Bottom of the Ninth: Politics - 2, Christofascism - 1

2007's Values Voters Summit - God's Warriors

(psst! notice: the guy in front doesn't have a flag lapel pin! - he must be a secret Obama supporter!)

The Culture War Will Be Heating Up Again... After America's Evangelicals sees the new Pew Report on Religion and Politics:

Some Social Conservative Disillusionment

August 21, 2008

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center reveals that most of the reconsideration of the desirability of religious involvement in politics has occurred among conservatives. Four years ago, just 30% of conservatives believed that churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics. Today, 50% of conservatives express this view.

As a result, conservatives' views on this issue are much more in line with the views of moderates and liberals than was previously the case. Similarly, the sharp divisions between Republicans and Democrats that previously existed on this issue have disappeared.

The numbers above spell big worries for people like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and his spiritual owner James Dobson. My guess is that the exploits of people like Pat Robertson, Rod Parsley and John Hagee have been more detrimental to their cause than they thought possible. When you’re marketing religion (as well as hatred), you’d better take into account a global economy. Even Bush knew that when he went to the Olympics. But he stupidly tried to do several things at once: create a positive American presence and castigate the host country for human rights violations. Unfortunately, he’s so inept at doing even one thing at a time that he placed our diplomatic rating in China back down to zero.

The Fudds and the Gantrys will be angry about this new trend. It's significant: Christofascists don't have as much power as they had 4 years ago. But "be afwaid, be vewy, vewy afwaid. heheheheheh!" Like cornered animals, they will lash out with every means, reasonable or unreasonable, they can. Watch/read/imbue what they say at the "Values Voters Summit"

Check out People For The American Way Sept. 12-14 and what they report about the Submit, ah I mean "Summit."

This may yet be the Christofascist view of America:

Rich: When You Can't Tell How Many Homes You Own!

Terminator Plus Madame? Nah!
But Cindy Better Get Used To Being At The Wrong End Of Publicity!

Cindy McCain Should Have Answered The Question About
the Number of Houses They Own

Cindy McCain: very rich, very philanthropic and very volunteer-driven and ...very vulnerable.

So why isn't she being hunted down like Teresa Heinz Kerry? Or Michelle Obama? Or is she just a wealthy Pat Nixon? Has she even found her campaign personality yet? Obama found hers a while ago. Read the wikipedia.com bio of Mrs. McCain here. Apparently, except for a few "lapses in judgment" (my phrase), the only word for this woman is "paragon":

She has stated that the American public wants a First Lady of the United States who will tend toward a traditional role in that position. She would not attend Cabinet meetings, but would continue her involvement in overseas non-profit organizations and would urge Americans to do the same globally or locally; she envisions herself as a possible figurehead for humanitarian work, along the lines of Diana, Princess of Wales.

She's been on or is on the board of so many charities and causes that she seems positively surreal. She's even an amateur pilot and race car driver! (26 years in NASCAR!) She's the wealthy Mary Haines* of the 21st century!

Ironically, the image that she has built up for the last 30 years may be her biggest problem: the American public really loves to push people off pedestals. She's overdue for a National Enquirer expose. It may come in the form of prescription drug addiction (which she has admitted to, but if the image of "addict" clings to Rush Limbaugh, it will probably cling to her as well). It may come in the form of an "affair" to offset the fact that she was essentially McCain's "mistress." Or it may come in the fact that her money was involved directly in the "Keating Five" scandal.

As to the reason why she has been conspicuously absent in the last week? Is it REALLY carpal tunnel or something more sinister? Hey, the tabloids have to make a buck!

Seriously, she seems like a wonderful, wonderful woman. And sophisticated enough to make Laura Bush look positively dowdy (or does Cindy have a love affair with one-color pantsuits too?).

I wish her luck. She'll need it.

*The almost flawless Park Avenue wife and mother in Claire Booth Luce's The Women.

Rod Parsley's Xian Warriors

Xian Warriors
Originally uploaded by nickeeeast

Do you think that when Rod Parsley dies, he'll have clay models of all his "warriors" made so that they can be with his soul in the afterlife?

Just a thought.