahoo Answers 2008
With all that is taking place in the Middle East, the stage is being set for that great day when we see Jesus in the clouds, and I believe it will be in my lifetime. Hallelujah! Are you ready to meet him in the air? If your sins are forgiven, you'll be among those who will be raptured. With all the horrors on this earth, He can't come too soon.
- Exposing Liberal Lies, June 11, 2011

Continuing The Fight For Domination
Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Santorum were the Christian Right's biggest pitch yet for political domination, yet even Herman Cain and Ron Paul got into the act.* And although Perry, Bachmann, and Cain are out of the running, their exit statements show no signs of letting up on righteousness (ala the evils of "socialism" and "Obamacare"):

Perry:

“I’m not slipping off in to the sunset. I’m not riding off into the West. We’ve got plenty of work to do right here in the state of Texas,” said Perry at a hotel ballroom just north of Austin, ”and I’ve got plenty of fight left in this 61-year-old body.”

Bachmann:

“Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so I have decided to stand aside,” Bachmann told a crowd of supporters in West Des Moines. But, she added, “I will continue fighting to defeat the president’s agenda of socialism.”

And from the looks of it, neither Santorum nor Gingrich will not go silently into that good night. Santorum's endless moralizing will continue to be an echo which will never fully be silenced. And while Romney is still expected to take all-important Michigan (Motown Showdown), a Romney win will not quell the voice of the zealot: gays, feminists and people on food stamps are evil and only a "Jesus Candidate" can save America.

And if Santorum should win...the moralizing will ramp up to a fever pitch, effectively ending any rational debate on many issues.

When Will It End? The Moralizing, That is.

It is a fete accompli that the Christian Right has tasted blood in the political arena with Bachmann, Gingrich, Perry and Santorum. It's voice has been heard loud and clear through the issues of same-sex marriage, contraception and treatment of the poor and disenfranchised. Throughout the last twenty years, the "death" of the Christian Right has been posited without any regard for its ferocity. What we are seeing now is an animal that has political teeth to match that ferocity: it has hold of politicians and their campaigns. It has hold over caucuses. It has hold over billion$ in donations. But it's power may be its downfall: too much moralizing, too much money spent, too much animosity towards Obama and liberalism may become too much for America.

We hope. Because if the Christian Right and its minions get a true hold on America...

it may be the end of the world as we know it.

*Warren Throckmorton, who first uncovered that Paul was boasting about an endorsement from a pastor who advocates for the death penalty for gays and lesbians, notes that Heath [Mike Heath, Iowa State Director of Paul's presidential campaign] was also the Board Chairman of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, one of the most fringe and virulently anti-gay groups in the country. - Right Wing Watch

Vaughn Walker Redux? Unmarried Activist Circuit Court Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional!

A U.S. District Court judge lives in San Francisco. He is apparently single and he is 67 years old. And even though he was appointed by George Bush, his decisions have been to the left of center.


Especially the last one.

BREAKING: BUSH APPOINTEE FINDS DOMA UNCONSTITUTIONAL | Moments ago, Judge Jeffery White of the District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause in a case brought by Karen Golinski. Golinski, represented by Lambda Legal, “was denied spousal health benefits by her employer, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.” White was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2002. The decision represents a serious setback for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), whose Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) defended DOMA after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the law.

So far, no source on the net has revealed any heterosexual tendencies: in all of his bios, there is no mention of a wife or family. Check out VoteSmart, wikipedia, judgepedia, and the website for the United States District Court  Northern California, Northern District California: no family whatsoever. There is no statement by White as to his sexual orientation either.


Of course, whether or not White is gay, speculation will run high and the Court of Christian Right Opinion will be delivering its verdict and accusations of conflict of interest will fly for sure. However, the old saw of  'activist judges" is bound to see a lot of action as well. Why? Because Hon. Jeffrey White was a Bush appointee! 


"Activist Judges!!"


One could argue that it was Dick Cheney who ushered in today's era of "activist judges" when he bemoaned the fate of Massachusetts in 2004:
"In Massachusetts we had the Massachusetts Supreme Court direct the state of -- the Legislature of Massachusetts to modify their constitution to allow gay marriage."
Since then,courts supportive of gay rights have been termed "activist" and the toll has became ubiquitous to such support. Iowa Supreme Court justices learned that the hard way when they unanimously voted to uphold a ruling of Polk County District Court granting gay couples the right to marry: three of the justices were voted out of office in 2010. 


Retired District Court Judge Vaughn Walker declared California's infamous Prop 8 to be unconstitutional. 


Brouhaha ensued even before it was learned that Walker was gay and in a long-term relationship. 


And, of course, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals became "activist" once they upheld Walker's ruling and declared that his sexual orientation had nothing to do with his ability to decide on the case. 


Watch Mark Fiore's warning against activist judges below. While it's satirical, the attitude it conveys is chilling.


The Election Year War On The Courts

Last December, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich stated Courts “are forcing us into a constitutional crisis because of their arrogant overreach." He also created a firestorm when he stated that he thought some judges should be rounded up and arrested. And another aspirant to the presidency, Rick Santorum, said "They [the courts] have become in effect most powerful of the three (branches of government), and they should be the least."

Ron Paul: "For judges who see themselves as social activists, their vision of justice is more important than the letter of the law they are sworn to interpret and uphold."

Mitt Romney has come under fire for perhaps being the least vocal about "activist" judges: some people suspect him of liberal chicanery when it comes to appointments.
Judge Jeffrey S. White


The judge in question is no stranger to controversy about his decisions: e.g in revoking USDA approval Of Monsanto's Genetically Modified Sugar Beets, and in ordering a thorough review of the program's affects on other foods, White caused a stir among farmers and the likes of Monsanto Corporation. In other words, it was not exactly what George Bush would have done. And in 2005, White allowed four municipalities and various environmental groups to go ahead with a lawsuit against federal agencies, saying that government involvement in certain overseas projects contributed to global warming. Again, he didn't look like a Bush appointment, that's for sure. 


So is Jeffrey S. White a closeted gay liberal judicial activist? Should it matter? The Right may scream "YES!", while the rest of the country may not care. 


Ahh, the election year.

Gilligan Wasn't THAT Stupid: How The GOP's Castaways Have Never Looked Sillier

Santorum missed the boat. 


It was bound to happen: someone portraying today's GOP politicos as the cast of Gilligan's Island. They have, after all, been considered clowns, even by Dukes of Hazzard fans. And the parallels are so rich! Come on, you know you can't stop laughing!


The above photo-shopped portrait has hit the ether with a scream and people all over the net are doubling over, reaching for Kleenex, and gasping for breath. It almost makes you sorry for the REAL cast - they never got laughs THIS big!


One of the best ones is Palin as Maryann. Maryann was corn-fed and clueless... and she had "perky pills" for breakfast. If the characters had longer lives, Maryann's daughter would have wound up on Dancing With The Stars. 


Ron Paul as Lovey Howell isn't bad either. Paul may consider himself an outsider, but he's demured to people like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich more than some people realize. And of all the characters, Lovey's was the most useless: Paul's stances have never swayed the other candidates and since everyone knows he won't win the GOP nomination, there's a fruitlessness about his campaign. He's making a statement, but so what?


Newt as the Skipper demonstrates the burly politics that win over people who bludgeon cats.


Romney's Thurston Howell is apropos because most of Howell's money came with him on the boat. Romney can never shake the image of a rich man who's never really known poverty.

Michele Bachmann's Ginger exudes a contrived beauty. (probably with help from her make-up man, Marcus Bachmann). She floated through her campaign as if in a Hollywood cloud, too enamored of herself to think that anyone would touch her negatively - or her husband. 


Huntsman is intelligent - and pretty to look at, but his character - the professor - was the weakest of all and barely got any laughs. He was too smart for his own good.


The best, of course, is Perry as Gilligan, the blundering goof who didn't know that when the Texas GOP applauded his execution rate, the rest of the world was appalled. "N*ggerhead" and his debate gaffs shot him to the top of  laugh meters. His campaign video "Strong" and his Brokeback Mountain jacket blunder have now become the stuff of  comedy legend. His campaign manager, Joe Allbaugh, let him roll without a laugh track: Perry didn't need one.


You're still laughing, aren't you? Come on! You ARE!


Against The Assault Of Laughter, Nothing Can Stand 


Yes, Mark Twain said it best: laughter can certainly be a wonderful weapon when it comes to any war against politicians and their hypocrisy, for who wants to be on the side of fools? And it's the best medicine for a country that's ill with Koch Brother shenanigans, shady banking maneuvers, 1% mentality, and Citizens United possibilities. 


Of course, since most comedy is actually built upon tragedy, the field of Christian-Right pandering politicians has its dark side. Perhaps that's why Santorum isn't in the picture: laughter could be swept away in an instant WTF? Ginrich's moral mea culpas are funny, Paul's past views are ridiculously inconsistent, Romney's strident attempts to appear common are whimsical, but Santorum's overt moralizing is truly scary. His latest statement to a woman about her son's healthcare* is horrific and strains comedy writers across the country to see anything funny in it. 


But we must keep laughing at the Right's list of leaders, if only to knock them down for their hilarious hubris. 
We must keep laughing because the only thing more nightmare-inducing than the crew and antics of the SS GOP:


RERUNS.


*Santorum recently told a mother to stop whining about her son's million-dollar prescription medicine bill.

Gerbils, Cell Phones And Bats Up The Butt: The Culture War Heats Up With Diatribes From Another World

The other world being the other side - the far right other side -  that is.


The irony of today's Gingrich morality debate is that it highlights rather than downplays the hypocrisies and the falsehoods spun by "social conservatives." Gingrich's infidelity mea culpas served him well in South Carolina, of course. Sarah Palin blasted the "dumb arse" media for covering the "open marriage story."  And his victory was lauded by organizations such as NOM (National Organization for Marriage). Gingrich's past, it seems is blissfully in the past and has nothing whatsoever to do with the country's economic future.


The the future of the country's morality? Why, it lies not with Gingrich, but with the country's more pulpit-driven lawmakers ... and the pulpits themselves, of course. Mea culpa's evidently helped homophobic "Bishop" Eddie Long  regain his stature at New Birth Missionary Church last Sunday where he was crowned "king" by a suspect "rabbi". He was paraded around on a throne and clothed in tabernacle scrolls (they couldn't afford spandex?).  People are calling it a mockery, but his congregation is calling it righteousness.


RAMPING UP THE RIGHTEOUSNESS


So in the culture war of this year, "social conservatives," "values voters" and just plain ole' fundamentalists are ramping up the rhetoric to obscene levels. Obscene in their own minds. Hysterical in others.

On a recent appearance on LaBarbera’s radio show, [Americans for Truth About Homosexuality] [Dr./Pastor Patrick ] Wooden called homosexuality a “wicked, deviant, immoral, self-destructive, anti-human sexual behavior” and should make people “literally gag.” Wooden added that gay men have “to wear a diaper or a butt plug just to be able to contain their bowels” by their “40s or 50s” as a result of “what happens to the male anus.” (listen to excerpt below)

Then we have this man who is not capable of teaching sex education:

“Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community — it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall.”
“My understanding is that it is virtually — not completely, but virtually — impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex…

He is, of course, Tennessee state senator Stacey Campfield who, late on, was refused service at a restaurant because of his bigoted views.

“What is the average lifespan of a homosexual? It’s very short ... Anybody out there who’s listening – your twelve listeners on your show, you have them Google ‘average homosexual lifespan.’ It’s very short.”*

The "evidence" cited, of course, is a regurgitation of old lies, myths and irrelevant controversies. We can view vaguely literate "research" HERE and HERE. And they are repeated by every Family Research Council, every American Family Association, every Christian Right mega-church pastor in the country to push the electorate and the political candidates into a false sense of righteousness in the voting booth. 


From Eddie Long being crowned "king" to prophetess/apostle Cindy Jacobs "curing" a woman of her hysterectomy, the moralizing elements of the far right promise to attack liberals with cruel distortions, irrational fears (ala anti-Islam),  chicanery and pomposity never seen since the Crusades. 

But the influence of these deep thinkers is not to be dismissed, because it leads to people being discriminated against, or bludgeoned cats left on doorsteps with the word "liberal" scrawled across them.




*This last dig at Michelangelo Signorile's popularity is very telling: Signorile's program is broadcast to over 20 million Sirius XM radio subscribers. Campfield's aides evidently didn't know that when they booked him on the program. Spouting these "facts" on Signorile's program is in itself, ludicrous.

The Bludgeoning Of Cats: The South's Right Wing Politics Has Never Left Us. But What's Good For Gingrich, Is Bad For The Rest Of Us.

Dad and his chums caught Crip's old black tomcat, killed it, skinned it, and cooked it in the kitchen of one of Dad's little restaurants. They called it squirrel meat and delivered it to Crip on a linen-covered tray. When Crip returned to work the next morning, Dad and his co-conspirators asked him how he liked his meal. They knew he would complain even about a free home-cooked lunch, and when Crip called it "the toughest squirrel meat" he had ever eaten, they were glad to tell him why.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell always prefaced this story about his father by saying that his father's "pranks bordered on cruelty."

The old white southern mindset is perhaps best portrayed with those words: "pranks" and "bordered." That mindset is a condition that still persists today - maybe in an even more virulent form:

An Arkansas campaign manager says he came home Sunday and found his family’s cat fatally bludgeoned on his front steps - with the word “liberal” scrawled across its side.

And:

Though Burris says has no idea who'd want to target him and his family, he cited the popularity of conservative talk radio and the rise of conspiracy theories about President Obama as potential motivating factors.

"This is in no way representative of the community, but there is a strain of folks who just don't really live in reality."

REALITY  CHECK

We have an African-American as President. Marriage equality is on the books in six states and promises to be in others. Government deregulation of our financial institutions led to a depression. The Iraq war was not based on hidden weapons of mass destruction. "Prophetess" Cindy Jacobs did not "cure" a woman of her hysterectomy. The Girl Scouts of America do not fund Planned Parenthood.

And The South still has an identity problem after 140 years.

And Newt Gingrich will benefit from that identity problem. For the reasons for Gingrich's win in South Carolina may be the same reasons given by a commenter on US MessageBoard:


1. South Carolina is the is the hotbed of Evangelicals and KKK.

2. The other favorite of bigoted morons Perry dropped out and endorsed Newt.*

And let's face it, Gingrich's comment about Obama being a "food stamp President" resonated with too many people mired in old prejudices. It's a comment that he has yet to rescind in any way. And if many voters in the South have any sway with Gingrich, he probably never will.

The violence that has surrounded Southern Politics for these last 140 years may be old and hackneyed, but it still exists in horrific splendor to anyone who will listen to its history of lynchings and mayhem. The Southern Poverty law Center lists 989 hate groups among the 48 contiguous states, with 433 of the in 12 Southern states.** The state with the highest number - not surprisingly - is Texas (59). The correlation between the high number of executions in the state and its number of hate groups presents a chilling mindset.

And another chilling thought: will there be more cat-killing to come during this election year?

Or will there be ... worse?














*I should point out that the thread of that subject was quite interesting with people arguing that SC was not a hate state, while some others posted Klan and N*zi rallies posted on YouTube.


** With a per capita average making the Southern states 4 times higher than the rest of the country.

Driving The Clown Car: A (Serious) Look At GOP Campaign Managers With Nonetheless HILARIOUS UDATES!es

BREAKING: Herman Cain's defection didn't quell the laugh riot.

When the clown car opens and spills its laugh-laden contents, the last one out is usually the driver, and with the GOP circus in full swing, it's time to stop and think about who the hell is actually running the show. Of course, so many aides and managers bailed out in the last 6 months, that the resulting confusion only adds to the hilarity: these guys are willing to throw their candidates under the clown car by continuing with the blunders. What do they have to gain, you may ask? Possibly a future position as ringmaster for another circus: the next GOP campaign pandering to Tea Partyers and the Christian Right.

Then again, all the buffoonery may be the fault of the candidates, hurling themselves through their campaigns without giving a second thought to what their managers think giving rise to the question: why did they hire these guys at all? As nannies, perhaps? And who, exactly, is running the show? 

Experience, dealings with the Christian Right, odd endorsements procured, campaign issues tackled and the latest events: all might shed some light on these politicos and the clown campaigns they manage.

Joe Allbaugh (Rick Perry)

Joe Allbaugh's wikipedia biography stops mysteriously at 2008, not mentioning any connection to Perry. Perhaps it was removed out of embarrassment, because Allbaugh's political and lobbying career shows a marked intelligence peppered with ruthlessness. He was, after all, George Bush's campaign manager for the 2000 election and head of FEMA until the ill-fated "Brownie" took over. And before that, presided over then-Governor Bush's "Fomalde-gate" scandal (involving the funeral industry).It also shows no significant connection with the Christian Right. So, does Allbaugh have any say in Perry's campaign, or is he just window dressing?

It's odd to think that Allbaugh had anything to do with "The Response" (Perry's call-to-prayer for the state of Texas), his ineptitude during the debates, or his fatal campaign ad, "Strong." But remember that Perry is of the same mold as George Bush - and Bush seldom listened to advisers. Then again, Joe Allbaugh may be jettisoning Perry out of the clown car while secretly feathering his own nest: his firm, Allbaugh Company, has operated with, Halliburton, Ecosphere Systems and  Dilligence, Iraq (a security/mercenary company).

Rick Perry doesn't seem to know (or care) what his campaign manager is all about. Figures.

Endorsements: 

Dean Cain, actor, of Lois and Clark (Superman) fame. Couldn't Allbaugh get Chuck Norris? 

Steve Forbes - of course, a "corporate personhood" donor.

The Latest: Rick Perry's taxpayer-paid security detail costs continue to skyrocket. Perry insists that his campaign travels are beneficial to the state of Texas. Right.

Mike Krull (Newt Gingrich)

Trying to look for Newt Gingrich's campaign manager under Google is like looking for a needle in a haystack: most of the coverage of his campaign management has been how his staff deserted him en masse. But a look in an article on his wife Calista reveals that it's HER friend, Mike Krull who has filled the crucial gap. 

Calista Gingrich may, in fact, be the REAL manager of Newt's campaign. Her "column" on his website titled "Calista's Canvass" reveals just how much more involved she is with the campaign. Is it she or Krull who were instrumental in getting endorsements from the American Family Association and homophobic hate monger, pastor Jim Garlow?

But looking at Krull: at first glance, he seems to suffer from the GOP malady of inept vetting. Not vetting your own candidate properly, that is. A campaign manager MUST know absolutely EVERYTHING about the candidate's past. Period. In effect, he must know the candidate better than the candidate knows himself: he has to ward off any criticism and have an answer for any peccadillo or indiscretion. 

Endorsements:

Columbia Tea Party

Tea Party Nation

Des Moines Tea Party

These endorsements may be indicative of Calista's influence, not Krull's.

The Latest: Newt Gingrich has lied about his first divorce: his website says that first wife Jackie Gingrich, requested the divorce, but CNN has uncovered documents stating not only that Gingrich instigated the procedures, but that he was negligent in child support and owed three months in support of Jackie and their two daughters, teenagers at the time. Mike Krull's/Gingrich's campaign's insistence that the opposite was true only makes Krull look inept in the face of legitimacy: Gingrich's mea culpas become more disingenuous as time goes by, weakening his support by the Christian Right.   

The Latest II: When it was discovered that Gingrich did not make the ballot on the Virginia primaries, his response was to compare the event toe Pearl Harbor (?!?): 

“Newt and I agreed that the analogy is December 1941: We have experienced an unexpected setback, but we will regroup and refocus.” 

Did they agree on what to do if the analogy was ridiculed? For Krull's sake, we hope not.

John Tate (Ron Paul)

As with Newt Gingrich's campaign manager, googling for John Tate presents a problem: most of the articles are on the demise of Kent Snyder, his former campaign manager who died uninsured and whose estate owed $400,000 in medical bills as a consequence. The (now) infamous interview with Wolf Blitzer pointed out how many people of Paul's ranks would just "let them die" if people elected not to have health insurance. Although Snyder's case was a bit different (he was denied health care because of a pre-existing condition), it put Paul in  an embarrassing position after he had stated that "our neighbors, our friends, our churches would do it." Paul's lobbing of compassion over to the churches, however, is quite misplaced: they can't handle the volume of people with needs, nor do many of them accept people with needs in a totally compassionate (non-qualifying) way.

So how is his new campaign manager, John Tate, looking at Health Care Reform? Tate's history as a Paul supporter and president of Campaign for Liberty (a libertarian - no government group) can unearth Tate's stance on health care (see video below). Total free enterprise in terms of health care basically reiterates the former physician's stance that the only good uninsured American is a dead uninsured American. 

Endorsements:

John Stossel

Chuck Norris (yes, instead of endorsing Rick Perry - maybe it was the Brokeback Mountain jacket that turned off Norris)

Andrew Sullivan. Not. Sullivan withdrew his support after further investigation into Paul's foreign policies.

Latest: In a FOX News update concerning the racially charge newsletters under Paul's name back in the 80's, total denial is the name of the game.

"These things are really nasty, and he didn't know about it? Wasn't aware of it?" Gingrich said at a stop in South Carolina.


Paul has since denied writing, and in some cases even reading, some of the newsletters that bore his name. But the issue could continue to haunt him as he rides a wave of support in Iowa at just the right time.

Again, this looks like a case of not knowing the candidate's history inside-out.

Keith Nahigian (Michele Bachmann)

It's probably fitting that Keith Nahigian was responsible for Dan Quayle's infamous "potatoe" gaffe: Bachmann is so prone to gaffes that spin comes from the chin. In any case, Nahigian has had over twenty years to learn from the mistake in thinking that politicians are intelligent. 

Then again, Nahigian's own gaffes (or rather, unfortunate quotes) have not given Bachmann's campaign additional dignity:

Michele Bachmann’s campaign manager lashed out at a CBS executive after he was accidentally cc’d on a network email detailing a plan to marginalize the Minnesota Congresswoman at Saturday night's Republican debate.
"John Dickerson should be fired," the Rep.’s political handler Keith Nahigian told reporters after the debate, CNN and Fox reported. "He is a piece of sh---. He is a fraud and should be fired."

The overspill from the Santorum scandal (Vander Plaats asked Bachmann to 'merge" with Santorum) did nothing to deter Nahigian from taking strategies for Iowa from Santorum's campaign:

Earlier in the week, Bachmann’s team announced that they were taking a page from Santorum’s playbook and would make campaign stops in all 99 counties in Iowa before the caucus on Jan. 3. Bachmann will start this campaign swing in Northwest Iowa on Friday and continue throughout the weekend.

Great. Taking it's cue from a tanking campaign so it can pander to the Christian Right is very, very smart thinking. 

Endorsements:

Phyllis Schafley. Even though she didn't send her gay son to Marcus Bachmann's pray-away-the-gay clinic.

Wayne Newton. He didn't go to Bachmann's clinic either. 

Latest:



Nahigian himself sounds as vague and clueless as Bachmann. Witness his response (below) to a question on Isreal (referring to Ron Paul's remark that he wished Israel was not a state)

Mike Biundo (Rick Santorum, 

New Hampshire and Beyond)

The former aide to Pat Buchanan's primary effort in Iowa back in 1996 should know better about reining in a candidate, but Mike Biundo has worked on Santorum's campaigns so long that he can't seem to see the forest from the trees. 

Biundo on key New Hampshire endorsement going to Newt Gingrich. 

“Rick is running a traditional New Hampshire style, door-to-door, town-hall-to-town-hall grassroots campaign,” said Biundo, a New Hampshire native. “We are looking forward to a positive result on January 10th here in New Hampshire.”

Door-to-door at this point, when Santorum is only maintaining the 5% slot is, at best, a weak excuse for a weak campaign. True, Santorum never had the entertainment appeal of Rick Perry, whose calls to Christianism have sparked debate and parody, but Santorum's moralizing overshadows all aspects of his persona. His demonization of Islam, the possibilities of Sharia law and implications that Muslims are terrorists, have become rallying cries to a few right-wing bloggers.

Endorsements:

Bob Vander Plaats. Cost: $1 million. Scandal: Priceless

Brad Thor. The thriller author's book, The Last Patriot, pandered to extreme fears of takeover by Islamic terrorists.

Latest: Biundo has tried to play down the Vander Plaats "pay for play" scandal by saying that Santorum was never really approached byVander Plaats. Santorum says differently, contradicting Biundo.  

Matt Rhoades (Mitt Romney)

Matt Rhoades has been with Mitt Romney since 2008, after being director of "opposition research" for George Bush's campaign in 2004.

His colleagues would later tell National Journal that his opposition research work helped discredit Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on national security issues in particular, or as The Hotline put it in 2006, "Campaign officials credit him with doing more than just about any other staffer to define John Kerry as weak, wimpy, French and flip-floppy -- an unacceptable Commander in Chief."

So it seems that Rhoades is dealing with the very same type of character he "exposed" which, if he can turn overturn the perception of Romney as "flip-floppy" he is an extremely good manager indeed. He also has an extremely good relationship with Matt Drudge (The Drudge Report). But how has he dealt with the Mormon issue?

He hasn't. Probably because he's allowing the Christian Right to hang itself on the issue. "Mormonism is a cult" is a meme that has worn itself thin and Rhoades, being the opposition analyst that he is, knows that this kind of push-back can actually work in Romney's favor. Be he weak or flip-floppy, Romney needs an underdog persona. Rhoades is already concentrating on the "kill Romney" attack strategy that the Obama Administration flatly denies. Rhoades knows the validity of hanging on to a persecution campaign.

Endorsements:

JP Morgan Chase
Former First Lady Barbara Bush. Pearls notwithstanding.


Latest:


The recent tele-town hall Florida apparance by Romney didn't seem to quell fears of elitism and flip-flopping. Rhoades can't seem to get Romney into that "everyman" mode he so desperately wants - and needs.

Either the clowns are running the circus or the campaign managers are - it's tough to decide: from ruthless right wingers like Allbaugh, to clueless politicos such as Nahigian, campaign managers look to be throwing their candidates under the clown car for purposes only they know. Perhaps, instead of the driving the cars, they decided early on that it would be best if they just sat back and enjoy the ride and its ensuing slapstick chaos along with the "suckers born every minute."


Who will be laughing after the primaries?

Have Yourself A Merry Little Scandal: Pandering To The Christian Right Is VERY Expensive ($1M) For Rick Santorum's Campaign

Bob Vander Platts doesn't come cheap.  In 2010, Newt Gingrich gave Vander Plaats' campaign to unseat Iowa judges $350,000. The Family Leader's leader also demanded a cushy paid position on Mitt Romney's staff back in 2008 in exchange for an endorsement (he didn't get it, and backed Huckabee instead).


Now word is out that Vander Plaats has received $1 million to endorse Rick Santorum and others, after which he told Michele Bachmann to bow out of the race.

Earlier this week, Santorum admitted that Vander Plaats approached the campaign with an indirect solicitation of money to help promote his support, but now other sources familiar with the talks between Vander Plaats and GOP candidates are characterizing the tactics as “corrupt.”

Of course, "pay for play" is not new in the political Christian-Right arena: it was disclosed last week that Newt Gingrich's campaign had donated $125,000 to American Family Association Action (a PAC), after which he resoundingly received an endorsement from the American Family Association itself. And it was rumored back in 2010, that Mike Huckabee sold an endorsement in the Florida gubernatorial campaign for the princely sum of $250,000. 



POWER CORRUPTS


Ever since the Christian Right re-invented itself as a voting block, its power has been unmistakable: Tony Perkins' Values Voters Summit has now been a lightning rod for Right Wing candidates courting the "social conservative" group (est. up to 25 million - or almost half of Republican votes in a Presidential election). And with pulpits jeopardizing their tax-free status in daring to endorse candidates, their power is flaunted with a righteous arrogance that almost exceeds comprehension. Indeed, it is quite amazing that the same group cries "persecution" whenever a law is passed endangering that power. Their opposition to hate crimes bills, for example only demonstrates just how much they value the control they have over their congregations. Witness the outright lies "historian" David Barton promotes in his polemic about evil "homosexual activists" in the video below.


And Vander Plaats' pronouncements about gays, Muslims and "activist judges" have sparked controversey - the kind that Vander Plaats' shrugs off as "persecution."*


So power in the Christian Right corrupts people into telling lies for the sake of control. But in the case of Vander Plaats, we now see financial gain afoot, with candidates and their campaigns willing to pay the price of endorsements and support. 


With all the "pay to play" shenanigans going on, it begs the question: where are the campaign managers in all of this? Sources referring to the $1 million in contributions to the Family Leader imply that Santorum was one of several candidates who contributed for endorsements. In a forthcoming article, we'll look at the role these pivotal figures have as drivers of the clown car we now call the GOP Presidential campaign. And as it turns out, Mike Biundo, Santorum's campaign manager, may look to be as inept as his candidate: both Vander Plaats and Santorum said that Santorum did not know about the endorsement until well after the announcement by Vander Plaats, even though Biundo was present during the announcement.*


Bachmann's Dickerson


There is no word yet on how John Dickerson, Michele Bachmann's campaign manager reacted to the story that Vander Plaats suggested that she "merge" with another faith-based candidate but it's clear that the "merge" story came after Bachmann shot out that she was asked to "quit" the race by Vander Plaats. Dickerson must have a helluva time reining in his mistress, especially since he has enough on his hands trying to formulate enough effective ads in Iowa to propel Bachmann from fourth place to the position her straw poll win put her in. 


From where we sit, John Allbaugh (Perry), Michael Krull (Gingrich) and the aforementioned Biundo probably have more to say about donations to Vander Plaats.


Whither will they fly?






*Santorum said he heard it from a blind man who, in turn, heard it from someone "in the kitchen" of the convention hall. Real good coordinating, gents.  



* From Think Progress:

The FAMiLY Leader has its own long history of anti-gay and anti-Muslim rhetoric. An early version of the group’s fidelity pledge suggested that children were better off under slaverythan they are under Obama, and the document likens homosexuality to polygamy, adultery, or polyandry, attacks gays as a public health risk, and foments the non-existent “Sharia” threat to America. Vander Plaats himself led a successful campaign to oust three state Supreme Court justicies who overturned Iowa’s anti-gay marriage law and played in instrumental part and leading Mike Huckabee to victory in Iowa in 2008.

Newt Gingrich Ninja Marriage Protector - LOLOLOL!

I love the sneeze!

All That Glitters Is Not Newt: The Republican Party Is Really Made Of Cheap Brass

Back in the days ...


The Republican Party used to be more, shall we say, patrician. Oh, it had people with lots of money, but it was old money, not the flashy kind you see nowadays. It was the money of the Teddy Roosevelts, not the Franklin Roosevelts,* and even though they were conservative to a fault, they spent their money (as well as other people's) in style: Teddy - national parks, Franklin - WPA. 


Sadly, all that style went away with Calvin Coolidge. Nixon? No style at all in Watergate. Ford? Stumbling has no style - in or out of Congress.  Reagan? Hollywood glitz while mixed up with Contras and stealing designer gowns.  Bush I? Can't recall much of anything. Bush II? As the youngsters say today, "Gimme a break!" 


Style. Class. Respect. Every patrician virtue seems to have eluded the Republicans for years. Unfortunately, it will continue to elude them with the present Presidential hopeful roster: 


New Gingrich - aka "serial adulterer" Mr. Gingrich announced his bid for the Presidency with the worst timing ever: owing upwards of $500,000 to Tiffany's at a time when the economy is the #1 American priority is gouache and terribly bourgeois. We realize that one young man tried to "sparkle up" Newt's image (see below) but we believe that it will take more than glitter to make him shine.


Michele Bachmann - aka "crazy eyes" and "slit our wrists" Mrs. Bachmann is more delusional than delightful: one does not make up numbers ($900 million a day for President's trip to Southeast Asia and India?),become a fear monger against the national census, nor extol the virtues of carbon dioxide.


Rick Santorum - aka "frothy mix" Mr. Santorum needs to be less obsessed with Google definitions and more concerned with his ethics: giving the warning signal to Senator John Ensign about his about-to-be-public affair was not in anyone's best interests.


Tim Pawlenty - Mr. Pawlenty was swept away from Catholicism by his wife and then turned into a devout RRR (Radical Religious Righter). He seems not to be "for" anything, but instead whines to the media (like Bryan Fischer of AFA) about what he is against (same-sex marriage, Social Security, Medicare). He continually sounds like a very poor sport.


Mitt Romney - Mr. Romney may look very patrician, have a great deal of money, and even a certain amount of pedigree,  but to put it bluntly, flip-flops are not allowed in the White House.


Mitch Daniels - Mr. Daniels seems to have all the reserve required for a good patrician Republican, however, his attachment to Eli Lilly leaves much to be desired. Although most of society is on Prozac, there is no need for a drug company to rule the country. 


Sarah Palin - aka "Rogue Something-or-other" and "Hockey mom" (her self-styled sobriquet). Mrs Palin has been in the spotlight so long without real substance that she is in danger of being "famous for being famous" The only person ever to pull that off was Zsa Zsa Gabor - with style and elegance (Queen of Outer Space notwithstanding). Her book, Going Rogue, was a paltry piece that impressed no one (least of all Katie Couric). Going Rouge** is much better. Tacky: putting an enemy's district in a crosshair for your PAC's website.


Ron Paul - aka "Dr. No" Mr. Paul has leaned so far to the Right that there is no Left left. This does not make for a good statesman. Governments are established for the benefit of the populace, but Mr. Paul's libertarianism doesn't seem to care. He quite foolishly declared that the President's raid on Osama Bin Laden was unnecessary. Bad form.


Herman Cain - his political positions are thinner than his pizza


There may be more to come, but we may not be able to stand the class deficiency. 




*Franklin's money was from the Delano side - originally made in China's Opium trade

**Going Rouge: A Candid Look inside the Mind of Political Conservative Sarah Palin, , a wonderfully insightful book - all its pages are empty.

Trump And Huckabee: Two More Clowns Of God As Presidential Hopefuls

Can't we dismiss them BOTH "at our own peril."?!!

A recent poll has shown Donald Trump only slightly behind Mike Huckabee in approval for the Republican Nomination in 2012. That's right, "The Donald" has come on surprisingly strong. Huckabee's reaction?


On Laura Ingraham's show:


HUCKABEE: Well, I had a wonderful meeting with Donald Trump. I think he’s a very serious contender. He’s going to get in. I kind of went into the meeting thinking he’s not really going to run. Came out thinking, by gosh, he really is. [...]

INGRAHAM: Could there be a possible Huckabee/Trump ticket in the offing here?

HUCKABEE: Never say never. I don’t know. But, whether Donald Trump would ever want to be seen on the same stage with me, I don’t know. But I found him very engaging, and a very smart guy. And I think people will dismiss him at their own peril."


The Clowns of God

In 1981, Morris West (Shoes of the Fisherman) wrote a book titled The Clowns of God. And while it centered around the politics of the Roman Catholic curia during the height of the Cold War, its premise of religion and politics was prescient: never before have we had religion breathing harder down the necks of politicians (and voters) than now - the height of the Culture War. But while West's portrayal of cardinals as a bunch of madcap, wild clowns was meant to be broadly metaphorical, our current crop of  Republican/Tea Party Presidential hopefuls look more like circus clowns than the red-robed kind. 

The ticket of Trump/Huckabee or Huckabee/Trump (whichever one you believe) certainly makes that point. The very possibility of a campaign duo comprised of a former governor/minister and a real estate mogul/media personality conjures up all sorts of images, the least of which is having them lead the other hopefuls out of a bright yellow mini VW bug. Taking anything seriously from them would take an astounding  feat of composure, like trying not to laugh while being cruelly tickled to death. Looked at as a whole, they are more like "Killer Clowns From Outer Space."

Yes, it's unfortunate that we have to take any of them seriously, but the horror of today's religio-political scene is that we must . Why? Simply because other people WILL. And those people vote. The spectrum of clowns is much greater than it was in 2008, going from a former congressman who holds the record for the most charges of ethics violations (84) to a governor who has a hard time explaining his association with a white supremacist group. But as the video of Donald Trump's interview on Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network proves, they all have to have some semblance of religiosity in order to please the Christian Right with its hunger for all ideologies "Christian."

Let's take a look at the Presidential hopefuls in terms of background, policies and religiosity.*

Mike Huckabee:

Big Loser (in weight - 110lbs.) but slowly gaining it back. 

Former Governor of Arkansas (trying to undo what Clinton had done to the state). 

Wanted to quarantine people with AIDS at a time when casual contract as transmission had been medically debunked for years.

Southern Baptist minister from 1980  to  1996  whose sermons for ten of those years  have mysteriously disappeared ("accidentally shredded")

Idolater of Christian "historian" David Barton to the point of saying that everyone should listen to him at gunpoint.

News analyst for FOX News (a rather oxymoronic position)

Famous for having to "re-frame" positions or outright flip-flopping

Religiosity Index: 9

Donald Trump:

Real estate mogul 

Celebrity/personality synonymous with the term "You're Fired!"

Confirmed "Birther"

Condemns discrimination against gays but is definitely not for same-sex marriage

Considers himself a Christian and is Presbyterian, Catholic or something else depending upon the date of the biography.

Religiosity Index: 4

Sarah Palin:

Half-term governor of Alaska

Republican Nominee for Vice President

Darling of the "common man" and Tea Party

"Author"

Founder of the "Pink Elephant" Movement, helping Conservative women to get elected

Baptized Roman Catholic, became a Pentecostal and was prayed over by Thomas Muthee, leading African preacher/witch-hunter

Dropped Assemblies of God for Wasilla Bible Church because it had a "better children's ministries"

A contributor to FOX News

Religiosity Index: 5

Michele Bachmann:

U.S. Representative for the 6th Congressional District in the State of Minnesota

Supporter of the Tea Party

Famous for the quotes "armed and dangerous" and "slit our wrists" 

Profound believer in the existence of "death panels" in the health care reform bill

Supporter of Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage

Supporter of controversial rock band advocating death to homosexuals

Owner of a Christian Counseling Clinic

Mother of five children and foster parent to 23 children over the last several decades

Member of the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod

Religiosity Index: 9

Rick Santorum:

The only politician to have a sexual neologism coined after his last name (google "Santorum")**

Ardent opponent of gay rights, same-sex marriage, and obsessive about priests and pedophilia

Ardent proponent of Intelligent Design

Sponsor of proposed legislation preventing the National Weather Service from issuing warnings where commercial interests could issue alarms.
Firm believer that the Crusades weren't all that bad***

Head of a very Catholic family, and became a Knight of Magistral Grace of the The Knights of Malta

Religiosity Index: 9

Mitt Romney:

Former governor of Massachusetts

Mormon (so, as seen by many in the Christian Right, Romney belongs to a "cult")
Flip-flopper on a number of issues including stem cell research, abortion and some gay rights issues, veering to the Right during his tenure in office as governor.

Religiosity Index: 3

Newt Gingrich:

Record-holder of the most ethics charges against any Congressman (84) and the only Speaker of the House to be disciplined ethhics violations (at a cost to Gingrich of $300,000)

Convert to Catholicism from the Baptist denomination

Dinosaur enthusiast (does not touch the subject of evolution)

Serial adulterer who explained that his "love for his country" made him work too hard and as a result "things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

Supporter of tougher immigration laws and believes Islam has too many radical elements

Religiosity Index: 6

Haley Barbour:

Governor of Mississippi

Influential lobbyist for firms like R.J. Reynolds and Microsoft

Questionable attitudes on racism****

Most notable quote about eliminating the subject of slavery from Confederate History Month: "...it's trying to make a big deal out of something doesn't amount to diddly"

Supports the White Citizens Council (a white supremacist group)

Presbyterian

Religiosity Index: 4

Add more clowns to the rostrum and the Republican Presidential hopeful lineup may rival anything Ringling Bros. has ever produced. 

Seriously, progressives should be praying for more clowns to weaken the Right and its chances of gaining the Executive Branch of government. A recent poll by Polling for Public Policy indicates that 3 months into the "new" Congress people are already dropping away from Republicans at an alarming rate: things like budget cuts at national and state level and open contempt for unions have not endeared voters to the GOP:

Voters may not love Obama as once they did but they're finding him to be more reasonable than the alternative and that means it will be hard for the GOP to knock him off next year without a top notch nominee.

So, send in the Clowns of God. With the way things are going in the country, we need laughter to help us through all the self-righteousness and hypocrisy that last November has enabled. 

* Yes, I realize this is totally arbitrary on my part, but it's rather difficult to rate politicians on their supposed thoughts as opposed to their deeds. 

**Rick Santorum seems to be a magnate for anal sobriquets: after sharing the floor of the Senate with him for three weeks, Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska said: "Santorum — That's Latin for assh*le."
*** This prompted us to respond with a Christian Crime Line
**** In a recent poll, Mississippi Republicans were asked about interracial marriage. A majority thought that interracial marriage should still be illegal.