02-12-2008, 10:37 PM
President Bush and Lord Jesus' Guerilla Army
The U.S. President will be visiting the region in May, just as Russian celebrates its World War II Victory Day, celebrations two of the thress Baltic countries will eschew due to 'lingering bitterness' over the post-war Soviet occupation.
March, 2005
By Adam Szostkiewicz
George W. Bush owes his election, above all, to the Christian evangelicals. He won by almost four million votes - the same amount that Karl Rove, the president's famous campaign strategist, estimated as the total number of the religious right in the electorate. His electoral mobilization plan worked (though the turnout increase cannot be attributed solely to right-wing Christians, as 15 million more Americans voted this time.) So who are these evangelical Christians?
During the campaign, pollsters asked voters which issues they considered most important: the Iraq War, terrorism, the economy, the environment etc. But according to Dr. Lance Montauk of the San Francisco University Hospital, people don't base their decisions on these issues alone.
"Fewer and fewer people identify with one party or the other, or have clearly formed political convictions. Take for example the southern guy who likes to shoot and is therefore for Bush, because he defends the right to bear arms. That same guy lost his job as a result of the free trade policy of Bush's government. The guy comes home and sees gay marriages on TV. Who do you think he'll vote for?"
Before the November [presidential] election, the Christian Coalition sent out 70 million copies of an electoral guide to all fifty states, in both Spanish and English. It reminded voters of Kerry and Bush's take on abortion, public schools, and tax cuts - but it didn't openly call on them to vote for Bush.
The intention, however, was to make sure that voters had no doubt which of the two candidates cared more about faith, family, and freedom. Immediately after Bush's victory, the Christian Coalition intensified its signature gathering effort for its campaign to "Win Back America." Christian Coalition activists wanted to win America back from the hands of the "judicial tyrants" of the federal Supreme Court.
What's wrong with the [Supreme Court] Justices? They legalized abortion, seek to remove the Ten Commandments from public places, and ban the Pledge of Allegiance, with the excuse that it is contrary to the freedom of religion because it invokes God. "Send us letters of support for congressmen who demand that Congress pass laws in accordance with the will of the nation," say leaders of the Coalition. "Distribute the petition among your friends, families and churches."
Organizations like the Christian Coalition are the motors of the American religious right. Its base is composed of Christians of various denominations and churches. For some, the religious right is a movement that inspires hope for America's moral rebirth, for others it is a dangerous sect of religious bigots.
In San Francisco, once the world capital of hippiedom, it is the latter view that dominates. In this part of the world, political neutrality means supporting the Democrats; if someone dares to back the Republicans, he'll be shouted down as being intolerant, says Dr. Montauk. "Bush supporters either stay silent or get out of the city."
But America is more than just California. In the late nineties when Bill Clinton was president, the Coalition was derided as part of the scrap heap of history. But the Coalition returned. Its founder, the Reverend Pat Robertson, campaigned for the Republican nomination in 1988. But the Republicans, though conservative, weren't eager for an open alliance with the religious right. They were afraid that its social radicalism would frighten away moderate and secular voters.
But in the end, the voices of those who saw the radicals' votes as necessary for Republicans and who supported a tactical alliance with them, came to dominate the Party. They tried to downplay or ignore controversial issues like school prayer, abortion or the rights of sexual minorities, while pushing slogans about the war on crime and the growing problem of unwed mothers.
DO WHAT YOU WANT, BUT QUIETLY
Leaders of the Christian Right for their part soon learned the art of electoral politics. Ralph Reed, one of the Coalition's strategists and Pat Robertson's successor, forced the organization to moderate its tone: Do what you want, but quietly; speak up only after you've achieved power. Political struggle is like guerilla warfare - don't betray your positions to the enemy.
The U.S. President will be visiting the region in May, just as Russian celebrates its World War II Victory Day, celebrations two of the thress Baltic countries will eschew due to 'lingering bitterness' over the post-war Soviet occupation.
March, 2005
By Adam Szostkiewicz
George W. Bush owes his election, above all, to the Christian evangelicals. He won by almost four million votes - the same amount that Karl Rove, the president's famous campaign strategist, estimated as the total number of the religious right in the electorate. His electoral mobilization plan worked (though the turnout increase cannot be attributed solely to right-wing Christians, as 15 million more Americans voted this time.) So who are these evangelical Christians?
During the campaign, pollsters asked voters which issues they considered most important: the Iraq War, terrorism, the economy, the environment etc. But according to Dr. Lance Montauk of the San Francisco University Hospital, people don't base their decisions on these issues alone.
"Fewer and fewer people identify with one party or the other, or have clearly formed political convictions. Take for example the southern guy who likes to shoot and is therefore for Bush, because he defends the right to bear arms. That same guy lost his job as a result of the free trade policy of Bush's government. The guy comes home and sees gay marriages on TV. Who do you think he'll vote for?"
Before the November [presidential] election, the Christian Coalition sent out 70 million copies of an electoral guide to all fifty states, in both Spanish and English. It reminded voters of Kerry and Bush's take on abortion, public schools, and tax cuts - but it didn't openly call on them to vote for Bush.
The intention, however, was to make sure that voters had no doubt which of the two candidates cared more about faith, family, and freedom. Immediately after Bush's victory, the Christian Coalition intensified its signature gathering effort for its campaign to "Win Back America." Christian Coalition activists wanted to win America back from the hands of the "judicial tyrants" of the federal Supreme Court.
What's wrong with the [Supreme Court] Justices? They legalized abortion, seek to remove the Ten Commandments from public places, and ban the Pledge of Allegiance, with the excuse that it is contrary to the freedom of religion because it invokes God. "Send us letters of support for congressmen who demand that Congress pass laws in accordance with the will of the nation," say leaders of the Coalition. "Distribute the petition among your friends, families and churches."
Organizations like the Christian Coalition are the motors of the American religious right. Its base is composed of Christians of various denominations and churches. For some, the religious right is a movement that inspires hope for America's moral rebirth, for others it is a dangerous sect of religious bigots.
In San Francisco, once the world capital of hippiedom, it is the latter view that dominates. In this part of the world, political neutrality means supporting the Democrats; if someone dares to back the Republicans, he'll be shouted down as being intolerant, says Dr. Montauk. "Bush supporters either stay silent or get out of the city."
But America is more than just California. In the late nineties when Bill Clinton was president, the Coalition was derided as part of the scrap heap of history. But the Coalition returned. Its founder, the Reverend Pat Robertson, campaigned for the Republican nomination in 1988. But the Republicans, though conservative, weren't eager for an open alliance with the religious right. They were afraid that its social radicalism would frighten away moderate and secular voters.
But in the end, the voices of those who saw the radicals' votes as necessary for Republicans and who supported a tactical alliance with them, came to dominate the Party. They tried to downplay or ignore controversial issues like school prayer, abortion or the rights of sexual minorities, while pushing slogans about the war on crime and the growing problem of unwed mothers.
DO WHAT YOU WANT, BUT QUIETLY
Leaders of the Christian Right for their part soon learned the art of electoral politics. Ralph Reed, one of the Coalition's strategists and Pat Robertson's successor, forced the organization to moderate its tone: Do what you want, but quietly; speak up only after you've achieved power. Political struggle is like guerilla warfare - don't betray your positions to the enemy.