By Hans Johnson, Alternet, September 24, 2010In many midterm races on Nov. 2, the choice is between a candidate embraced by right-wing extremists and a Democrat. If Democrats stay home, guess who wins? (...)
(...) defining downward, and rightward, of conservative leadership is one lesson to be taken from recent right-wing spectacles in Washington, D.C. These range from last weekend's Values Voters Summit, convened by the political arm of the Family Research Council; the Strategy and Briefing Conference hosted by Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition just after Labor Day; and the August rally on the National Mall called by Fox News Channel host and Mormon convert Glenn Beck.
Mainstreaming the Extremist Fringe
One extremist seeking mainstream standing is charismatic preacher Lou Engle. He likens his Kansas City-based following to an army engaged in "radical prayer" and has called on Christians to engage in acts of martyrdom, similar to the 2009 murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller. The wife of Tiller's killer, Scott Roeder, has said her husband wanted to be such a martyr. Engle has made common cause with politicians in Uganda to enact legislation that would authorize the killing of gay people.
(...) Another fringe figure fighting to gain stature is revisionist historian and peddler of Christian supremacy theories David Barton. (...) Barton's main target is church-state separation (...).(...) A third extremist seeking renewed exposure is discredited anti-abortion and antigay activist Alveda King. King (...) largely escaped scrutiny for her decades spent trying to defeat basic human-rights protections covering sexual orientation and gender identity.
(...) Like the frenzy of McCarthyism that drove GOP gains in 1950 or the 1980 turnout that Jerry Falwell spiked with revivalist fervor, Republicans are eyeing 2010 as a once-in-a-generation chance to alter the political landscape. With the completion of the census and reapportionment now upon us, it could also furnish them authority to remake the maps of election districts in their favor.
The reemergence of fringe characters like Ralph Reed, who gambled and lost on lucrative deals earlier this decade with corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and the antigay Family Research Council, point to a triumph within the GOP of its most extreme wing.Vergelijk:
As the Rachel Maddow Show has recently showcased, on December 16th the Family Research Council sponsored a "Prayercast" event, attended by GOP luminaries including Senators Jim DeMint and Sam Brownback, and House Representatives Michelle Bachmann and Randy Forbes. But FRC head Tony Perkins did not lead the prayer event. That honor fell to Lou Engle, Founder of TheCall.En:
Lou Engle is a leader in a religious tendency, rapidly becoming the new face of the religious right, which welcomes women and minorities but features an ideology just as extreme as that of the bigoted, nativist branch of the Christian right that Engle’s tendency will soon overshadow.
Lou Engle’s son Jesse Engle specializes in casting out gay “demons” and has established a ministry in San Fransisco, which Lou Engle has described as a place “where the homosexuals boast the dominion of darkness.”
En:
Fox News Channel opinion show host Glenn Beck has teamed up with Texan Christian right activist David Barton in an online seminar series called "Beck University".
En:
David Barton likens himself to a biblical prophet. He wants to destroy the separation of church and state. Why is he designing school curricula? (...) Most recently, Barton has been hobnobbing with Newt Gingrich, as the former House speaker strives to re-make himself as a Religious Right champion.
En:
Ralph Reed hopes to bury his past by bringing together the two most energetic right-wing movements: the Tea Party and the religious right. (...) This weekend, as Tea Party groups convene on the nation's capital to mark the first anniversary of last year's taxpayer march on Washington, Reed's latest venture, the Faith and Freedom Coalition, will host its debut Washington, D.C., Conference and Strategy Briefing [among the speakers: Gingrich, McDonnell and Rove] (...) at the historic Mayflower Hotel.En:
The Wonk Room revealed that front groups controlled by Koch had been working to promote Prop 23. Americans for Prosperity, the front group founded and financed by Koch Industries’ executive David Koch, had organized Tea Party rallies in favor of Prop 23 and produced online ads distorting California clean energy.
Een relativering van de invloed van christelijks extreemrechts op de plannen van de The Republican Party - in de VS meestal Grand Old Party (GOP) genoemd:
Religious Right Thrilled With Its Few Scraps From The GOP
Voorts:
Christian Dominionism And Democracy
Door Joseph L. Conn, Americans United - Church and State, Oktober 2011
Religious Right Radicals’ Growing Role In Rick Perry's and Michele Bachmann's Presidential Election Campaigns Sparks A Debate Over What Kind Of America They Want.
Fighting the Culture Wars With Hate, Violence and Even Bullets: Meet the Most Extreme of the Radical Christians
Door Alex Henderson, Alternet, 27 juni 2011
From the Army of God to the Hutaree Militia to Gary North and his Christian reconstructionists, radical Christianity is alive and well in the United States.
Islamophobia, European-Style
By Gary Younge, The Nation, September 23, 2010
[Younge is wel érg eenzijdig en maakt een pijnlijke fout waar hij schrijft dat Wilders moslims 'geiteneukers' heeft genoemd; zoals bekend gebruikte Theo van Gogh dat woord; maar hij signaleert wel terecht een verontrustende trend; K]
Texas schools board rewrites US history with lessons promoting God and guns
The Guardian, 16 mei 2010
En:
Team B-II noemen ze zichzelf, de club zelfverklaarde 'top security policy experts' die onlangs het rapport 'Shariah, the threat to America' uitbracht. (...) De opstellers van het rapport zijn voornamelijk samenzweringsdenkers die op de loony fringe van Amerikaans rechts opereren. Zoals Frank Gaffney, eermalig defensiestafmedewerker onder Reagan en columnist van de Washington Times, die meent dat Obama best wel eens stiekem een moslim zou kunnen zijn en dat het nieuwe logo van NASA bewust gemodelleerd is naar de islamitische halve maan.
(...) de denktank achter Team B-II – het door Gaffney zelf opgerichte ‘Center for Security Policy’ - [bestaat] uit een stel neoconservatieve oorlogshitsers, die gefinancierd worden door ultrarechtse organisaties, militant zionistische clubs en bedrijven in de militaire industrie. Er wordt namelijk grof geld verdiend aan de bangmakerij voor moslimlanden.
En:
Frightening Facts About the ‘Foxification’ of American Politics
Alternet, 4 oktober 2010
Zie ook m'n blognotities:
Glenn Beck's propaganda vervalst de geschiedenis
Scary People, Scary Times - Where Is This Country Going
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