PERRspectives: Culture War Archives

Culture War Archives

	Hayworth Adds Horses to GOP's "Do Not Marry" List In Arizona, conservative radio host and former Congressman J.D. Hayworth is challenging Senator John McCain in the upcoming GOP primary. As it turns out, Hayworth is also battling fellow Republicans Rick Santorum and John Cornyn for the most ridiculous comparison of bestiality and same-sex marriage. Discussing the 2003 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court establishing marriage equality in the Bay State, Hayworth told an Orlando radio show (audio here): "I mean, I don't mean to be absurd about it, but... more Posted on March 15, 2010 \| Comments (1)

	The Irreplaceable Ulysses S. Grant In the latest chapter in the decades-long conservative campaign to canonize Ronald Reagan, North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry proposed replacing the image of Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill with that of the Gipper. But as Sean Wilentz eloquently detailed Sunday in the NewYork Times, that recognition would erase the legacy of Grant not only as the victorious Civil War general who preserved the Union, but of a president who expanded civil rights and freedom. But Wilentz may have... more Posted on March 14, 2010 \| Comments (2)

	Palin's America Dependent on Divine Intervention Over the past 10 days, President Obama and Sarah Palin made clear everything you need to know about their dueling visions of America's character and its future. In his State of the Union address, the President rejected the notion that "our progress was inevitable," reminding the nation that "the only reason we are here is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard." But on Saturday night, the half-term Alaska Governor presented the assembled Tea Party faithful... more Posted on February 8, 2010 \| Comments (1)

	CBS Super Bowl Ads We'd Like to See After refusing in the past to run "controversial" ads from groups such as the United Church of Christ, CBS is reversing course. During its extended Super Bowl coverage on Sunday, the network will air a not-so-subtle anti-abortion message sponsored by Focus on the Family featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. In it, the nation's most famous virgin (if less famed passer) will apparently lecture American women on reproductive rights while joining his mother in discussing his miraculous birth. Now that... more Posted on February 7, 2010 \| Comments (3)

	Tea Bagging for Jesus As a quick glance at the video tape makes clear, the supposed Tea Party movement is simply a continuation of the right-wing's failed 2008 presidential campaign by other means. (Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) spoke for Sarah Palin, John Cornyn, Michele Bachmann and countless others when he insisted, "We need to stop looking at the tea parties as separate from the Republican party.") But as the sessions by Pastor Rick Scarborough and Judge Roy Moore at today's National Tea Party Convention... more Posted on February 5, 2010 \| Comments (3)

	Palin Abandons Her "Screw Political Correctness" Mantra Last June, soon-to-be ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin praised Michael Reagan, lauding his propensity to "to call it like he sees it, and to screw political correctness that some would expect him to have to adhere to." As she headed out the door six weeks later, Palin promised to be "less politically correct" after her leaving office. Then after the Ft. Hood shootings in November, Palin said "profile away!" because such political correctness "could be our downfall." As it turns out,... more Posted on February 2, 2010 \| Comments (2)

	Tim Tebow Turns Super Anti-Abortion Crusader Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow hasn't played a down in the National Football League, but he will nonetheless be a star during the Super Bowl on February 7. That's because the University of Florida quarterback will join his mother in a 30-second Super Bowl ad to deliver an anti-abortion message funded by Focus on the Family. And given the media's fawning coverage so far of Tebow's evangelical fervor, Super Sunday promises to be only the next installment of his pigskin... more Posted on January 17, 2010 \| Comments (0)

	Conservatives Put the Hate in Haiti On Monday, January 11, PBS Newshour aired what may have been the most upbeat assessment of the progress in and future prospects for long-suffering Haiti offered in years. That 10 minute segment ("Despite Years of Crushing Poverty, Hope Grows in Haiti") revealed new investment, government improvements and signs of economic life in the Western Hemisphere's most impoverished nation. 24 hours later it lay in ruins. And even then, at the hour of Haiti's greatest need, leading voices of the conservative... more Posted on January 13, 2010 \| Comments (1)

	Targeting Reid, Republicans Forget Bush Forced Lott Out The preposterous Republican campaign to equate Harry Reid's off-the-record "dialect" comment with neo-Confederate Trent Lott's lavish public praise of Strom Thurmond has shifted into overdrive. But even as Michael Steele, Jon Kyl and other leading lights of the Party of Hate press Reid like Lott before him to surrender his Senate leadership post, they conveniently omit President George W' Bush's essential role in forcing Lott's resignation. Just as important, the GOP is silent as to why Bush, desperate to improve... more Posted on January 11, 2010 \| Comments (1)

	GOP Defends Trent Lott, Calls for Reid to Resign While President Obama declared "the book is closed" on Harry Reid's past "negro dialect" comment, Republicans are using the imbroglio to reopen the book on the disgraced Trent Lott. On Sunday, RNC chairman Michael Steele and Arizona Senator Jon Kyl insisted Reid should resign his post as Senate Majority Leader like Trent Lott before him. Sadly for the Republicans, there is no double standard at work here. Trent Lott didn't merely lavish praise on the legendary racist and segregation stalwart... more Posted on January 10, 2010 \| Comments (1)

	Steele the Latest Republican Chosen by God The first Republican Abraham Lincoln famously proclaimed, "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side." Sadly, as RNC Chairman Michael Steele confirmed again this week, his successors believe the GOP truly is God's Own Party. As it turns out, Steele has joined George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann on the long and growing list of Republican leaders who claim they have been chosen by God. Michael... more Posted on January 9, 2010 \| Comments (0)

	For Redemption, Tiger Woods Should Become a Republican Fox News anchor Brit Hume is rightly being mocked for suggesting that the road to redemption for a philandering Tiger Woods begins with his conversion to Christianity. But Hume's on-air evangelical fervor doesn't merely show his religious bigotry in general or ignorance towards Buddhists in particular. It also won't work, at least not with his viewers. As Gary Hart and Jim McGreevey among other Democrats learned, being a Christian isn't enough to resurrect a reputation and return to the public... more Posted on January 7, 2010 \| Comments (1)

	Republicans Now the Party of Armageddon When the obscure evangelical radio host turned Biblical numerologist Harold Camping predicts the end of the world will arrive on May 21, 2011, it's not a cause for concern. But what about when many of the leading voices of a major American political party not only look forward to the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ but believe it will come in the form of an End of Days conflict with Iran over the fate of Israel? Then you'd... more Posted on January 4, 2010 \| Comments (2)

	The Hate That Dare Not Speak Its Name Conservatives this morning are apoplectic about some of the vile, hate-filled comments generated online in response to the hospitalization of Rush Limbaugh. And rightly so, as a quick glance at Twitter reveals. But before the right-wing faithful rush to condemn liberal hate, they would do well to look in the mirror first. After all, theirs is a movement that in recent months prayed for the death of President Obama and two Democratic Senators. On this point, Rush Limbaugh himself can... more Posted on December 31, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Lumps of Coal for Time and the New York Times Judging by two articles which appeared in their publications this holiday week, Time and the New York Times won't be getting a visit from Santa. Time's Amy Sullivan predictably stirred up right-wing rage with her just-in-time for the holidays, "No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family." Meanwhile, David Herszenhorn described the Senate's "new partisan vitriol" in an account which conveniently omitted noting which party was responsible for it. Helping to resurrecting conservative mythmaking about President Obama's faith, Sullivan alerted readers:... more Posted on December 25, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Pray for Republicans: Luke 23:34. Just days after the shocking revelation that opponents of President Obama have been praying for his demise, another coded message in the form of Biblical verse has entered American political discourse. This time, however, the target of t-shirts, buttons, bumper stickers and signs is the Republican Party. And the meaning of "Pray for Republicans, Luke 23:34" isn't one of hate, but forgiveness. Then Jesus said, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." The meaning of Jesus' words... more Posted on November 23, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Sarah Palin's Willing Objectifiers As Sarah Palin travels the country filling her coffers, the debate rages as to whether the former Alaska Governor is a victim or beneficiary of sexism (or possibly even both). But while her allies and Palin herself have left little doubt where they stand in the wake of the Newsweek cover imbroglio, their words belie a different truth about who's objectifying whom. As many of her biggest supporters appear to admit, if Sarah Palin didn't look like she was still... more Posted on November 20, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	Joan of Palin Leads the Republican War on Science Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center published survey findings which revealed that only 6% of American scientists identify themselves as Republicans. There can be little doubt as to why conservatives are now an endangered species within the scientific community. From evolution and global warming to abortion and abstinence policies and so much more, the politicization of science has been an essential GOP strategy for decades. And as her book tour this week makes clear, Sarah Palin is now a... more Posted on November 18, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Palin Fights Huckabee for the Hand of God Neither Mike Huckabee nor Sarah Palin believes in the theory of evolution. But with the posturing for the 2012 Republican presidential primaries already underway, each will soon learn about the principle of impenetrability. That is, when it comes to the GOP's religious right base, two White House hopefuls can't occupy the same space at the same time. And as her book makes clear, Sarah Palin seems certain that God is on her side, a position that Mike Huckabee has already... more Posted on November 17, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Take the Palin-Prejean Challenge! Karl Marx famously said that historical events occur twice, first as tragedy and then as farce. And so it is with Carrie Prejean, the second coming of Sarah Palin. Like Palin, Prejean is a former beauty pageant contestant turned conservative darling. Each penned a tell-all book to bemoan her victimization by the supposed liberal media, all the while fundamentally misunderstanding the First Amendment. (As it turns out, the one difference may be that Sarah Palin only fingered her flute.) Judging... more Posted on November 12, 2009 \| Comments (5)

	Keeping Extremisms Out of the U.S. Military Revelations that the FBI, the Pentagon and even his medical colleagues were aware of Fort Hood shooting suspect Nidal Malik Hasan's extremist ideology have raised serious questions about the U.S. military's ability to screen, monitor and remove dangerous personnel from its ranks. But far from justifying the discrimination against patriotic American Muslims predictably called for by the usual suspects, the Fort Hood bloodbath should remind Americans that extremisms of all stripes have no place in the armed forces of the... more Posted on November 10, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	"Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin, Editor's Cut Buoyed by bulk advance purchases by the right-wing faithful, Sarah Palin's upcoming book Going Rogue as expected catapulted to the top of the Amazon.com bestseller list. That Palin turned to ghostwriter Lynn Vincent, whose past conservatives screeds branded Democrats "treasonous" and lauded the Christian crusader General William Boykin reprimanded by President Bush, is similarly unsurprising. Meanwhile, former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt announced on Friday a Palin presidential run in 2012 "catastrophic" for the GOP. Not because of what's in... more Posted on October 2, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Still Another 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism During the 2008 presidential campaign, I documented 10, then 10 more and yet another 10 moments in the extremism of Mike Huckabee. Now, fresh off his victory in the straw poll at the so-called Values Voters Summit, the one-time Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor turned Fox News host called for the United States to leave the United Nations. Following his use of the late Ted Kennedy to fight mythical "death panels" and his tacit endorsement of ethic cleansing in... more Posted on September 29, 2009 \| Comments (7)

	Michael Steele's Problems with Dr. King Continue Speaking at Philander Smith College in Little Rock Monday, RNC Chairman Michael Steele declared, "Dr. King would be disappointed in the political leadership of this country for failing to address the least of us." But while Steele denied "we're all doing all this blocking" on health care, he also left unmentioned that 58% of Republicans aren't sure if the nation's first African-American president was born in the United States. And as it turns out, this isn't Steele's first unfortunate attempt... more Posted on September 22, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	What's (Still) the Matter with Oklahoma? As previously detailed here, the state of Oklahoma has become the poster child for the often comic and always tragic contradictions of the Republican war on health care reform. A 2007 study by the Commonwealth Fund ranked Oklahoma dead last in state health care performance. Yet in 2008, the Sooner State remained among the most Republican in the nation, giving John McCain a whopping 31% win over Barack Obama. Meanwhile in Washington, its congressional delegation of John Sullivan, James Inhofe... more Posted on September 21, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Teen Birth Rates Highest in Religious Red States Recently, I put forth the "Iron Law of Birtherism," which simply notes that the Obama citizenship denial movement is strongest in precisely those states where Republicans poll best and health care is worst. Now, a new study again confirms red state birtherism is literal, revealing that the most faithfully religious - and Republican - states display the highest teen birth rates. As it turns out, this is just another example of social dysfunction being most pronounced where John McCain and... more Posted on September 17, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	10 Lessons for Tea Baggers Back in April, the Daily Show's Jon Stewart offered some sound advice for frothing at the mouth Tea Baggers, "I think you might be confusing tyranny with losing." Now five months after their Tax Day outburst, thousands of vein-popping Obama opponents descended Saturday on Washington for Tea Party II. But while Glenn Beck's furious followers alternately slandered the President as a "fascist," a "communist" and worse, they remained unencumbered by either the thought process - or the truth. Here, then,... more Posted on September 14, 2009 \| Comments (4)

	Right-Wing Rage: Recurring Symptom of a Preexisting Condition There's nothing new under the sun, especially when it comes to the frothing at the mouth right-wing rage over health care reform. But thanks to the 24/7 media's transformation of politics into just another form of entertainment, delusional Birthers, deceitful Deathers, raging Teabaggers and town hall intimidators are dominating press coverage of the debate. And it's all a recurring symptom, Rick Perlstein argues in the Washington Post, of a nation in which "crazy is a preexisting condition." In his instant... more Posted on August 15, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Town Halls, Teabaggers, Obama Birthers and Nixonland Once in a rare while, a book captures the spirit of its age. So it is with Nixonland, Rick Perlstein's stunning chronicle of the rise and fall of Tricky Dick. But his story of the "fracturing of America" isn't simply the harrowing tale of how Nixon, "a serial collector of resentments," fanned the flames of racism, anti-communism and the budding culture war to take power in his time. As the hateful rhetoric and dangerous tactics of furious Birthers, raging Teabaggers... more Posted on August 8, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Guns and Bitter in Pennsylvania During the Democratic primaries last spring, Barack Obama almost derailed his campaign with his unfortunate remark about "bitter" people in small town Pennsylvania who "cling to guns." Now after the second Keystone State shooting rampage in four months, that clumsy comment is sounding eerily prophetic. On their face, the long-planned Pittsburgh area fitness club killings Tuesday by apparent loner George Sodini seem to reflect his personal demons more than a political crusade. But as Greg Mitchell noted, in the past... more Posted on August 7, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	The Unbearable Whiteness of Being...a Birther As has been documented in detail, the anti-Obama birther movement is strongest in precisely those states where Republicans poll best and, ironically, health care is worst. But despite experiencing serial embarrassments akin to learning the sun does not rise in the West, a new Pew Research Center poll shows Republican want more - and not less - media coverage of their collective descent into delusion. Of course, that would involve deeper discussion of the racial flat-eartherism of the almost exclusively... more Posted on August 6, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Birther Movement Just the Latest Southern Pathology In a jaw-dropping DaliyKos/Research 2000 poll released today, a stunning 58% of Republicans did not believe (28%) or were unsure (30%) that President Barack Obama was in fact born in the United States. To be sure, this is a Southern pathology, a region home to 69% of all birthers and the only part of the country to increase its Republican presidential vote in 2008. But this disturbing denial of the indisputable truth of Obama's U.S. citizenship is far from the... more Posted on July 31, 2009 \| Comments (6)

	Rick Santorum and the Sanctity of John Ensign's Marriage Rick Santorum may no longer a Senator, but he remains an endless source of amusement - and hypocrisy. In 2002, the devout Catholic blamed the shocking clergy sex abuse scandal consuming his church on Boston's supposed "political and cultural liberalism." Warning of the slippery slope to "man-on-dog" nuptials to be triggered by same-sex unions, Santorum dedicated (and titled) a chapter of his 2004 book to protecting "the Sanctity of Marriage." As it turns out, protecting fellow Republican John Ensign may... more Posted on July 10, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Moral Paragons Bennett, Giuliani Weigh In on Sanford God may work in mysterious ways, but He has nothing on today's Republican Party. As the dueling scandals of John Ensign and Mark Sanford wash away the last vestiges of the GOP's long-discredited claim to uphold "moral values," gambling addict William Bennett and the thrice-married Rudy Giuliani weighed in on the imbroglio. Bennett, the former Education Secretary turned conservative columnist and radio host, used his perch at CNN to announce that Governor Sanford is "embarrassing himself": "I know Mark Sanford.... more Posted on July 2, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	God's Plan for Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin Three weeks ago, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee declared California's passage of Proposition 8 "a miracle from God's hand." Now, new revelations from Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford, two of Huckabee's would-be (or would have been) rivals for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, show they, too, believe they are part of God's plan. As the mushrooming scandal over his "soul mate" Argentine mistress and potentially other women increases pressure on him to resign as South Carolina's Governor, Sanford insisted God... more Posted on June 30, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	The Curious Case of Tom Coburn Politics, they say, makes strange bedfellows. And perhaps none is stranger than Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn. As the Washington Post reported today, the tenant of the mysterious "C Street" brownstone was a key player in both the Ensign and Sanford affairs. As it turns out, the arch-conservative Coburn also happens to be a friend and confidante of President Barack Obama. During his nationally-televised implosion on Wednesday, disgraced South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford made passing reference to "the Fellowship," a... more Posted on June 26, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Washington Times: Social Conservatives Fall from Grace You know things are bad for God's Own Party when the arch-conservative and faithfully Republican Washington Times runs an article proclaiming "social conservatives fall from moral high ground." Declaring "Republicans retreat from values claims," the Times catalogued the damage done to the party of supposed "values voters" by an endless string of scandals extended by John Ensign and Mark Sanford in the past week. For Democratic schadenfreude alone, the Times introduction was worth the price of admission: Social conservatives, the... more Posted on June 25, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Another Susan Smith Moment for Conservatives It was just nine months ago that McCain campaign volunteer Ashley Todd manufactured a hoax in which a African-American attacker supposedly carved the letter "B" in her face. Now the conservative faithful have again been duped by one of their own. For the last two months, 26-year old blogger Beccah Beushausen won over anti-abortion activists nationwide with her heartbreaking accounts of her unbelievably difficult pregnancy. Unbelievable, it turns out, because it simply never happened. Just days after the assassination of... more Posted on June 13, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Mike Huckabee Sees the Hand of God. Again. As has been widely reported, on Friday the thrice-married, nouveau Catholic Newt Gingrich declared, "We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism." But in less noticed remarks during the same "Rediscovering God in America" lectures, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announced "a miracle from God's hand" was behind the approval of California's Proposition 8. Of course, for Huckabee, who repeatedly cited divine intervention to explain his surprising early success during the 2008 GOP presidential primaries, such... more Posted on June 7, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	Cheney and the Asterisk Republicans During his appearance Monday at the National Press Club, former Vice President Dick Cheney again stated his support for same-sex marriage. Understandably supporting the rights of his own daughter Mary, Cheney proclaimed, "Freedom means freedom for everyone," adding, "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish." Which makes Cheney just the latest Asterisk Republican. Marriage, it turns out, is between one man and one woman, * unless either the man or the... more Posted on June 2, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Ashcroft Called Clinic Bomber Rudolph a "Terrorist" Coming just weeks after DHS issued its supposedly controversial warning over the growing right-wing terror threat in the United States, the assassination of Dr. George Tiller has reignited the now white-hot debate regarding anti-abortion terrorism. While the American Prospect's Adam Serwer concluded, "the murder of George Tiller is undoubtedly terrorism," Michelle Malkin predictably rolled her eyes. But for one leading conservative, there was little doubt. In 2003, then Attorney General John Ashcroft branded clinic bomber Eric Rudolph a "terrorist" and... more Posted on June 1, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Liddy, Gingrich, Limbaugh and Supreme Menstruation Back in 1995, Newt Gingrich famously concluded menstruation rendered women unfit for combat roles in the military. Now just two days after Gingrich branded Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor "racist," convicted Watergate felon and right-wing radio host G. Gordon Liddy agreed that both of Newt's arguments disqualify Sotomayor. Period. After echoing Tom Tancredo's slander that the National Council of La Raza to which Sotomayor belongs is a "Latino KKK," Liddy Thursday recycled Gingrich's theory of menstrual disqualification: "Let's hope that... more Posted on May 29, 2009 \| Comments (7)

	Bush, Rove Addressed La Raza, Deemed "Latino KKK" by Tancredo 48 hours after announcing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor "appears to be racist," Republican Tom Tancredo today blasted her association with the National Council of La Raza, deeming the organization "a Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses." As it turns out, of course, the GOP itself has a long tradition of reaching out to La Raza, including appearances at the group's events by George W. Bush, Karl Rove and John McCain. In an apparent effort to top Newt... more Posted on May 28, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	After Notre Dame Debacle, Donohue Decries Irish Clergy Hysteria In the run-up to President Obama's commencement address at Notre Dame last week, few of his opponents were as outspoken as William A. Donohue. After all, the face of the Catholic League compared Obama to Klansman turned conservative politician David Duke and denounced the President as "someone who supports selective infanticide." But now that Obama, who continues to enjoy the overwhelming support of American Catholics, has delivered his graduation speech to great acclaim, defender of the faith Donohue is on... more Posted on May 25, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Two Last Words on Obama at Notre Dame From the beginning, the feigned outrage among social conservatives over Barack Obama's invitation to deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame was a political device, a manufactured controversy designed to create a rift between the President and the American Catholic community which overwhelmingly supports him. As the data showed, there was no conflict between Obama and Catholic voters, but perhaps instead a reflection of turmoil within the Church itself. Now that the speech, which Andrew Sullivan deemed "deeply Christian," has... more Posted on May 18, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	10 Inconvenient Truths for Obama's Notre Dame Foes As protesters greeted President Obama's supposedly controversial commencement address at Notre Dame, Politico pronounced the "speech critical for Obama with Catholics." But little discussed in the coverage of the manufactured outrage is Obama's overwhelming support among Catholic voters that has continued from Election Day forward. They not only support his appearance at Notre Dame, but express views on social issues including abortion and same-sex marriage which differ little from the overall electorate that put Barack Obama in the White House.... more Posted on May 17, 2009 \| Comments (5)

	Palin Fails Second Test on 1st Amendment On Wednesday, former beauty pageant contestant Sarah Palin rushed to the defense of another, proclaiming of Carrie Prejean, "I can relate as a liberal target myself." But by insisting "those who disagree with her deny her protection under the nation's First Amendment Rights," Governor Palin once again revealed her ignorance of the United States Constitution. As it turns out, Palin also failed First Amendment 101 during the 2008 campaign. In a statement released late Wednesday, Palin breathed new life into... more Posted on May 15, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Mormons Engulfed by Marriage, Baptism, Torture Controversies While President Obama's looming commencement address at Notre Dame sadly remains controversial among a vocal minority of Catholics, it is one of America's fastest growing faiths which is at the center of three political storms this week. On Tuesday, ABC confirmed AmericaBlog's reporting that a Provo LDS member posthumously baptized Obama's late mother. Continuing his church's active role in opposing marriage equality, a Utah Congressman moved to block Washington DC's plans to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. And... more Posted on May 6, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Hunting People for Jesus: Growing Fundamentalism in the U.S. Military After revelations that some American soldiers were given Bibles and encouraged to "hunt people for Jesus," the Pentagon on Monday denied allegations that the U.S. military allows its personnel to seek the conversion of Afghans to Christianity. But while the copies of the New Testament translated into Pashtun and jaw-dropping video from Bagram may seem like exceptions that prove the rule of American prohibition on proselytizing by the military, they are just the latest episodes in the disturbing rise in... more Posted on May 4, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	Hate Crimes Debate Recalls Bush 2000 Jaw-Dropper To be sure, the heated debate over expanded hate crimes legislation in the House provided yet more lowlights for that chamber. In what may have been the second most disturbing utterance ever on the subject, North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx described the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepherd which inspired the bill as a "hoax." But the most ghoulish statement still belongs to George W. Bush. And as it turned out, it almost cost him the presidency in 2000. During his... more Posted on April 29, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Glendon's Hypocrisy on Obama and Notre Dame The grandstanding over President Obama's commencement address next month at Notre Dame reached a new level with word that Harvard professor and former Bush ambassador to the Vatican Mary Ann Glendon has decided to decline the University's Laetare Medal. But while Glendon is apparently unwilling to appear on the same stage as the pro-choice Obama, she was "profoundly moved" and "honored" to receive an award given to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Martin Sheen and others who share his views on the... more Posted on April 27, 2009 \| Comments (4)

	Conservatives Tormented by Gay Elephants When it comes to conservative politics, it's a very small world indeed. Here in the United States, Pastor Rick Warren canceled an Easter appearance on ABC's This Week after his comic reversal on Prop 8 produced a firestorm of criticism from his allies in the religious right. And while Politico Friday reported a split in the ever-shrinking ranks of gay Republicans, in Poland a conservative city councilor decried the existence of gay elephants altogether. As the 2004 imbroglio over gay... more Posted on April 12, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Book Highlights Notre Dame's Pro-Choice Commencement Speakers While the trumped-up imbroglio over President Obama's invitation to deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame continues to simmer, the attitudes and voting behavior of American Catholics belie the manufactured controversy. And as it turns out, a 2003 book of the school's commencement speeches issued by the University of Notre Dame Press shows the political diversity of its past speakers. Among the headliners is 1995 honoree and 1975 South Bend graduate, the pro-choice Condoleezza Rice. Sadly for the likes of... more Posted on April 11, 2009 \| Comments (4)

	From Republican Rhetoric to Right-Wing Terror The slaughter of three Pittsburgh policemen by an assailant who "didn't like our [gun] rights being infringed upon" has again highlighted the growing danger from incendiary Republican rhetoric spawning right-wing terror. After all, just days ago, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) announced, "I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous." Fox News host Glenn Beck warned of a "Constitution under attack" and predicted a coming "civil war" while featuring guests like NRA chief Wayne Lapierre whose group spent millions in 2008... more Posted on April 5, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	The Phony War on Catholics Barack Obama, in the telling of some Republican leaders and their amen corner in the media, is "declaring war on Catholics." So says former Bush speechwriter turned Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson in parroting the wishful thinking and trumped-up controversy of conservatives in a diatribe this week. Sadly for the right-wing echo chamber, both with their votes and their attitudes on a wide range of social issues, American Catholics are with Barack Obama. The manufactured outrage over Obama's Notre Dame... more Posted on April 4, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Newt Gingrich and the Great Republican God Swap Nothing, it would seem, defines the modern Republican Party more than belief in free markets and God. So it is only natural that leading lights of the GOP would find rapture at the intersection of the two. Following in the footsteps of John McCain, Sam Brownback and Bobby Jindal, with his looming conversion to Catholicism Newt Gingrich is just the latest Republican presidential hopeful past and future to enter the marketplace of faith and exchange his religion for another. As... more Posted on March 26, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Foes of Notre Dame Address Forget Obama Won Catholic Vote Unlike John Kerry four years earlier, Barack Obama comfortably carried Catholic voters by 9% in the 2008 election. But judging from the howls and catcalls from hard line conservatives and anti-abortion activists over the invitation to President Obama to deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame, you'd never know he was the choice of Catholic Americans last fall. In a letter to Notre Dame president the Reverend John I. Jenkins, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) called on the... more Posted on March 24, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Growing Fundamentalism Grips Israeli, U.S. Militaries Ever since 9/11, analysts of all stripes have created a cottage industry in studying comparative fundamentalism across Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (In 2007, for example, CNN featured Christiane Amanpour's special report on "God's Warriors.") Now with the revelations from Israeli soldiers of atrocities committed during their assault on Gaza, new questions are being raised about the growing power of religious nationalists within the IDF. As it turns out, that expanding role parallels a disturbing rise in the influence of Christian... more Posted on March 22, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Michael Steele's Abortive RNC Chairmanship The modern Republican Party, it has been said, believes that life begins at conception and ends at birth. Troubled RNC chairman Michael Steele is learning that lesson the hard way. 24 hours after the publication of an interview in which he labeled abortion "an individual choice," Steele recanted. In the interim, Steele not only was on the receiving end of a hell storm from social conservatives, he apparently went back and read the 2008 Republican Party platform. To be sure,... more Posted on March 12, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	The Wisdom of Politico: Right Angry with President It Opposed It's not for nothing that Politico is (or should be) known as the ESPN of politics, highlighting the contest but not the content of American democracy. One day after President Obama as promised signed an executive order reversing the draconian Bush restrictions on stem cell research, Politico focused on the grievances and disappointment of hard line social conservatives. Of course, while neglecting to mention that overwhelming majorities of the American people and their representatives in Congress backed President Obama on... more Posted on March 10, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Republicans, Science and Manufacturing Uncertainty On Monday, President Obama as promised reversed George W. Bush's draconian restrictions on federal support for stem cell research in the United States. But just as important as that key step was its larger message that this White House rejects the politicization of science which has dominated Republican strategy for a generation. And at the heart of that cynical subservience to business interests and social conservatives alike has been one of the Republican Party's most destructive tactics, manufacturing uncertainty. After... more Posted on March 9, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Majorities in Congress, U.S. Back Obama on Stem Cell Research On Monday, President Obama will reportedly reverse George W. Bush's draconian restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research. But while coverage in press outlets including CBS, Politico and the New York Times has focused on a "controversy" that is "certain to draw criticism from anti-abortion and religious groups," lost in the consensus media narrative is the overwhelming support for the research both in Congress and among the American people overall. To be sure, embryonic stem cell research has enjoyed... more Posted on March 8, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	The Republicans' Faith-Based Free Agents Over the last several months, new polling data has shed light on the intersection of religion and partisan politics in the United States. While a Gallup survey revealed the most and least religious states generally followed the 2008 electoral map, the Pew Research Center offered a detailed look at Obama and McCain voters by faith and frequency of church attendance. Those results followed Pew's intriguing finding last year that faith in America may be a mile wide but an inch... more Posted on February 28, 2009 \| Comments (5)

	The GOP and the Growing Right-Wing Terror Threat As the beaten and battered conservative faithful gather at the CPAC event in Washington, casual incitements to violence against the President, Democratic leaders and liberal Americans once again are filling the air. While former UN ambassador John Bolton produced guffaws with the specter of Obama's hometown being destroyed in a terrorist attack, Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher earnestly suggested some members of Congress should be shot. Meanwhile readers of the web site of Fox News host Sean Hannity voted on "what... more Posted on February 27, 2009 \| Comments (8)

	Lincoln, Darwin and the Know-Nothing Republicans What do Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin have in common? As it turns out, two centuries after their shared February 12th birthdays and on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's theory, today's Republican Party largely rejects the achievements of each. Of course, from basic science and global warming to economics 101, the GOP's know-nothingism hardly stops with Lincoln and Darwin. Abraham Lincoln may have been of and by the Republican Party, but today it's hard to imagine he... more Posted on February 9, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	The Audacity of Pope The Vatican may have chosen the wrong week to protest President Obama's reversal of the Mexico City policy banning federal funds from international family planning groups. Even as a Vatican spokesman blasted Obama's decision as "the arrogance of a person who, having the power, thinks they can decide on life and death," Pope Benedict XVI restored a Holocaust-denying Bishop to his station within the church. Meanwhile in California, federal authorities revealed an investigation into allegations the Diocese of Los Angeles... more Posted on January 31, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	Obama Reverses Bush Course on Reproductive Rights When it comes to Americans' reproductive rights, it's amazing what a difference one week - and one new president - makes. On Sunday, President Bush offered a final parting gift to anti-abortion extremists in the form of "National Sanctity of Human Life Day." But by Thursday, President Barack Obama marked the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade by declaring "I remain committed to protecting a woman's right to choose." And on Friday, Obama will reverse... more Posted on January 23, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Bush Bookends Presidency with Jesus, Life Day Proclamations When he famously proclaimed Christ his favorite philosopher ("because he changed my heart") during a 1999 Republican debate, George W. Bush was signaling the outsized role the religious right would play in his presidency. Now as his disastrous tenure in the White House draws to a close, President Bush has offered Christian conservatives a final parting gift in the form of "National Sanctity of Human Life Day." As it turns out, that January 18, 2009 goodbye kiss to anti-abortion extremists... more Posted on January 19, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Red States Show Highest Teen Birth Rates Just days after Bristol Palin officially became the poster child for her mother's failed abstinence-only sex education policy, a new report from the CDC revealed that in 2006 Alaska experienced the nation's fastest growing teen birth rate. While Mississippi suddenly surpassed Texas to earn the dubious leadership distinction, it comes as no surprise that the 10 worst performing states all voted for George W. Bush in 2004. Overall, teen birth rate jumped in 26 states, combining to reverse a 15-year... more Posted on January 8, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Yoo, Bolton and Saltsman Lead GOP Irony Machine Beaten and battered, the Republican Party long ago was reduced to an irony-producing machine. But for sheer productivity, Monday's hypocrisy generation by leading lights of the conservative movement was impressive. In the span of 24 hours, would-be RNC chairman and distributor of "Barack the Magic Negro" Chip Saltsman announced his party needed to improve its outreach to minority communities. Meanwhile, John Yoo and John Bolton, two men who helped gut the Geneva Conventions, called for Congress to uphold its role... more Posted on January 6, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	The Republicans' Old Black Magic While the controversy over would-be RNC chairman Chip Saltsman's distribution of a CD featuring a song titled "Barack the Magic Negro" continues, the transformation of the GOP into a Southern rump party appears to be virtually complete. After four decades in which race-baiting became a central Republican electoral strategy, Saltsman's gambit is finding both quiet supporters and vociferous defenders within the Party of Hate. That Mike Huckabee's former campaign manager would cap the 2008 election with a racist parody which... more Posted on January 3, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Study Shows Teens Unfaithful to Virginity Pledges What do Americans who took virginity pledges have in common with those who voted for George W. Bush for President? For one, many people in both groups later denied they did any such thing. And to be sure, they got screwed just the same. Those are just two of the findings from a new study by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Looking at previous data regarding premarital sexual behavior, the analysis focuses "on teens who had similar values... more Posted on December 29, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	Barack Obama's Achilles Heel Across the blogosphere, liberals in general and gay activists in particular are livid with Barack Obama's choice of evangelical profit merchant and notorious homophobe Pastor Rick Warren to offer the invocation at his swearing-in on January 20. But those like AmericaBlog's John Aravosis who proclaimed the selection of Warren as "uncharacteristic of Obama" miss the point about the President-Elect's worrisome blind spot. Sadly, his kowtowing to the likes of Pastor Warren is part of disturbing pattern, a dangerous overconfidence in... more Posted on December 18, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Bush's Final Double Standard on Religious Discrimination In the last throes of his failed presidency, George W. Bush has been nothing if not consistent with his flurry of midnight regulations. Whether the topic is mining on public lands, mountain-top removal, endangered species, clean water or power plant emissions, Bush will try to saddle Barack Obama with last-minute rule changes invariably favoring business interests over health or environmental concerns. But in one area, President Bush is cementing a glaring if predictable double-standard. While faith-based charities receiving federal funds... more Posted on December 13, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	Mike Huckabee Needs a Taste of "Milk" Within days of Barack Obama's victory, new polling showed that Mike Huckabee is the early leader among the Republican faithful for the GOP's nomination in 2012. No doubt, Huckabee's strong showing is due in part to his high-profile defense of California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. At the very time that many voters are reconsidering their views of marriage equality in the wake of Prop 8 and the new film, Milk, the former Arkansas governor and... more Posted on December 11, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	New Study Refutes Justice Kennedy on Post-Abortion Syndrome In one of the most condescending and baseless Supreme Court opinions in recent memory, Justice Anthony Kennedy in April 2007 upheld a federal late term abortion ban on the grounds that "some women come to regret their choice." Now 18 months later, an exhaustive study of 20 years of research concluded that there is no evidence to support the mythical "post-abortion syndrome" hyped by anti-abortion forces - and regurgitated by Justice Kennedy in Gonzales v. Carhart. The new research from... more Posted on December 4, 2008 \| Comments (5)

	New Huckabee Book Adds GOP Blame Game to Culture War In this the season of their discontent, Republican leaders are pointing the finger of blame, all the while positioning themselves to take over their battered and bruised party in 2012. So it is with Mike Huckabee. In his new book, the former Arkansas Governor, Baptist minister and Fox News host skewers presidential rival Mitt Romney and castigates leaders of the religious right who cast their lot with someone else. But while Huckabee looks forward to the future battle for the... more Posted on November 17, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Election Day Victories for Americans' Reproductive Rights Overlooked perhaps in the historic vote that made Barack Obama the nation's first African-American president is something that didn't happen. With the defeat of the McCain/Palin ticket and its extremist anti-abortion platform, Americans voted against an abrogation of women's reproductive rights that might have taken a generation to undo. And by rejecting draconian ballot measures in Colorado, South Dakota and California, voters protected a woman's right to choose - at least for now. To be sure, Obama's victory prevented the... more Posted on November 10, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	The Republican War on Religious Freedom No doubt, Senator Elizabeth Dole's attack on Democrat and Sunday school teacher Kay Hagan as "godless" was one of the low points of the 2008 campaign. Dole's subsequent smiting by the voters of North Carolina was fitting electoral, if not divine, retribution. But as it turned out, Dole's slander against atheist Americans was hardly an isolated case of religious bigotry on the part of the Republican Party. From John McCain and Mitt Romney on down, the GOP waged a war... more Posted on November 6, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	The Two Speeches That Defined McCain and Obama On this Election Day, the fates of John McCain and Barack Obama are now - finally - in the hands of Americans voters. But their respective destinies may have been determined by speeches each gave years ago. At the 2004 Democratic convention, Barack Obama introduced himself to the American people with a message of national unity and transformational change that has hardly changed since. But in May 2006, John McCain took to the stage of Reverend Jerry Falwell's Liberty University... more Posted on November 4, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	GOP Fear-Mongering Now Includes Holocaust, Gay Uncle The Republican Party may no longer be able to manufacture votes, but it can still produce its fair share of ironies. On the stump in Iowa, Sarah Palin warned supporters of the party of Mark Foley, Ted Haggard and Larry Craig to beware "Uncle Barney Frank." And in Pennsylvania, the McCain campaign official responsible for helping perpetrate the Ashley Todd hoax defended an email claiming an Obama presidency would augur a second Holocaust. For her part, Governor Palin went for... more Posted on October 26, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	The McCain Campaign's Susan Smith Moment Back in 1994, South Carolina mother Susan Smith earned the revulsion of the nation when she blamed a mysterious black assailant for the abduction of her two sons, children she ultimately admitted having murdered herself. With today's revelations that it helped foster a hoax about the supposed assault of one of its volunteers by an African-American backer of Barack Obama, John McCain's presidential campaign has joined Smith as a race-baiting fraud. The fabricated assault on Ashley Todd, the young white... more Posted on October 24, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin, Abortion and the Right-Wing Terror Threat Just one week after John McCain stunned Americans with his sneering contempt for the "health of the mother" needing an abortion, his running mate Sarah Palin refused to condemn anti-abortion terrorists as terrorists. By giving a pass to convicted killers like Eric Rudolph and James Kopp, Palin is just the latest in a long line of leading conservatives to provide the kindling for far right domestic terrorism. As recent history shows, when it comes to abortion, gay Americans, immigration or... more Posted on October 24, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Sarah Palin, Welfare Queen In a 21st century update to the Republican war on "welfare queens," John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin have tried to brand Barack Obama's tax-cutting policies as "welfare" and "socialism." But as it turns out, it is Palin who has emerged as the welfare queen of the 2008 campaign. From her family's taxpayer-funded travel and gubernatorial perks in Alaska to her toney $150,000 wardrobe courtesy of the Republican National Committee, Sarah Palin is living the high life by depending... more Posted on October 23, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin Tells Dobson McCain Supports Draconian GOP Platform For the second time in 48 hours, Sarah Palin praised the ultra hardline Republican platform which ignores John McCain's past stands on abortion, same-sex marriage and stem cell research. One day after a CBN interview in which she extolled the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage it calls for, Palin told James Dobson that her running mate supports the extremist platform planks he in fact long opposed. As it turns out, McCain's acquiescence in the writing of the Republican platform revealed... more Posted on October 22, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin, GOP Platform Ignore McCain on Same-Sex Marriage Ban Bloggers left and right took notice Monday of Sarah Palin's seeming split with running mate John McCain over the Federal Marriage Amendment. But overlooked in Palin's announcement that she supports a constitutional ban on same sex marriage is that hers - and not McCain's - is the official position of the Republican Party platform. In her interview with CBN, Palin parted company with McCain over the need for enshrining a prohibition on marriage for gay Americans in the United States... more Posted on October 21, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Attack Boomerangs, Shows GOP Extremism on Abortion For the past two weeks, the McCain campaign and its allies have been waging an aggressive smear campaign designed to portray Barack Obama as out of the mainstream on the issue of abortion. But with his dripping condescension about the "health of the mother" in Wednesday's final presidential debate, John McCain turned the tables on himself. His adolescent "air quotes" not only confirmed his caustic disregard for the health and rights of American women. With his scorn, McCain also reminded... more Posted on October 16, 2008 \| Comments (7)

	McCain's So-Called Adviser John Lewis Calls Him Out Back in August, Republican presidential candidate John McCain stunned the audience at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Forum by citing Democratic Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis as one of the "wisest people that you know that you would rely on heavily in an administration." On Saturday, Lewis offered McCain some sage advice - and a stern warning - about the disgusting turn his increasingly ugly campaign had taken. Unsurprisingly, the supposed maverick shunned his supposed adviser's wisdom that the... more Posted on October 13, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin Dodges Draconian GOP Abortion Platform - Again - in Couric Interview Lost in the myriad accounts of Sarah Palin's jaw-dropping gaffes and mind-numbing misstatements in her interview with Katie Couric is Palin's all-too-familiar ploy when it comes to abortion. As in her chat with ABC's Charles Gibson, Palin passed off as merely a "personal" opinion her past calls for banning abortion even in cases of rape and incest. And it's not just Sarah Palin who wants to make that extremist view the law of the land; it's the stated platform of... more Posted on October 1, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	ABC's Gibson, The View Ignore Ultra Hard-Line GOP Platform On Friday, ABC's Charles Gibson and its hosts of The View again exposed the differences on abortion and stem cell research between John McCain and his hard-line GOP running mate Sarah Palin. But lost in their interviews is any mention of the 2008 Republican Party platform. As it turns out, that radical document demands far more draconian restrictions than either McCain or Palin will acknowledge. To be sure, John McCain now supports overturning Roe v. Wade, a reversal of his... more Posted on September 13, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	*McCain on Lipsticked Pigs, Btches and Tar Babies** Once again, John McCain is proving the old maxim that a man who lives in 11 glass houses shouldn't cast stones. While his campaign feigns outrage over Barack Obama's labeling of the McCain change mantra as "lipstick on a pig," video footage surfaced of McCain using the same aphorism about Hillary Clinton's health care plan in 2007. And its effort to manufacture fury over bogus accusations of sexism, Team McCain must be betting that Americans have forgotten John McCain's troubled... more Posted on September 10, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain, Palin and Red State Failure on Teen Pregnancy The struggles of Sarah Palin's family with the pregnancy of her teenage daughter are their business. But the disaster of the abstinence-only sex education programs she and John McCain fervently support is all of ours. After all, abstinence programs aren't merely a complete - and well documented - failure. As it turns out, teenage pregnancy rates are highest in precisely those reddest of states that vote Republican. To be sure, the McCain/Palin ticket has a proven track record of opposing... more Posted on September 2, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	Media Get It Wrong: Warren Asked Obama and McCain Different Questions Two days after the fact, questions continue to surround John McCain's surprisingly strong performance Saturday at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. The mainstream media and blogosphere alike are abuzz with rumors that McCain pierced Warren's so-called "cone of silence" and, more serious still, may have purloined his legendary POW "cross in the dirt" story from the late Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. But on one point, there is no dispute. Despite CNN's assurances to the contrary, Rick Warren simply asked Barack Obama and... more Posted on August 18, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Warren Gives McCain a Pass on Scripture at Forum In ways large and small, Barack Obama's visit to the Pastor Rick Warren Saddleback Church resembled a Christian taking on the lions. The audience, after all, was overwhelmingly predisposed to the Republican John McCain. To be sure, the questions posed by Warren had a purpose-driven life for the conservative agenda. And making matters even more difficult for Obama, Reverend Warren edited out scriptural references for McCain, a man notoriously uncomfortable speaking about matters of religious faith. In theory, Warren was... more Posted on August 17, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	10 Questions Rick Warren Won't Ask John McCain On Saturday, August 16th, megachurch preacher and Purpose-Driven Life author Rick Warren will host the first joint appearance of campaign '08 by Barack Obama and John McCain. In what CNN is billing as the "Compassionate Leader Forum," Warren will lead separate conversations with Obama and McCain, who will meet on stage at the beginning and/or end of the event at Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. While the anti-gay Warren and his co-sponsor the multi-denominational group Faith in Public... more Posted on August 16, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Silent on Confederate Flag Flap in Florida? As the so-called Sons of the Confederacy no doubt let loose with a rebel yell over their display of the world's largest confederate flag outside Tampa, John McCain has apparently been silent. Given his own sad experience of gymnastic flip-flops over the Stars and Bars since 2000, his reticence is understandable. Unlike the flying of the confederate flag over the South Carolina state house, the Florida display occurs on private property near the junction of two interstate highways. Yet the... more Posted on June 10, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	High Stakes for McCain in Grassley's Televangelist Probe Just days after rejecting the endorsements of his "ministers of war" John Hagee and Rod Parsley, John McCain may be about to confront another faith-based conundrum. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) is facing withering criticism from prominent conservatives and evangelical leaders over his Senate probe into the finances of Kenneth Copeland and other so-called "prosperity gospel" televangelists. Republican nominee McCain may have to choose between his party's increasingly disgruntled religious right base and a fellow Republican Senator he once called a... more Posted on May 26, 2008 \| Comments (15)

	After Hagee Apology to Catholics, McCain Still Silent on Armageddon Views Facing increasing scrutiny over his statements describing the Catholic Church as "the great whore" and a "false cult system," Texas pastor and John McCain endorser John Hagee today issued a letter of apology to his "Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ." But while Hagee's chosen candidate previously distanced himself from the minister's slurs towards Catholics and residents of New Orleans, on the topic that may matter most, Mr. Straight Talk has remained silent. Does John McCain agree with Pastor John... more Posted on May 13, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain's Double Flip-Flop on Abortion In just the latest blow to his tattered maverick myth, the McCain camp is signaling its man will perform yet another about-face on abortion. Eight years after attacking George W. Bush's defense of a Republican platform which called for banning all abortions, even in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother, John McCain too will kowtow to the GOP's radical right. As it turns out, that surrender follows Mr. Straight Talk's earlier reversal on overturning... more Posted on May 11, 2008 \| Comments (4)

	McCain-Hagee Armageddon Watch: Day 61 On Sunday, Barack Obama appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and marked an end to the right-wing network's 772-day "Obama Countdown Clock." Meanwhile, another clock, this time for Republican John McCain, keeps on ticking. 61 days after accepting his endorsement, the media has not asked - and John McCain has not answered - whether or not he agrees with Pastor John Hagee that war with Iran is the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy of Armageddon. On February 27,... more Posted on April 28, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	For McCain, Silence on Religion is Golden Just one day before lambasting Barack Obama over his recent comments about religion, John McCain was a no-show at Sunday's CNN Compassion Forum on faith. That's because when it comes to discussing his own religious beliefs, the Republican presidential nominee believes that silence is golden. And judging by the fawning stories from the Washington Times, CNN and the Politico, the press corps seems to agree. But McCain's reticence to speak about his faith doesn't represent a generational preference for private... more Posted on April 15, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	Pope Benedict and the Crisis of the American Church In advance of his first papal visit to the United States this week, Time this morning examines the clergy sex abuse challenge Pope Benedict will face here. But missing altogether from the analysis of that continuing crisis in the American Catholic Church is any discussion of then Cardinal Ratzinger's essential role in perpetuating it. Time highlighted the daunting task awaiting Benedict XVI as confronts an American church wrestling with demographic upheaval and still grappling with the fallout from its sex... more Posted on April 14, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Israeli Settlements and the Return of McCain's Hagee Problem Just when it seemed John McCain had weathered the storm over endorser John Hagee's rabid anti-Catholicism, the Texas pastor announced his latest effort to accelerate Armageddon. In the face of U.S. policy opposing the expansion of Isaeli settlements in the West Bank, Hagee's Christian United for Israel (CUFI) announced a $6 million donation to help do just that. So while John McCain may believe that in Washington John Hagee is "doing the Lord's work in Satan's city," he certainly is... more Posted on April 7, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	New Baptist John McCain Returns to His Old Episcopal High School In the latest stop on his biographical trip down memory lane, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain returned to his old high school in Alexandria, Virginia. As it turns out, that may have been an odd choice for a man trying to reintroduce himself to the American people. Years after leaving the august halls of Episcopal High School, John McCain became a Baptist. To be sure, John McCain's visit to his old stomping grounds certainly won't convince many Americans that... more Posted on April 1, 2008 \| Comments (34)

	Mike Huckabee's Conveniently Missing Sermons After Barack Obama himself, no politician in America may have had a greater stake in Obama's critical speech on race yesterday than former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The former Baptist minister, after all, hasn't been shy about his interest in being John McCain's choice for vice president. Like the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Huckabee's closet of sermons may be full of skeletons. Which may just explain why minister Huckabee was quick to defend Obama today, and even quicker to ensure that... more Posted on March 19, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Did Wright Create Obama's "Where's the Beef" Moment? For months, Hillary Clinton has been desperately trying to manufacture a defining moment that would crystallize voters' doubts about Barack Obama. That "Where's the Beef" moment may have come on Friday, not from Obama himself, but in the guise of his long-time pastor and spiritual adviser Jeremiah Wright. While Obama was quick to denounce Wright's histrionic sermons now available to all on video, the hateful words of the minister - and Obama's close relationship to him - may come to... more Posted on March 15, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	McCain, Hagee and Armageddon as Foreign Policy Few developments provide greater schadenfreude for liberals than division and conflict among the ranks of the American Taliban. So watching the Catholic League's Bill Donahue burst a blood vessel over John McCain's embrace of the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee is must-see entertainment for Democrats. But as I first wrote almost two years ago, when it comes to his End Times vision of conflict with Iran, John Hagee is no laughing matter. In San Antonio on Wednesday, the Texas pastor... more Posted on February 28, 2008 \| Comments (52)

	CBS News Calls Secular America Immoral In a single sentence in one story on religion in the United States, CBS Evening News managed to insult the vast majority of the American people. Describing a major new study on Americans' religious faith from the Pew Forum, CBS' Wyatt Andrews suggested that atheism in particular and Americans' widely shared belief in a secular society in general is immoral: "The unprecedented survey of religion answers many concerns about a secular, morally void America. To the surprise of many experts,... more Posted on February 25, 2008 \| Comments (6)

	Right Rages Over Oscars' "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Moment In much the same way that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, conservative culture warriors love to hate the Oscars. Last night's 80th Academy Awards were no exception. Nothing seems to infuriate the family values crowd more than Hollywood award winners on stage thanking their same-sex partners for their support. Nothing, that is, except the sight of American soldiers in Iraq introducing them. Conservative culture mavens were apoplectic that a half-dozen U.S. troops were featured... more Posted on February 25, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	Yet Another 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism Heading into Super Tuesday, the faith-based candidacy of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is running on fumes. Falling short in South Carolina in what was his last best chance to turn the GOP nominating process into chaos, Huckabee limped to a distant fourth place showing in Florida. Now out of momentum and out of cash, Mike Huckabee is being left behind, so to speak, by John McCain and Mitt Romney. While Mike Huckabee seems destined to leave the Republican stage,... more Posted on January 31, 2008 \| Comments (11)

	Sports Night on Huckabee and the Confederate Flag Over at Slate, Christopher Hitchens asks why the press is ignoring Mike Huckabee's shocking statement about the Confederate flag. While the media were quick to highlight Huckabee's shameless pandering to South Carolina's far right, the press generally preferred to avoid any discussion of Huckabee's blatantly racist appeal to the Palmetto State's antebellum boosters. Sadly, for the clearest analysis of Huckabee's message, one should turn not to the news, but to the 1990's primetime TV show, Sports Night. In South Carolina... more Posted on January 22, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	The Wall Street Journal's "Liberal Hatemongering" Sham Once again demonstrating its gift for fiction, the Wall Street Journal offered a hilariously pathetic treatise on the hate-mongering and intolerance of liberals. Just three weeks after Bruce Bartlett took to the Journal's opinion pages to insist that Americans overlook the Republicans' racist present to instead focus on Democrats' racist past, Arthur C. Brooks today in "Liberal Hatemongers" argued that "that political intolerance in America is to be found more on the left than it is on the right." Sadly,... more Posted on January 17, 2008 \| Comments (10)

	Huckabee Calls for Faith-Based Constitution As the chaotic and unpredictable GOP presidential primary process grinds on, there is one thing we know for certain. Mike Huckabee is unashamed and unapologetic about his incendiary blend of politics and religious zealotry. Just one week after extolling New Hampshire congregants to be "soldiers for Christ" in "God's Army," the former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister told a cheering Michigan gathering that Americans must "amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards." Huckabee's latest faith-based salvo should come as... more Posted on January 15, 2008 \| Comments (15)

	Huckabee Delivers Sermon on "God's Army" in NH Riding an evangelical wave to victory in Iowa, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee by necessity has taken a decidedly more secular line in New Hampshire. Without the religious right base to tap into in the Granite State, Huckabee had focused instead on taxes, immigration and other more mundane issues of this world. But on Sunday in Windham, New Hampshire, the former Baptist Minister returned to his roots and delivered a sermon on being "soldiers for Christ" in "God's Army." Echoing... more Posted on January 7, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	Iowa Aftermath: Immigration the New GOP Wedge Issue in '08 Lost in the media focus on the victories of the supposed "change" candidates in Iowa last night are the dramatic differences in the priorities of each party's voters. As Iowa Democrats headed to their caucuses in record numbers last night, the sputtering American economy topped their list of concerns. But in a disturbing hint of things to come from the GOP, Iowa Republicans instead were looking for someone to blame in making immigration their most important issue. Americans' concerns over... more Posted on January 4, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	That's Entertainment: Hyperpartisanship and Politics as Theater As the 2008 campaign begins in earnest, one of the emerging storylines is so-called hyperpartisanship, the bitter and increasingly divisive conflict between Democrats and Republicans that is said to be fueling cynicism - and apathy - among voters. In Iowa, Barack Obama proclaims that he will transcend partisan cleavages, while John Edwards vows to fight. Meanwhile, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will meet in Oklahoma next week with prominent figures from both parties to encourage the 2008 candidates to form... more Posted on December 30, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Huckabee: Bhutto Did Not Graciously Submit to Woman's Role The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has given the White House hopefuls of both parties ample opportunities for grandstanding. While Hillary Clinton predictably played up her past relationship with Bhutto, John McCain touted his foreign policy experience. The co-chair of New Hampshire's Veterans for Rudy Giuliani declared his candidate would chase Muslims "back to their caves." But for the most disturbing - and ironic - reaction, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is in a class by himself. Bhutto was killed, Huckabee... more Posted on December 28, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Misdirection: Bartlett Ignores GOP's Racist Present for Dems' Racist Past In one of the most disgusting and disingenuous acts of political misdirection in recent memory, former Reagan and Bush 41 advisor Bruce Bartlett is asking Americans to ignore the Republican Party's racist present and instead focus on the Democratic Party's racist past. Taking to the pages of the Wall Street Journal, Bartlett extracted a catalog of quotes from Jefferson to Biden to document the Democratic Party's' shameful past history when it comes to African-Americans. But no amount of sleight of... more Posted on December 24, 2007 \| Comments (4)

	U.S. Papers Inject Anti-Abortion Rhetoric into Omagh Trial Coverage In a Belfast courtroom Thursday, a judge acquitted electrician Sean Hoey, accused of the 1998 bombing that killed 29 people in Omagh, Northern Ireland. But while coverage of the story in Northern Ireland, Ireland and the UK focused on DNA evidence, police incompetence and the legacy of past terror incidents, many American newspapers had a different agenda altogether. The Oregonian and other news outlets instead chose to turn the Omagh verdict into anti-abortion propaganda. In Belfast, Dublin and London, coverage... more Posted on December 21, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	New Divorce Research Best News in Bad Week for Giuliani These last few days have not been kind to Rudy Giuliani. New revelations in the Bernard Kerik case are keeping the spotlight on the former New York mayor's ethical woes. New polls show Giuliani's national lead in the GOP White House race has evaporated and the prospect of dual losses in Iowa and New Hampshire threaten his national campaign strategy. Adding insult to injury, Giuliani checked into a Missouri hospital yesterday after experiencing flu-like symptoms. But in one aspect of... more Posted on December 20, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Romney Laments Hypothetical Loss of Son, '94 Planned Parenthood Gift The past 24 hours have been deservedly cruel for former GOP Iowa frontrunner Mitt Romney. In New Hampshire Monday, Romney got teary at the thought of losing one of his five sons in combat, despite having previously lauded their work on his campaign as their service to America. And on Tuesday, ABC released a photograph of Senate candidate Romney at a 1994 fundraiser for Planned Parenthood, a group he previously claimed he could not recall himself or his wife supporting.... more Posted on December 18, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	10 More Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism Last week's "Top 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism" provided a snapshot of the dangerously radical zealot who now also happens to be a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. But as more skeletons emerge from Governor Huckabee's closet, Americans are getting a fuller picture of a man who seeks to render the wall separating church and state, to paraphrase Alberto Gonzales, quaint. As it turns out, Mike Huckabee isn't merely a religious extremist who threatens mainstream America values, but... more Posted on December 18, 2007 \| Comments (10)

	The Verdict is In: Romney Speech a Double Failure The verdict on Mitt Romney's over-hyped speech on "Faith in America" is in, and the results are not pretty. It's now clear the address was a double failure. As a statement of political philosophy, Romney's new religious test proclaiming the exclusion of Muslims and atheists from the American community was rejected by most commentators (save his friends at the National Review and its online allies). But more importantly for Mitt Romney's fading prospects in Iowa, his primary audience of skeptical... more Posted on December 12, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Lessons of Colorado: Tony Perkins and Right-Wing Terror In response to the tragic church shootings in Colorado, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins naturally pointed the finger of blame at the "secular media." The senseless massacre of several deeply religious people by one of their own reflected, he claimed, "hostility that is being fomented in our culture from some in the secular media toward Christians." Of course, Perkins has it almost exactly backwards. Whether concerning abortion, gay Americans, immigration or judicial appointments, the line connecting the rhetoric of... more Posted on December 11, 2007 \| Comments (4)

	Top 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism As former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee catapults to the top of the 2008 Republican presidential race, amazed media on-lookers ponder his meteoric rise. The authentic, charismatic former minister, they say, is swaying disheartened conservative voters, especially the legions of evangelicals in Iowa and other states, disillusioned with President Bush and unimpressed with his potential successors. But despite emerging stories from his checkered past such as the Wayne Dumond affair or his past AIDS bigotry, a true portrait of Mike Huckabee... more Posted on December 10, 2007 \| Comments (16)

	Reagan Debunked Huckabee's AIDS Bigotry - in 1987 Like all of the 2008 Republican White House hopefuls, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is quick to claim the mantle of Ronald Reagan. But when it came to the AIDS crisis, President Ronald Reagan was positively enlightened compared to the extremist Senate candidate Huckabee years later. As it turns out, everything Mike Huckabee argued in response to the AIDS epidemic in 1992 - quarantining victims, blaming gay Americans, decrying federal funding to fight the disease - Ronald Reagan himself debunked... more Posted on December 9, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Mitt Romney Creates His Own Religious Test In his overdue and over-hyped address today on "Faith in America," GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney sought to disarm evangelicals' fears about the role of his Mormon faith, fears that threaten his campaign's prospects in the lynchpin state of Iowa. But while he likely failed in that task, Romney assuredly succeeded in redefining the U.S. Constitution's ban on religious tests for political office. According to Romney's notion of public service, Muslims and atheists need not apply. In a speech... more Posted on December 6, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	Huckabee Proclaims Ignorance of Iran NIE, Evolution Mike Huckabee is quickly learning that the frontrunner's life isn't always an easy one. After first brushing off questions Tuesday about his creationist beliefs, the former Arkansas Governor went on to display complete ignorance of the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran now dominating the news and debate in Washington. But while Huckabee might be excused for being a foreign policy neophyte, the former Baptist minister is an old hand when it comes to promoting creationism at the expense of... more Posted on December 5, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Hypocritical Huckabee Dodges the Mormon Question After collecting the endorsement of 60 religious leaders today, newly minted Iowa frontrunner Mike Huckabee dodged the question about whether he considers Mitt Romney's Mormonism to be a cult. But while Huckabee declared he would not "go off into evaluating other people's doctrines and faiths," his campaign seems content to do just that. And when it comes to Islam, the former minister has proven rather eager to stand in judgment. Claiming he respects "anybody who practices his faith," the former... more Posted on December 4, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Mitt Romney, You're No Jack Kennedy Mitt Romney's announcement that he will deliver a major address Thursday concerning his Mormon faith confirms three fundamental truths about the former Massachusetts Governor. First is Romney's desperation in the face of evangelical darling Mike Huckabee's surge in Iowa, a development that threatens his entire campaign. Second, with his insistence that the President be a "man of faith" and his promised exclusion of Muslims Americans from his cabinet, Mitt Romney brought this faith-based trap on himself. And last, to paraphrase... more Posted on December 3, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Texas Previews a Huckabee Presidency The state of Texas this week offered Americans a preview of a Mike Huckabee presidency. In Austin, the veteran science director of the Texas Education Agency was forced to resign after coming under withering assault by creationism advocates. Judging by his words and deeds, the former Arkansas Governor and Baptist minister promises a similarly grim future for the teaching of evolution and the scientific method in the United States. Despite opponents' claims that her ouster was purely a "personnel issue,"... more Posted on December 2, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Pope Benedict's Crusade Against Atheism Sounding more like Bill O'Reilly or Bill Donahue than the leader of the world's one billion Catholic faithful, Pope Benedict XVI today issued a stinging critique of atheism. In the encyclical titled Saved by Hope, the Pope assigned atheism responsibility for some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" in human history. But given his own history, Benedict might want to reread his admonition that "we must do all we can to overcome suffering." Attacking the bogeymen... more Posted on November 30, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	Trent Lott's Next Career Washington is abuzz with the news that Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott will resign by the end of the year. Speculation abounds regarding the motivation for the Mississippi Senator's sudden departure as well as what comes next. (Rumors of health problems and an affair with the bastard love child of one of Strom Thurmond's bastard love children proved to be unfounded). But while the Politico and other outlets are reporting Lott's quick exit is fueled by his desire to evade... more Posted on November 26, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Mitt Romney Traps Himself on Faith In the span of just a few days, Mitt Romney's Mormon faith has moved to the front burner of the 2008 presidential election. In New Hampshire, mysterious opposition push polls branded Mormonism a cult, a smear Romney declared "un-American." That development came after the candidate suggested he would likely renege on an earlier promise to offer a Kennedyesque explanation of the role his religion would play in a potential presidency. While there are, of course, many legitimate reasons to not... more Posted on November 19, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Romney: Give Tax Breaks for Home Schooling In South Carolina last week, White House hopeful Mitt Romney up the ante in the Republican war against public education. No doubt playing to the Palmetto State's crucial evangelical primary voters, Romney announced he favored tax breaks for parents who home school their children. For Romney, American parents should not only be encouraged to abandon the public schools; they should be rewarded for it. At a gathering of 100 supporters at a children's museum, Romney signaled his willingness to undermine... more Posted on November 14, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Georgia Governor Perdue and the Top 10 Republican Prayers As a devastating drought continues to parch the Southeast, Republican Governors in Georgia and Alabama are turning to divine intervention to help replenish their dwindling water supplies. In Atlanta, Governor Sonny Perdue held a public vigil at the state house Tuesday to "pray up a storm." His plea follows on the heels on Alabama Governor Bob Riley's week-long "Days of Prayer for Rain" in June. As then-Governor George W. Bush showed with his 2000 proclamation of "Jesus Day," prayer is... more Posted on November 13, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	The Party of Hate In Washington, House Minority Leader John Boehner is struggling to rebrand a downtrodden and disheartened Republican Party in time for the 2008 elections. It's no wonder. Its agenda stymied and burdened by an unpopular war and an even less popular President, the GOP is being pulverized in the polls. And with its evangelical base splintered and big business supporters jumping ship, the only message seemingly uniting Republicans is disdain - of immigrants, of blacks, of gay Americans and above all,... more Posted on November 12, 2007 \| Comments (20)

	Just in Time for Giuliani, Evangelicals Rethink Divorce Timing, as they say, is everything. In recent days, the religious right's discontent with the socially liberal, twice divorced and occasional cross-dressing Rudy Giuliani has begun to fuel rumors of a third party alternative for disgruntled Republican evangelicals. How convenient then for the self-proclaimed mayor of 9/11 that evangelicals themselves are now reconsidering their prohibition on divorce. That's the story in the current issue of Time magazine. Citing an article by British Evangelical scholar David Instone-Brewer in the influential Christianity... more Posted on November 6, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	Laura Bush: Policy Maker, Not Stereotype On Sunday, First Lady Laura Bush revealed a new side of her persona to the American people: policymaker. Describing herself "involved for a long time in policy," Mrs. Bush decried the Stepfordesque stereotype she claimed is applied to her. But given her past public statements and policy roles to date, Americans should be forgiven for chuckling in response. The still popular First Lady made her comments during an attempt to defend the indefensible, her husband's veto of the expansion of... more Posted on October 30, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Choice for Me, Not Thee: Thompson & Delay on the Schiavo Affair As Fred Thompson's discussion of the Terri Schiavo case again highlighted this week, the so-called conservative "culture of life" contains a personal exemption. That is, when it comes to abortion, stem cell research and other such issues, the culture warriors of the right fervently oppose personal choice and potential medical breakthroughs - until they or someone they care about badly needs them. Then, as the likes of Fred Thompson, Tom Delay and Orrin Hatch show, the Republican mantra quickly becomes... more Posted on October 23, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	The 2008 Values Voter Olympics Much to chagrin of its radical right organizers, this weekend's Values Voter Summit of GOP White House hopefuls produced only confusion. Despite the gymnastic contortions and acrobatic back-flips of Republican presidential candidates eager to win evangelical hearts and minds, no clear winner of the conference straw poll emerged. Thanks to his stuffing of the online ballot box, Mitt Romney edged Mike Huckabee, the clear favorite of actual conference goers, by 1,595 votes to 1,565. Eager to avoid a repeat of... more Posted on October 22, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Equal Opportunity Executioner Bush Finds Mexican Exception If there is any area of public policy where George W. Bush has been consistently "dead certain," it is almost certainly in the application of the death penalty. As Texas Governor and later as President, Bush showed himself to be an equal opportunity executioner, content to condemn the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, racist thugs and even born-again Christians alike. But today we learned even George W. Bush's apparent bloodlust has its limits, especially when it conflicts with his ongoing... more Posted on October 8, 2007 \| Comments (4)

	EU Lawmakers Reject Creationism, ID in Schools The battle over the teaching of intelligent design and creationism crossed the Atlantic this week. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted to condemn the teaching of creationism in the schools of its 47 member states. Given the recent public relations campaign by the Discovery Institute and other U.S.-based intelligent design front groups in Turkey and elsewhere on the Continent, the Council's actions couldn't come a moment too soon. The assembly, which monitors human rights, voted 48 to... more Posted on October 6, 2007 \| Comments (7)

	Ahmadinejad and Bush: Parallels and Second Comings The third visit to New York by the bombastic Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is producing predictable howls of protest. While Columbia students protested his upcoming address there and Mitt Romney called for his indictment for genocide charges when he appears before the UN, CBS 60 Minutes host Scott Pelle lectured Ahmadinejad on the supposedly laudable religiosity of his arch-foe, President Bush. But largely lost in the build-up of the Ahmadinejad-Bush confrontation are the striking - and disturbing - similarities between... more Posted on September 24, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	James Dobson Trashes Fred Thompson Growing evangelical angst over its choices in the 2008 Republican presidential field reached new heights this week. Just two days after the GOP frontrunners skipped the supposed Values Voters Debate, Focus on the Family's James Dobson lambasted late entrant Fred Thompson. Dobson, whose previous crusades for moral righteousness included his campaign to out SpongeBob Squarepants, claimed he could not support Thompson under any circumstances. In a private email disclosed to the Associated Press, Dobson raged against the former Tennessee Senator... more Posted on September 20, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	GOP Leaders Fret Over Debate No-Shows, Minority Vote As I recently detailed, in recent weeks the GOP White House hopefuls have sent a powerful message to minority voters by skipping the Univision, NAACP, and upcoming PBS presidential debates. Now, even many Republican proponents of the race card worry the GOP has overplayed its hand. As the Washington Post reports, Newt Gingrich, Jack Kemp, Ken Mehlman and other leading lights of the Republican Party voiced concerns that the GOP's debate no-shows are alienating voters inside - and outside -... more Posted on September 19, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	McCain and the GOP's Faith-Based Follies John McCain's schizophrenia this week over his alternating Episcopalian and Baptist status is just the latest chapter in the faith-based follies of the GOP presidential hopefuls. In a delicious double Catch 22, those running as "men of faith" to win the nomination of what many of it own members call "God's Own Party" are now being called on it. Then, after performing unnatural contortions to assuage radical right primary voters, the Republican candidates must veer back to the middle to... more Posted on September 18, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	GOP Frontrunners Snub PBS/Smiley Debate at Morgan State Last week, I detailed the continuing aversion of the Republican White House hopefuls to participate in debates sponsored by minority organizations. Now hot on the heels of their collective snub of the Univision and NAACP presidential forums, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are skipping a PBS event hosted by Tavis Smiley at the predominantly black Morgan State University. Like the current Oval Office occupant, these Republicans apparently have no stomach for authentic, unscripted questions from the... more Posted on September 17, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Univision, the NAACP and the GOP's Devalued Voters No doubt, the proliferation of presidential debates held by every interest group under the sun has become one of the more fatiguing aspects of the 2008 campaign. But by adding this week's Univision Hispanic presidential forum to a growing list of events they've skipped, the GOP White House hopefuls are sending a clear message as to which American voters the Republican Party does - and does not - value. On Sunday, all but Joe Biden among the Democratic contenders came... more Posted on September 13, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	The Last Abortion Clinic in Mississippi In November 2005, Perrspectives reviewed the PBS Frontline documentary, The Last Abortion Clinic. The segment detailed the relentless, draconian and largely successful efforts by anti-choice forces to restrict women's reproductive rights in Mississippi. Now two years later in the wake of the Gonzales v. Carhart decision upholding the so-called partial birth abortion ban, NBC News has an update on the desperate struggle of the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. As PBS made clear, anti-choice extremists have made abortions virtually unobtainable... more Posted on September 9, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	U.S. Creationists Take War on Evolution to Turkey There's supposedly an old saying in the Middle East that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That may or not be true, but almost certainly the friend of my enemy is my enemy, or at a minimum, not my friend. And in their campaign to help hard-line Islamists in Turkey to propagate the fraud of intelligent design, conservative Christian creationists in the United States are doing great harm to the American project. As PRI's global news program The... more Posted on September 7, 2007 \| Comments (4)

	Larry Craig Fails the GOP's Boy Scout Test On Tuesday, disgraced Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig made it clear he goes both ways. Just three days after announcing he "intends to resign" as a result of his guilty plea in the Minnesota men's room toe tapping case, a Craig aide signaled he might not step down after all. And that's sure to put the fear of God into his Republican colleagues, who have already proclaimed that Craig failed the GOP's Boy Scout Test. The Republicans' Boy Scout Test... more Posted on September 5, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	The Unpology of Larry Craig As I predicted on Tuesday, the Larry Craig saga quickly moved to the disgraced Senator's inevitable resignation. But as I also predicted, Larry Craig's parting statement featured that classic Republican denial of culpability, the Unpology. Announcing his September 30th resignation, the Idaho GOP Senator artfully avoided accepting accountability for his men's room escapades. Instead, he offered the appearance of apology only for their aftermath: "I apologize for what I have caused. For any public official at this moment in time... more Posted on September 1, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Behind the Right's Double Standard on Craig and Vitter As the old expression goes, you are what you eat. And that imagery, apparently, is behind the growing conservative chorus calling for the resignation of disgraced Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig. Revelations that Craig pleaded guilty to charges of "lewd conduct" in a Minnesota airport men's room is producing right-wing revulsion absent during the recent prostitution woes of Louisiana's David Vitter. With more potential revelations rumored to be coming from his home state Idaho papers, Craig's near-term survival (let alone... more Posted on August 28, 2007 \| Comments (6)

	Missouri Church Shooting Highlights Concealed Weapons Law The fatal shooting of three people in a Missouri church on Sunday promises to renew the debate over concealed weapons laws. Under the state's "conceal and carry" law enacted in 2003, Show Me State residents can bring firearms into places of worship (among other places), provided they get permission from their pastors. Whether the gunman or any of the assembled in the First Congregational Church in Neosho had received the blessing to pack heat in a house of God remains... more Posted on August 12, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Giuliani Still Flummoxed by Faith On Wednesday, I described how 2008 GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani found themselves snared by a faith-based trap of their own making. Proudly declaring themselves men of deep faith, the GOP early front-runners then shied away from explaining their faith to voters. Today, the AP provides an addendum to the tale of Rudy Giuliani and the Pandora's Box he opened regarding his Catholic beliefs. As the AP details, the self-proclaimed mayor of 9/11 is only too happy... more Posted on August 10, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	Romney, Giuliani and the Republicans' God Trap In a span of 24 hours, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney each fell victim to what can be called the Republicans' "God Trap." That is, running as "men of faith" to lead what many of its own members call "God's Own Party," Giuliani and Romney are being called on it. And while Rudy's Catholicism and Mitt's Mormonism are now rightly drawing the attention each invited, the second tier Republican candidates are waging a holy war on each other. The issue... more Posted on August 8, 2007 \| Comments (6)

	Life Imitates Art for Novelist Bill O'Reilly The falafel day fall-out for Bill O'Reilly continues to dominate the blogosphere. Atrios, DailyKos and others are still having a field day with the Smoking Gun documents from the sealed settlement in the Mackris sexual harassment case. (Decorum prevents displaying them here.) But largely overlooked in the salacious details of O'Reilly's tawdry talk to his subordinate is the years of practice he got earlier - as a novelist. In his 1998 novel, Those Who Trespass, Bill O'Reilly showed he could... more Posted on July 31, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	Evangelical Civil War Over a Palestinian State? Sunday's New York Times reports a new fissure within the American evangelical movement. Already increasingly at loggerheads over global warming, evangelicals may be witnessing a new schism over the issue of a Palestinian state. And that means Pastor John Hagee and his end-of-times friends at Christians United for Israel (CUFI) are not happy. On Friday, a group of 30 evangelical leaders sent a letter to President Bush calling for a greater U.S. role in the creation of a Palestinian state.... more Posted on July 29, 2007 \| Comments (6)

	Repentance Not Politics: After the L.A. Archdiocese Settlement By all indications, the Catholic Church under Pope Benedict XVI is going to playing a much more aggressive role in politics in the U.S. and around the world. Benedict's denial of communion to pro-choice politicians, his reinvigoration of pre-Vatican II rites and his inflammatory critique of Islam suggest Americans will be seeing a much higher, more muscular - and more conservative - profile from the Church. But as today's news of the $660 million settlement in the Los Angeles clergy... more Posted on July 15, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Plan B and a Surge - in the U.S. In Washington this week, former Bush Surgeon General Richard Carmona described what happens when radical conservative politics and ideology replace science at the basis for public health policy. But one story this week - the booming over-the-counter sales of the Plan B emergency contraceptive - shows the benefits to Americans' health when those right-wing barriers are removed. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that sales of Plan B are forecast to double to $80 million in 2007. That increase was... more Posted on July 14, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	Bush Taunts Children, Disabled, Blind, African-Americans... In Cleveland on Tuesday, President Bush offered Americans yet another example of the heartwarming leadership style that has so endeared him to 26% of Americans. At his latest invitation-only event, Bush made a 13-year old girl cry. Of course, making fun of children is all in day's work for George W. Bush. After all, as his past teasing of the blind, the disabled, U.S. soldiers and blacks confirms, President Bush laughs at the expense of most Americans. ThinkProgress tells the... more Posted on July 11, 2007 \| Comments (6)

	Health Care the Latest Red State Failure A new study released this week revealed that Americans' health care varies dramatically from state to state. It should come as no surprise that in general Southern states ranked at the bottom in almost every category. After all, whether the issue is health, education, working conditions, or virtually any indicator of social pathology, things are worst in precisely those states that voted for George W. Bush. The Commonwealth Fund report, "Aiming Higher: Results from a State Scorecard on Health System... more Posted on June 17, 2007 \| Comments (38)

	Libby Court's Walton Latest Target of Right-Wing Threats to Judges In a Washington court room today, Americans learned that the growing conservative campaign of judicial intimidation reached the Scooter Libby case. Judge Reggie Walton, recently appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to the FISA Court and who last week sentenced former Cheney aide Libby to 30 months in prison, announced that he had received threatening phone calls and letters. Apparently, threatening judges is now business as usual for the American conservative movement. Walton, noting that the threats would have no... more Posted on June 14, 2007 \| Comments (5)

	Report: America's Progressive Majority? The Campaign for America's Future and Media Matters have jointly released a new data-rich report aiming to undermine the mainstream media conventional wisdom that the United States is essentially a conservative country. The study, "The Progressive Majority: Why a Conservative America is a Myth," relies on opinion research to conclusively demonstrate that across virtually the entire gamut of issues, a majority of Americans hold progressive positions. Sadly, polls don't win elections. The CAF/MM report fails to tell the more complex... more Posted on June 13, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	How to Make the Stem Cell Bill Veto-Proof Just two days after the third anniversary of the death of Ronald Reagan, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill easing restrictions on stem cell research favored by his family. But with President Bush promising to once again veto what he called "a recycled old bill," Democrats will need a new strategy to win one for the Gipper. As I wrote back in April, all the stem cell bill needs is a name change - and a little help... more Posted on June 8, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	God Speaks to Tom Delay - Again God is speaking to Tom Delay again. That's the word from the New Yorker, which details the Hammer's self-described divine inspiration in shedding his sinful ways and motivating his born-again determination to lead a new conservative grassroots movement. As Perrspectives has detailed before, it's hardly the first time Delay compared himself to Christ. In the New Yorker piece, Delay enlists Jesus in his crusade to tackle his own past demons, his growing disdain for Newt Gingrich and ever-intensifying hatred for... more Posted on June 7, 2007 \| Comments (5)

	Richardson, Hispanic Organizations Fail the Gonzales Test It's no surprise that the ongoing controversy over Alberto Gonzales' role in the purging of U.S. prosecutors has revealed the limitless intent of the Bush administration to convert the Department of Justice into an appendage of the Republican Party. What is more surprising - and deeply disappointing - is the unwillingness of leading Hispanic figures and organizations to take on one of their own. With his hesitation to call on Attorney General Gonzales to resign, Democratic presidential hopeful Governor Bill... more Posted on May 29, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Radical Right Irony Watch: Monica, Mary, Bombers & Sharks Wednesday was a very bad day for the radical religious right. Proud products of flagship evangelical universities were revealed to be criminals and terrorists. And on the same day that vice presidential daughter and oxymoronic lesbian conservative Mary Cheney delivered her baby, a scientific study reported news of female sharks conceiving offspring without males. In Washington, former DOJ White House liaison Monica Goodling admitted violating the Hatch Act's prohibitions on using political litmus tests for career positions. The 1999 graduate... more Posted on May 23, 2007 \| Comments (6)

	Are PBS Stations Burying "A Brief History of Disbelief?" During last night's episode of Bill Moyer's Journal, host Bill Moyers interviewed Jonathan Miller, creator of a three-part series titled "A Brief History of Disbelief" to be aired on PBS stations beginning this week. Or perhaps "some PBS stations" would be a better description. As it turns out, many PBS affiliates are apparently choosing not to run Miller's predictably controversial look at the roots and philosophy of atheism. And a quick check of the calendar shows that Oregon Public Broadcasting... more Posted on May 5, 2007 \| Comments (20)

	Flipping the Byrd: Bush 2000 Hate Crimes Flashback On Thursday, the White House confirmed that President Bush will veto Congressional hate crime legislation extending protected status to victims of attacks based on gender and sexual orientation. The announcement comes as no surprise. After all, it was his bizarre discussion of hate crimes that almost derailed the election of candidate George W. Bush in 2000. During his second debate against Al Gore in October 2000, Bush was asked about his position on hate crimes laws in the wake of... more Posted on May 3, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Marketing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban On its face, today's Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Carhart is a victory for abortion foes seeking to ban one rarely used but seemingly horrific procedure. But in the bigger picture, the Court's validation of the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Act is a landscape-changing triumph for conservatives' slippery slope campaign to chip away at the reproductive and privacy rights of American women. That's because anti-abortion forces never really cared about intact dilation and extraction, a rare practice used in... more Posted on April 18, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Partial Responsibility: Democrats & the Court's Abortion Ruling In a calamitous setback for the reproductive rights of American women, the Supreme Court upheld the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Act. In its 5-4 ruling, the Court handed Republican conservatives a major victory in their "slippery slope" campaign against choice. Sadly, the history shows that many Congressional Democrats were complicit in today's disastrous outcome. As I wrote back in 2004, significant numbers of Democrats in the House and Senate wavered when it came to protecting the health and safety of... more Posted on April 18, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Two Cheers for Steve Spurrier University of South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier generally doesn't appear on anyone's list of moral exemplars in sports. His sideline tantrums, raging at referees and brief but bombastic tenure with the Washington Redskins didn't endear him to many outside of Florida, the state where he made his name. But this weekend, Spurrier showed surprising courage - and class - in calling for the Confederate battle flag to be removed from the grounds of the South Carolina state house. While... more Posted on April 16, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Don Imus' Troubled Future, Al Sharpton's Troubling Past The controversy over the racist commentary of Don Imus continues to boil over in the liberal blogosphere. But while there is general agreement with the calls by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson for Imus' firing by CBS Radio and MSNBC, there is a disappointing silence when its comes to Sharpton and Jackson's own histories of hate speech and racial intolerance. There is no doubt that for his slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team and track record of on-air bigotry,... more Posted on April 10, 2007 \| Comments (9)

	How to Override the Bush Stem Cell Veto With Harry Reid's stem cell research bill headed to a Senate vote this week, Congressional Democrats and President Bush are on the brink of yet another confrontation. But while the White House is promising to repeat its 2006 veto, the ending can be different this time. All the Reid legislation needs is a name change - and a little help from Ronald Reagan. The failure to override President Bush's veto in 2006 shows that broad bipartisan backing in Congress, aggressive... more Posted on April 10, 2007 \| Comments (4)

	Little Mosque on the Prairie Life imitates art, or so it would seem when it comes to religious intolerance in the North American heartland. In January, the Canadian Broadcasting Company began airing Little Mosque on the Prairie, an upbeat comedy about a small Muslim community making its way in a rural Saskatchewan town. But in Harris County, Texas, the culture clash is no joke, as outraged residents hope to block the Katy Islamic Association from building its house of worship. North of the border, the... more Posted on March 4, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	Coulter's Slur and the Conservative Brand of Hate That Ann Coulter would call Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards a "faggot" during a speech at one of conservatism's pre-eminent conclaves should come as no surprise. Mitt Romney's apparent refusal to disown Coulter's endorsement and the silence of the Republican cavalcade of candidates (John McCain, who didn't attend CPAC, notwithstanding) comes as no shock either. And no one should be stunned by the almost complete lack of coverage of the Coulter slur from the mainstream media. After all, as I... more Posted on March 3, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	The Seattle Sonics: Public Financing for Private Bigotry? In Seattle, the already fierce debate about public financing for a new basketball arena for the NBA's Sonics is about to get a lot hotter. As Dan Savage first reported yesterday, Sonics co-owners Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward contributed $1.1 million to fund the anti-same-sex marriage campaign of radical crusader Gary Bauer. The revelations come at a delicate time for Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and the Democratic-controlled state legislature. They are currently considering the team's proposal for $300 million in... more Posted on February 27, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	All in the Family: Al Sharpton, Strom Thurmond and Other Ironies Almost four years after his death, the legendary segregationist Strom Thurmond continues to cast a long shadow over American politics and society. In perhaps the most ironic revelation of this Black History Month, genealogists have found that civil rights icon Al Sharpton is descended from a slave once owned by relatives of the late Jim Crow stalwart. According to the New York Daily News, researchers Megan Smolenyak and Tony Burroughs located evidence "establishing that Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a... more Posted on February 25, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Flag Hag In South Carolina Monday, Senator Hillary Clinton once again reminded Democratic voters why so many have misgivings about her. Even as she rightly spoke out against flying the Confederate flag over public facilities in the Palmetto State, she called to mind her own pandering over the U.S. flag. In Orangeburg, S.C., good Senator Clinton declared of the Stars and Bars: "I think about how many South Carolinians have served in our military and who are serving today under our flag... more Posted on February 20, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Flashback: Snickers Ad Slanders Cleveland The controversy over the ill-conceived and arguably homophobic Snickers Super Bowl ad continues to simmer for its parent company Masterfoods. AmericaBlog reports that Masterfoods is in "full crisis mode" over the spot and that "heads will roll" to ensure that Snickers marketing never again insults large swaths of the American public. But sadly, Snickers is a repeat offender. Just ask fans of the Cleveland Browns. In 1996, Snickers rolled out is "Not Going Anywhere for a While?" campaign including a... more Posted on February 8, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	This Week in the Culture War Some breaking stories are destined to become instant battlegrounds in the Culture War. Even as you learn of the events, you can immediately envision the "values" vultures of Fox News on the right or the minions of multiculturalism on the left mobilizing to denounce the latest outrage. To be sure, this week has produced a bumper crop all across the nation. In Texas, Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order mandating that sixth grade girls be vaccinated against the human... more Posted on February 6, 2007 \| Comments (0)

	Giuliani Announcement a Drag for GOP From the Giuliani camp comes word that the former New York mayor is moving one step closer to tossing his hat in the presidential ring. With the 2008 White House race already in overdrive, Rudy announced today that he was filing a "statement of candidacy" with the FEC. Polls suggest that the putative hero of 9/11 might very well be able to win the general election for the White House. But as I wrote in April and November last year,... more Posted on February 5, 2007 \| Comments (1)

	Sam Brownback, American Taliban Lost in the flurry of recent presidential campaign announcements is one of the more intriguing developments of the modern political era. That is, while most candidates seek the White House with real aspirations to govern the nation, a self-chosen few such as Al Sharpton or Gary Bauer aim only to lead a movement or community. With his announcement on January 20, Republican Kansas Senator Sam Brownback uniquely hopes to do both. With GOP front-runners John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt... more Posted on January 25, 2007 \| Comments (2)

	The Latest Confederate Flag Flaps The simmering controversy over the display of the Confederate flag by public entities remains a festering sore on the American body politic. And over the past week, voices from the left, right and center weighed in on the ongoing disgrace that is the public romance of the CSA banner in South Carolina, Mississippi and elsewhere in the Old South. To begin, let's offer one cheer for Delaware Senator and 2008 Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden. Speaking in critical primary... more Posted on January 24, 2007 \| Comments (4)

	SOTU Preview: 10 Things to Watch Tuesday's State of the Union Address should offer Americans compelling viewing. After the GOP's electoral disaster in November and the resounding thud that greeted the "surge" in Iraq, the 2007 SOTU can be said to officially mark the last throes of the Bush presidency. In anticipation of tomorrow night's presidential flight of fantasy, here are 10 things to look for in the 2007 State of the Union: 1. An Unhealthy Vision As his Saturday radio address made clear, President Bush... more Posted on January 22, 2007 \| Comments (3)

	The Texas Confederate Statues Controversy Out of Austin, Texas comes word that the president of the University of Texas is forming a panel to decide the fate of numerous campus statues depicting Confederate leaders such as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. President William Powers Jr. summarized the lingering controversy: "The whole range of options is on the table. A lot of students, and especially minority students, have raised concerns. And those are understandable and legitimate concerns. On the other hand, the statues have been... more Posted on December 30, 2006 \| Comments (23)

	Top 10 GOP Sound Bites, 2006 Final Edition As 2006 comes to a close, the Top 10 GOP Sound Bites chart has been turned upside down. In the wake of the Republicans' midterm election nightmare and the battering of the Iraq Study Group report, a bevy of GOP favorites have fallen off the list. Nowhere is the shake-up more evident than in the declining fortunes of the Republicans' Iraq Remix LP. Smash hits with a great beat you could dance to like George Bush's thumping "Stay the Course"... more Posted on December 29, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Brownback on the Red-Blue Divide In its December 18th issue, the New Republic offers a window into the soul of Kansas Republican Senator and 2008 White House hopeful Sam Brownback. Tracing Brownback's dual conversions from small government Gingrich acolyte to red meat culture warrior and from devout evangelical to Catholic firebrand, TNR ponders his presidential prospects. But Brownback's' new found extremism aside, the most illuminating nugget in Noam Scheiber's piece may be the themes of victimization and inferiority that underlay the rage and seething of... more Posted on December 26, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Romney Attacks McCain; Pot Calls Kettle Black In a sure sign that the jockeying for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination is underway, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney fired the opening salvo against Republican front-runner John McCain. But in calling McCain "disingenuous," Romney also offered the first pot-calls-kettle-black moment of the '08 campaign. In advance of the GOP primaries, McCain and Romney alike are making hard right turns. As Perrspectives previously reported, McCain has sought to lock up the backing of the Bush political machine he once disdained. The... more Posted on November 24, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Lott, Romney Revive Republican Race Card While the GOP this week wrestled with its new status as minority party, leading lights Trent Lott and Mitt Romney showed the Republicans' attitude towards minorities remains unchanged. In the Senate, the Republicans resurrected Mississippi's Trent Lott as the new Minority Whip. Lott, who surrendered his Majority leader post in 2002 following his ebullient praise of GOP centenarian segregationist Strom Thurmond, squeaked by Tennessee's Lamar Alexander 25-24 in the closed-doors vote. Trent Lott, of course, is one of the most... more Posted on November 17, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Divide, Suppress and Conquer: The GOP's 25% Strategy for 2006 As Tuesday's vote approaches, Democrats are buoyantly optimistic about their prospects for retaking control of Congress. President Bush is wildly unpopular. His handling of Iraq, the election's dominant issue, is backed by less than a third of the electorate. On issue after issue, voters across the United States support Democratic positions. And in generic Congressional polls, a majority of Americans consistently prefer Democrats over Republicans. Almost none of which matters for the Republican braintrust. For the GOP, 2006 isn't a... more Posted on November 6, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	GOP Quotes of the Week, Pre-Election Edition As election day nears, the rhetorical woes of the conservative chattering classes continue unabated. From President Bush's ill-conceived Rumsfeld endorsement to Ted Haggard's boy trouble, the Republican leadership and its amen corner are providing plenty of fodder for voters. "I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring with it all of my adult life." Ted Haggard, November 5, 2006. "We don't have to debate... more Posted on November 5, 2006 \| Comments (3)

	Ted Haggard's Revealing 1998 Op-Ed The revelations that the Reverend Ted Haggard tried but didn't inhale a gay prostitute came as a shock to many of the leading lights of the religious right. Moral Majority founder and fellow Bush faith-based stalwart Jerry Falwell was driven to lie about his past partnerships with Haggard. A "heartsick" James Dobson of Focus on the Family, outer of Spongebob and Haggard's neighbor in Colorado Springs, called Thursday's charges "unconscionable" before asking "Christians everywhere to pray for Ted." And a... more Posted on November 3, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Falwell Denies Haggard Links On CNN's Situation Room, a very uncomfortable Moral Majority founder and Liberty University president Jerry Falwell denied to Paula Zahn that knew Ted Haggard, the now disgraced former head of the National Association of Evangelicals. As with so much else, Falwell has it utterly wrong. The reality, as it turns out, is that Haggard and Falwell have been partners in a wide range of efforts where the wall between church and state once stood. As former Bush faith-based crusader David... more Posted on November 2, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	American Taliban Ted Haggard's Boy Trouble Among the many oversights of the Perrspectives web site is its failure to include New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard in its listing of the American Taliban. But breaking news from Colorado suggests that Haggard is about to add his name to the growing list of gay, anti-gay conservative crusaders. AmericaBlog reports that gay escort Mike Jones detailed a three-year relationship with Haggard during an appearance on Peter Boyles KHOW 630 AM radio show. According to Jones, Haggard frequently made... more Posted on November 2, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	The GOP Plays the Race Card in Tennessee In one of the least surprising developments of the 2006 mid-term election, the Republican National Committee is turning to the race card early and often. Nowhere is the GOP's race-baiting more prominent than in Tennessee, where an RNC ad titled "Call Me" depicts African-American Democrat Harold Ford as a Mandingo playboy debauching the white women of the South. The RNC effort to help its candidate Bob Corker is no doubt designed to conjure up memories of Lily Belle in Neil... more Posted on October 30, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Jim Webb and the Pornographers of the Right With the truth about his neo-Confederate proclivities and stock swindles putting his Virginia Senate reelection bid in doubt, Republican George Allen turned to fiction to smear his opponent, Vietnam War hero Jim Webb. Citing disturbing content from Webb's combat novels (one of which, "Fields of Fire," appears on the Marine Corps' recommended reading list), Allen and his amen corner have implied that Webb is a misogynist, pedophile or worse. As it turns out, poorly crafted, soft-core pornography seems to be... more Posted on October 29, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	GOP Ads We'd Like to See While the past week may not have been kind to the Republican Party, the events of the last several days need not spell doom for the GOP during the upcoming mid-term elections. After all, Karl Rove, Ken Mehlman and the Republican braintrust will not allow the Foley scandal, the explosive allegations in the new Bob Woodward book, the latest Abramoff developments or the downward spiral in Iraq to redefine the GOP. To help the Republicans extricate themselves from their current... more Posted on October 4, 2006 \| Comments (5)

	A Sad Week for Black Republicans Like the spotted owl or the Pacific sea otter, Black Republicans are something of an endangered species. This week, a select group of African-American conservatives and their GOP allies showed why. On Monday, the National Black Republican Association (NBRA) debuted ads declaring that Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan and that Martin Luther King Junior was a member of the GOP. While no evidence apparently supports the group's claim that King was a Republican, the Klan's roots in the post-Civil... more Posted on September 22, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	George Allen Not Kosher Virginia Senator George Allen has once again confirmed the wisdom of the old aphorism that when stuck in a hole, stop digging. Just days after the "Macacagate" episode highlighted Allen's neo-Confederate proclivities, his ham-handed response to revelations of his Jewish ancestry put Allen in hot water. During his September 18 debate with Democrat Jim Webb, a bitter Allen reacted angrily to reporter Peggy Fox's question about his Jewish roots. Perhaps sensing that stories of his grandfather (and namesake) Felix' Jewish... more Posted on September 20, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	The Amazing Race Card There's an old saying that a gaffe is what results when a politician inadvertently tells the truth. By that standard, then, the Republican Party must be confessing its deeply held beliefs when it comes to race. After all, despicable racial slurs like Arnold Schwarzenegger's lecture on black and Latino blood and George Allen's MacacaGate are only the latest signs that racial bigotry is not the exception in the GOP, but perhaps the rule itself. Bush League Racism The rot starts... more Posted on September 13, 2006 \| Comments (5)

	Warren Jeffs, Tucker Carlson and Conservatives' Uses of Polygamy With the arrest of fugitive polygamist Warren Jeffs, conservatives have once again returned to one of their favorite lines of attack against same-sex marriage rights. As Tucker Carlson put it during his September 1st MSNBC show, "I'm merely asking the obvious question, why not get rid of the discrimination against polygamists too?" Call it the right's "Marriage Slippery Slope" argument. For proponents such as Carlson, Senator Rick Santorum ("man-on-dog"), Senator John Cornyn ("man on box turtle") and columnist Charles Krauthammer,... more Posted on September 5, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	God, Guatemalans and Other GOP Gaffes Just days after Senator George Allen's MacacaGate scandal, the Republican Party continued to offer a cornucopia of egregious gaffes and uproarious utterances. In Montana, Senator Conrad Burns lived up to his recent claim that he could "self-destruct in one sentence." Just weeks after attacking out-of-state firefighters who came to the aid of Montana, the Senator belittled the "nice little Guatemalan man" who does work on the Burns' house. Perhaps joking about Hugo's green card might earn Burn's a ticket back... more Posted on August 27, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Bush Flip-Flops on Plan B In a welcome change of course, the Bush administration ended its stonewalling of over-the-counter sales of the Plan B emergency contraceptive. After five years of outright deception and promises broken, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Barr Pharmaceuticals its blessing to proceed with OTC sales to women 18 and older. As Perrspectives reported two weeks ago ("Plan B's Tangled Web"), President Bush's looming flip-flop became apparent during the confirmation hearings of acting FDA chief Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach. After... more Posted on August 24, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	George Allen in Black and White Virginia Senator and 2008 GOP presidential hopeful George Allen continued to burnish his neo-Confederate credentials this week. During a reelection campaign event in front of an all white audience, Allen singled out Jim Webb campaign volunteer and U.S. citizen S.R. Sidarth as a "macaca." In his apology, Allen feigned ignorance of the meaning of the term, a North African racial slur likely not unknown to Allen's Tunisian mother. This sad episode is just the latest chapter in Allen's lifelong romance... more Posted on August 20, 2006 \| Comments (3)

	Homegrown Terrorism in the U.S. and Europe This week's revelations surrounding the UK terror plot targeting U.S. bound airliners once again focused attention on the phenomenon of "homegrown terrorism." As with last year's 7/7 "Underground Bombers," the Heathrow suspects are virtually all British residents, with most UK citizens and many second-generation Pakistani immigrants. And just as in the aftermath of last November's street riots in France, a flood of analysis seeks to explain the threat of radical Islamic extremism in Europe and its relative absence in the... more Posted on August 13, 2006 \| Comments (4)

	Plan B's Tangled Web President Bush's cynical efforts to block over the counter sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B have taken on almost comic proportions in recent days. But kowtowing to the radical right on Plan B has come at a steep price for Mike Leavitt, George Allen and other Republicans in the administration and Congress. The Senate confirmation hearings of acting FDA chief Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach offered a new chapter in the President's rearguard action to keep Plan B off drug... more Posted on August 10, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	The Unbearable Whiteness of Mitt Romney Massachusetts Governor and '08 GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney showed his true colors in Iowa this weekend. Effortlessly using the racial slur "tar baby" to describe the Boston Big Dig project, Romney joined White House press secretary Tony Snow on the long list of Republicans who by design or by blunder traffic in the language and symbols of race baiting. The gaffe suggests that the shrink-wrap may be coming off the Romney candidacy. That Mitt Romney appears to be a... more Posted on August 1, 2006 \| Comments (6)

	Bush's Voting Rights Act In Washington today, President Bush signed a bill extending by 25 years the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In so doing, Bush once again succeeded in having it both ways. While publicly proclaiming his support for the Voting Rights in public, the Bush Justice Department has blocked its enforcement at every turn. The President's rhetoric, of course, is designed to establish Bush's civil rights credentials and aid the Republican Party's outreach to moderate and African-American voters. On Martin Luther King's... more Posted on July 27, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	George Allen's Flag Desecration As the Washington Post reports today, the already bitter Virginia Senate race between incumbent George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb is getting downright nasty. Watching his lead dwindle and his 2008 presidential hopes put in peril, the Vietnam-era freeloader Allen is attacking the patriotism of the Vietnam war hero Webb over the former Navy Secretary's refusal to join Allen in backing a constitutional amendment banning flag desecration. Ironically, it is the Confederate Flag George Allen seems most concerned about it.... more Posted on July 13, 2006 \| Comments (6)

	Bush Stem Cell Veto Threat is Dems' Opportunity In an interview with the Denver Post editorial board, Karl Rove signaled that President Bush would use the first veto of his presidency to block Congressional stem cell legislation. For Democrats, that veto threat could be just what the doctor ordered. In a nutshell, Bush's 2006 base-baiting, red meat strategy could well backfire when it comes to stem cell research. In May 2005, 50 Republicans joined a united Democratic block in passing the bi-partisan Castle-Degette bill by 238-194. (The House... more Posted on July 10, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Hatch's Homeboy In today's news of the weird comes word that conservative culture warrior and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch intervened to help secure the release of R&B producer Dallas Austin from a Dubai jail. The Grammy winning Austin, who has also produced releases for Madonna, TLC and Pink, was sentenced to four years in prison in Dubai for possession of cocaine. Just hours after a call from Hatch, Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum pardoned Austin and ordered his release.... more Posted on July 8, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Ann Coulter and Conservatism's Continuum of Hate On the House floor Thursday, Democratic Congressman Rahm Emmanuel threw down the gauntlet and challenged his GOP colleagues to repudiate the bilious words of Ann Coulter. But as should be clear by now, they simply can't. Whether the issue concerns gay Americans, 9/11, abortion, judicial appointments or political corruption, a seamless continuum of hate runs from today's governing conservatism through to its most extreme proponents. And that means the Congressional GOP differs only in degree - not in kind -... more Posted on June 9, 2006 \| Comments (4)

	The Final Word on Snow's Slur Last week, White House press secretary Tony Snow used his virgin press briefing to reintroduce the racial slur "tar baby" back into the vernacular. But while an unrepentant Snow attacked his critics as "unfamiliar with the pathways of American culture," it would appear that eBay offers a clear picture as to why Random House suggests "avoiding the use of the term in any context." As it turns out, an eBay seller by the name of "Our Southern Collectibles" offers Tar... more Posted on May 21, 2006 \| Comments (9)

	Snow White During his virgin White House briefing today, new press spokesman Tony Snow reverted to his Fox News roots with his casual use of a racial slur. But in referring to a thorny question regarding President Bush's illegal NSA domestic spying programs as a "tar baby," Snow is just the latest conservative to show why the Republican outreach effort to African-Americans seems doomed to fail. Consider, for example, President Bush's own campaign to woo black voters during his calamitous campaign to... more Posted on May 16, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	The Gospel According to Ahmadinejad The French paper Le Monde has just published the text of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush. Ahmadjinejad's missive skirts the central issue of the Iranian nuclear program and has been met with disdain by both the administration and the mullahs in Tehran. But in repeatedly calling upon the President to heed the teachings of Jesus, the letter reveals how completely Ahmadinejad misunderstands George W. Bush and his core supporters. As I've written before, the President's evangelical... more Posted on May 9, 2006 \| Comments (3)

	Life Imitates Art: Lynne and Mary Cheney Write Books Washington is all abuzz about the new book from Mary Cheney, "Now It's My Turn." But while bloggers and gay rights activists ponder the question of Mary Cheney's lesbian self-loathing in her father's Republican Party, another epic tale of forbidden love from the Cheney family has largely been forgotten. Back in 1981, Mary's mother Lynne Cheney published "Sisters," a tale of two women's hard lives and unspoken love in the Old West. The Second Lady showed could she could write... more Posted on May 8, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Malkin Rages Over "Los Rangers" One day after Cinco de Mayo, the puerile Michelle Malkin was once again on the culture warpath. The target of her outrage this time? Baseball's Texas Rangers, who donned uniforms on Friday bearing the text "Los Rangers." While I'm no supporter of the Rangers pandering to their growing Hispanic fan base, I find the virtriol and venom that Malkin and her fellow travellers offer over the jersey episode both fatiguing and ironic. After all, a previous owner of the Texas... more Posted on May 7, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Conservatives Say the Darndest Things Conservatives, to paraphrase Art Linkletter, say the darndest things. The past several days have been no exception, as the denizens of the right have served up a steady of diet of contradictory claims, egregious gaffes and downright disturbing ditties. Here, then, for your entertainment pleasure are the latest installments of "Today's Mantras." "Well, from my perspective, Heather and I already are married...The way I look at it, is we're just waiting for state and federal law to catch up with... more Posted on May 4, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Hot Tubs, Trial Lawyers and Republicans One of the Right's favorite bogeymen is the trial lawyers, the ambulance chasers supposedly behind skyrocketing health care costs and bankrolling the Democratic Party. But as Bush family consigliere James Baker III showed once again on the Larry King show last night, Republicans are just fine with trial lawyers when they need one. Baker and his daughter-in-law Nancy used the CNN setting to tell the story of the tragic death of his 7-year old granddaughter Graham, who drowned in a... more Posted on May 3, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Voting Rights in Black and White As the AP reported today, the Bush administration once again appears to be standing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on its head. In an unusual lawsuit, the Justice Department is bringing action against Ike Brown, the African-American head of the Democratic Party in sparsely populated Noxubee County. Brown, the suit contends, used coercion and intimidation to prevent the white voters, who make up only 30% of the county, from going to the polls. This is neither to suggest that... more Posted on May 2, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Iran, Bush and the Second Coming The tensions between the United States and Iran reached a new level over the past week. Following a series of announcements regarding its nuclear program and tests of new weapons systems, Tehran announced on Tuesday that it was purchasing the sophisticated Tor M1 anti-aircraft missile system from Russia. On Friday, the IAEA released its highly anticipated report on the Iranian nuclear program and its failure to meet UN Security Council deadline to stop its uranium enrichment efforts. Secretary of State... more Posted on May 1, 2006 \| Comments (24)

	Bitter Pills for Crawford, Limbaugh It was a mixed week for the Avenging Angel, punisher of conservative miscreants. Two evil doers of the right, Lester Crawford and Rush Limbaugh, found themselves in trouble this week for doing bad things with prescription pills. Sadly, only one faces the prospect of true justice. Dr. Crawford, the former head of the Bush FDA, faces a criminal inquiry for financial misdeeds and lying to Congress. Last fall, Crawford, a vet by training and a friend of big Pharma, reneged... more Posted on April 30, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Rudy's Primary Problem As the 2008 Republican primaries draw near, the field of GOP presidential hopefuls is making its quadrennial journey to the extreme right. As USA Today, the New Republic, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, The Hill and even the Daily Show have reported, John McCain has already begun the trip to the "crazy base world" of the Republicans' religious right. But for Rudy Giuliani, the process of courting Christian conservatives is turning out to be a real drag. Jerry... more Posted on April 25, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Tom Delay's Christ Complex Tom Delay has never been shy about comparing himself to Jesus Christ. In 2001, Delay defended his none-too-subtle campaign to bring his fundamentalism to the United States Congress, "People hate the messenger. That's why they killed Christ." At last weekend's "War on Christians" conference, Delay's American Taliban allies elevated his Christ complex to the level of a crusade. Vision America founder and conference host Pastor Rick Scarborough led the way in the deification of Delay. Scarborough, whose latest book is... more Posted on March 31, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	Terri Schiavo: One Year Later This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo. While the battle to respect her wishes is thankfully past, the war over individual autonomy and the protection of private, personal life choices is far from over. As many of the leaders of the religious right convene at VisionAmerica's "War on Christians" conference, Terri Schiavo's parents Mary and Bob Schindler are coincidentally set to release their tell-all book. Meanwhile, husband Michael has broken his public silence, issuing his... more Posted on March 27, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Polygamy and the War on Gay Americans With its sympathetic portrait of a polygamous family, the new HBO series "Big Love," is helping to heat up the culture war. The show has been the fodder of a Newsweek feature on the polygamy rights movement, complete with headlines such as "Polygamists Unite!" For conservative stalwarts like Charles Krauthammer and Rick Santorum, "Big Love" is ammunition and seeming validation for their claim that same-sex marriage leads directly to legalized polygamy, incest and bestiality. As usual, the culture warriors have... more Posted on March 17, 2006 \| Comments (5)

	Romney's Abortion Flip-Flop The reaction to the draconian new restrictions on women's reproductive rights in South Dakota tells us a lot about the coming contest for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. Virginia Senator George Allen wholeheartedly endorsed South Dakota's direct challenge to Roe. In his run to the right, John McCain tried to have it both ways. Most predictable, Mitt Romney confirmed the 2005 assessment of his advisor Michael Murphy that "he's been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly." Last... more Posted on March 10, 2006 \| Comments (10)

	Frist's Flagging Prospects Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is at it again. Just days after threatening to gut the Senate Intelligence Committee if it launches an investigation of President Bush's illegal domestic spying program, Frist announced his new number one legislative priority: the Flag Amendment. Dr. Frist, whose accomplishments to date include witness malpractice in the Schiavo case and an SEC investigation for insider trading, once again has his eyes focused on the culture war prize of flag desecration: "I look forward to... more Posted on March 7, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	The Cost of Don't Ask, Don't Tell Rarely is a precise price tag put on bigotry. But that's just what happened this week, when a University of California commission totaled the costs associated with the Pentagon's indefensible and staggeringly counterproductive "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding gays in the American military. That cost, according to the commission, is $369 million over 10 years, almost double the estimate originally offered by the Department of Defense. That shocking figure includes $79.3 million for recruitment of service members, $252.4 million... more Posted on February 17, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Courting Same-Sex Marriage Rights In Trenton on Wednesday, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments in the latest legal challenge to state prohibitions on same-sex marriage. Coming just weeks after a Baltimore Circuit Court struck down a 1973 Maryland statute barring same-sex couples from wedding, the New Jersey case reflects what may be the best strategy for pursuing equal marriage rights for all Americans. As Perrspectives argued back in 2004, considerations of federalism and separation of powers argue that same-sex marriage advocates' best recipe... more Posted on February 15, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Dishonoring Mrs. King In Atlanta this weekend, thousands braved unusually cold weather to pay their final respects to Coretta Scott King, who lay in state at the Georgia Capitol. That honor, withheld from her slain husband in 1968 by the legendary racist Governor Lester Maddox, comes as a bitter irony. For it was in the same Georgia Capitol only days before that the GOP-controlled legislature passed and Republican Governor Sonny Perdue signed a restrictive new voter ID card program designed to suppress minority... more Posted on February 5, 2006 \| Comments (9)

	The Top 10 State of the Union Highlights Faced with negative polls and a pessimistic American nation, President Bush's just completed 2006 State of the Union Address naturally focused on the theme of "the Hopeful Society." But like the stillborn "Ownership Society" vision before it, Bush's 2006 SOTU will be remembered not for its policy program, but for its partisan political purposes. The top 10 highlights: 1. Demonize the Democrats The President continued Karl Rove's 2006 electoral strategy to once again run on national security and brand the... more Posted on January 31, 2006 \| Comments (6)

	The Sad Symbolism of Samuel Alito and Coretta Scott King There are days when the convergence of events can't help but deliver a larger message, to augur change or signal the passing of one era and the start of another. With the coincident confirmation of Justice Samuel Alito and the death of Coretta Scott King, today is one of those days of historical - and symbolic - significance. In Washington, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alito by 58 to 42, possibly changing the the direction of the Supreme Court for a... more Posted on January 31, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Jeff Gannon Meets the 82nd Airborne This past week has been among the most instructive in the annals of the Pentagon's inexcusable "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Among the lessons learned: while the American military has no place for soldiers who pose on gay web sites, the Bush White House press corps is another matter altogether. On Wednesday, the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military released Pentagon figures estimating that 10,000 gay servicemen and women were discharged from the U.S. armed forces... more Posted on January 27, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Bush, Gonzales and the War on Voting Rights The Washington Post today offered a devastating look at the Bush administration's systematic attempt to undermine voting rights in the United States. The Post looks in-depth at cases in Georgia, Texas and Mississippi in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other Bush political appointees overruled career staff in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. In each, the DOJ granted "pre-clearance" to new state rules designed to suppress minority voter participation to the benefit of the GOP. As... more Posted on January 23, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Brokebush Mountain The new Ang Lee film Brokeback Mountain may be one of the most powerful love stories brought to theaters in recent years. It would also appear to be among the most successful at the box office, with the highest per screen take of any film in the United States during the past week. The "gay cowboy" film is also causing predictable consternation among the family values crowd. On Fox News, host Stuart Varney worried that the film would make "explicit"... more Posted on December 30, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Mitt Happens Among the least surprising political announcements of 2005 is the word from Boston that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is not running for reelection in 2006. It is only the latest step towards a 2008 White House run for a man whose presidential ambitions started in the womb. The son of 1968 GOP presidential contender and American Motors head George Romney, Mitt?s gleaming teeth, perfect hair, venture capital resume and rescue of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics have put him on... more Posted on December 16, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	The Wisdom of Sports Night The big three television networks rarely have much wisdom to offer American viewers, especially regarding the major issues of the day. But there are exceptions to the rule, as I discovered watching a DVD of the late 90�s ABC series, Sports Night. Sports Night, by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, was a comedic drama portraying the cast and team behind a nightly national sports program akin to ESPN Sportscenter. In an episode titled "The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee," the... more Posted on December 3, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	Hard Liners, Soft Porn One of most ironic - and enjoyable - side stories of the CIA Leak/PlameGate investigation has been the discovery of Lewis "Scooter" Libby's trashy 2001 novel, "The Apprentice." As the New Yorker describes at length, Libby, the right-hand man for staunchly conservative Vice President Dick Cheney, seemed quite comfortable writing about prostitution, deviant sexual acts and bestiality in his bizarre coming of age tale set in 1903 Japan. No doubt Libby's "man-on-deer" and "bear-on-girl" forbidden love scenes would make Rick... more Posted on November 10, 2005 \| Comments (6)

	The Last Abortion Clinic Just as the Senate prepares to begin the confirmation process for staunchly anti-choice nominee Sam Alito, the PBS series Frontline aired a powerful and important documentary on the latest developments in the war over reproductive rights. The segment, "The Last Abortion Clinic", was a sobering assessment for pro-choice advocates. Frontline charted the growing strength - and success - of the anti-choice movement in Mississippi from the 1973 Roe v Wade decision through the present day. Constantly testing the "undue burden"... more Posted on November 9, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	Bush's Premature Withdrawal In one of the least surprising announcements to come of out Washington in recent years, President Bush bowed to the inevitable and pulled the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. Positioned as a principled withdrawal by a stalwart White House counsel concerned with preserving executive privilege, in reality the Miers collapse was both a total defeat for the President and a potent symbol of his political cowardice. The Bush nomination of Miers was stillborn. She was cannibalized by movement conservatives,... more Posted on October 27, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	God and The Man at the Air Force Academy While the American military is bravely defending our freedoms and values abroad, the Air Force Academy is undermining them at home. Only weeks after the Academy acknowledged its hostile religious atmosphere and inappropriate born-again evangelization, Air Force football coach Fisher DeBerry added racial stereotyping to its woes. Following his team's loss to TCU last week, DeBerry attributed his opponent's success to the 11 African-Americans fielded on the defensive side of the ball. TCU, DeBerry said: "...had a lot more African-American... more Posted on October 26, 2005 \| Comments (3)

	Fox in the Hen House One of the recurring themes at Perrspectives is the growing Achilles Heel of the conservative movement. Dormant for two presidential elections, the yawning chasm between economic and social conservatives is reemerging, and with it, a serious threat to the Republicans' majority status. In the wake of its Schiavo disaster and the revolt over the Harriet Miers nomination, conservatives are coming to blows yet again. This time, the battleground is television content. The family values merchants at the Parents Television Council... more Posted on October 20, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	Trojan Horse: The Bush Plan for Katrina Last Thursday�s speech by President Bush in New Orleans� Jackson Square kicked off the administrations� cynical campaign to snatch political victory from the jaws of defeat in the wake of its disastrous Katrina response. Karl Rove�s strategy for the coming 2006 mid-term elections will modeled on his 2002 GOP success with the Department of Homeland Security. With the Gulf States devastated, hundreds dead and thousands displaced, President Bush and the GOP will lace a popular recovery program featuring massive federal... more Posted on September 19, 2005 \| Comments (9)

	The Bush Speech in Black and White One of the more transparent aspects of President Bush's speech from New Orleans last night was its cynical outreach to African-Americans. Trying to break the stereotype of his administration and his party as modern day Confederates, Bush spoke eloquently of race and poverty in the Katrina disaster. Unfortunately, Bush's makeover as born-again racial healer simply isn�t credible, given his own penchant for racial stereotypes. Returning to the formula of his 2005 State of the Union address, President Bush sought to... more Posted on September 16, 2005 \| Comments (3)

	Hurricanes, Divine Retribution and the Right In these times of American hyper-partisanship, even the response to an act of God like hurricane Katrina is revealing. The disaster, which devastated the extremely red states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, brought no snide claims of "divine retribution" from the voices of the left. No one declared that a just God wrought vengeance upon the South for its sins of slavery, succession, civil war, Jim Crow or more recently, its coronation of George W. Bush. Instead, the liberal blogosphere,... more Posted on August 30, 2005 \| Comments (13)

	Justice Sunday II: This Time It's Biblical For those of you who missed the "Justice Sunday" protest against the judicial filibuster, Tony Perkins, the Family Research Council and American Taliban friends are back with Justice Sunday II. Justice Sunday II, to be held on Sunday, August 14th in Nashville, Tennessee, brings together some of the leading lights of the American reactionary right in support of Bush SCOTUS nominee John Roberts. The FRC's own Perkins will be joined by convicted Watergate felon turned prison minister Chuck Colson. Colson,... more Posted on August 10, 2005 \| Comments (6)

	The Hitchhiker's Guide to Intelligent Design Earlier this week, President Bush expressed his support for the teaching of "intelligent design" alongside the theory of evolution in American schools. By backing the quackery that is this repackaged creationism, Bush is showing both his usual disdain for the scientific method and his preference for faith over fact as the basis for public policy. This time, though, the President is also highlighting his ignorance of basic philosophy and pop culture. For those who had the good fortune to miss... more Posted on August 3, 2005 \| Comments (3)

	The Goldberg 100 List Alternative Right-wing media hatchet man and former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg is shilling his latest tome of venomous conservative rage, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (and Al Franken Is #37). In it, Goldberg aims to protect American culture from the likes of supposed liberal icons such as Michael Moore, Jimmy Carter, Barbara Streisand and more. While Goldberg has already been definitively bitch-slapped by the likes of Al Franken and Jon Stewart, the Avenging Angel is only too happy... more Posted on July 16, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Unrepentant: Rick Santorum and the Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal It has often been said that a gaffe is what happens when a politician speaks the truth. In Senator Rick Santorum's case, the Catholic Crusader of the Keystone State he has spoken the truth about what he believes. For Santorum, liberalism, the Enlightenment and the scientific method are apparently a far greater crime in America than the thousands of children raped and sodomized by priests in his beloved Catholic Church. As noted by the CapitolBuzz and Atrios, Santorum in a... more Posted on June 27, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Mississippi Wounds Still Unhealed In Mississippi, where Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was convicted today of manslaughter in the 1964 civil rights murders, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal asks its readers a simple question: Do you think the Edgar Ray Killen trial and guilty verdict will mend the old wounds of the 1964 slayings? The simple answer? No. No, the dark cloud hanging over Philadelphia, the state of Mississippi and the South won't be lifted by this single compromise verdict. The wounds certainly... more Posted on June 21, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	The Culture of Strife Across the nation this week, the Republican Party and its amen corner unleashed a tidal wave of dangerously irresponsible interventions into the most personal and intimate aspects of Americans' private lives. Whether they will pay a political price for their increasingly extreme - and unpopular - positions remains to be seen. Let's begin in Madison, Wisconsin, where the state assembly voted to ban the distribution and use of the "morning after" pill on state campuses. By a 49-41 vote, the... more Posted on June 17, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Banning True Flag Desecration In Washington, Congressional Republicans are waging yet another battle in their never-ending culture war. This time, the focus is on a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag. But if these hypocrites really want to honor and protect the symbols of the United States, they shouldn't be talking about Old Glory, but the Confederate Stars and Bars. In the Senate, Bill Frist and the GOP leadership, aided by a few weak-kneed Democrats, are preparing for a very close... more Posted on June 15, 2005 \| Comments (3)

	Ghosts of Mississippi There's an old saying that justice delayed in justice denied. Well, we're about to find out in Mississippi. Finally, 41 years after the fact, reputed Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen will be tried for the infamous killings in Philadelphia, Mississippi of three Chicago civil rights workers. The three, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were murdered while in Mississippi to register black voters as part of "Freedom Summer." With the complicity of the segregationist Neshoba County populace, no... more Posted on June 13, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Confederacy of Dunces This weekend, the disgusting spectacle of the Confederate flag reared its ugly head once again, this time in Missouri. Republican Governor Matt Blunt ordered the flag to be flown for a day during a memorial service attended at the Confederate Memorial State Historic Site in Higginsville. The 400 people in attendance didn't just lay roses and sing "Dixie." They raised the question as to whether the national Republican leadership is just whistling Dixie when it comes to celebrating the... more Posted on June 5, 2005 \| Comments (7)

	Sharpening Their Clause: The Coming Bush Judges Only days after the Senate reached a tenuous compromise to preserve the judicial filibuster, it appears the first Supreme Court vacancy of the Bush era may be imminent. AP reports that Chief Justice Rehnquist is preparing to step down and that the White House is already preparing to nominate his successor. There is an emerging consensus regarding the leading contenders for Bush's first Supreme. (Jeffrey Rosen in The New Republic provided a thorough run down last fall.) More important than... more Posted on May 30, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Paris Hilton and the Right Wing Food Fight The Parents Television Council is taking to the air waves to protest the new Paris Hilton ad campaign from West Coast burger chain Carl's Jr. The controversial and widely viewed ad depicts the vapid and scantily clad Hilton gorging on Carl's burger while performing a masturbatory car wash. But while right-wing watchdogs like PTC's L. Brent Bozell are predictably up in arms over the raunchy and tasteless promo, one aspect of the story has gotten virtually no attention. That is,... more Posted on May 25, 2005 \| Comments (3)

	Stem Selling: The Ronald Reagan Life Legacy Act The momentum of politics and science is now with the Democrats in the battle to drive stem cell research in the United States. This week's announcement by South Korean researchers successfully producing healthy stem cells from the DNA of damaged tissue brought home the danger of the United States losing its leadership in the biotech sector. And new bi-partisan legislation in the House co-sponsored by Mike Castle (R-DE) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) shows that increasing numbers of Congressional Republicans will... more Posted on May 24, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	Father Pavone Draws The Angel's Ire Father Frank Pavone assured himself visits from the Avenging Angel in this life and the next for his role in the judicial filbuster imbroglio. The not-so-good father, head of Priests for Life and Schiavo family media parasite, attacked Senator John McCain for "trying to prevent godly men and women" from serving on the nation's courts. The Angel suggests that Pavone, whose web site offers a prayer for judges, follow Tom Delay's advice to "spend less time on our soapboxes... more Posted on May 18, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	Faith-Based Intimidation So it's come to this. Pastor Chan Chandler of the East Waynesville North Carolina Baptist Church in North Carolina ejected nine members of his congregation because they did not vote for George Bush for President. 40 other congregants left his flock in protest. Welcome to the perversion that is George Bush's vision of faith America. The $8 billion Faith-Based Initiative sanctions discrimination by its recipients while involving the federal government in the functions of religious groups. In 2004, the GOP... more Posted on May 7, 2005 \| Comments (7)

	Failing The GOP Boy Scout Test Yesterday, embattled House Majority Leader Tom Delay pleaded, "Just think of what we could accomplish...if we spent less time on our soapboxes and more time on our knees." Unfortunately for the GOP, that advice is only making matters worse for hypocritical Republican politicians across the country. On the very same day as Delay's bizarrely ironic comments, Spokane Mayor and outspoken anti-gay Republican Jim West admitted to relationships with men, cruising gay web sites, and offering an internship to a Spokesman-Review... more Posted on May 6, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	Pat Roberston's Second Term Agenda On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, CBN mogul and 700 Club host Pat Robertson offered a short summary of his policy preferences for the second Bush term. The former presidential candidate weighed in across a range of issues concerning God and man. On the raging controversy over the judiciary, Robertson claimed that judges are a greater threat to the United States than Al Qaeda. He stated that only Christians and Jews should be judges and in essence called Supreme... more Posted on May 3, 2005 \| Comments (13)

	Microsoft's Insecurity Complex If you had to choose one word to describe the current mind set at Microsoft, it would probably be "insecure." Insecure about the growing market share of Linux at the expense of the company's flagship Windows operating system. Insecure also describes the Microsoft platform itself, software essentially under siege from viruses, spyware and worse, a situation the upcoming Longhorn release is supposed to address. Unfortunately, "insecure" also describes the company's response to intimidation from the radical religious right. Last week,... more Posted on April 26, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Tony Perkins Joins the American Taliban With the Family Research Council's "Justice Sunday" coming on April 24th, FRC head Tony Perkins has earned a charter membership to the American Taliban. Perkins has led the Family Research Council since 2003, after previously founding the Louisiana Family Forum to fight the "increasing influence of the homosexual community on public policy issues" and authoring that state's covenant marriage legislation. Perkins likes to refer to the "homosexual death-style" and labels civil unions "a serious threat to the health of our... more Posted on April 19, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Left at the Altar Over at BlueOregon, there is much discussion about the ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court voiding the 3,000 same-sex weddings performed by Multnomah County. The Court's unanimous decision reflected the more complex landscape for marriage equality proponents in Oregon. Unfortunately but understandably, the Court concluded that Multnomah county officials did not have the authority to marry the couples in the face of existing statutory language. This aspect of the decision is roughly analogous to the outcome in California, where San... more Posted on April 15, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Bush's Secret iPod Playlist The political and entertainment worlds are abuzz with discussion and analysis regarding the contents of President Bush's iPod. The list, released by the White House on Tuesday, reveals a bland and predictable mix of rock classics and country. What is much more interesting - and surprising - are the songs comprising Bush's previously secret playlist. Released only this morning under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Bush's other playlist is said to include: - "Head Like a Hole"... more Posted on April 13, 2005 \| Comments (13)

	As Featured in The Oregonian For those who have been following Perrspectives' take on the Schiavo affair, my defense of individual liberty and personal autonomy can be found in the March 28th Op Ed section of The Oregonian: "Liberty and the Culture of Living" You can also read the full text below.... more Posted on March 28, 2005 \| Comments (1)

	Easter Reflections on Tom Delay In recent days, criticism has unfairly rained down on House majority leader Tom Delay for supposedly comparing himself to Jesus. As Delay put it in his own defense, "people hate the messenger. That's why they killed Christ." On this Easter Sunday, it is worth noting that the similarities between Jesus and Tom Delay are striking: UPDATE: A PDF version is available here. For more on Tom Delay, see "The American Taliban" and "The Avenging Angel."... more Posted on March 27, 2005 \| Comments (29)

	Achilles' Heels The political clash over the tragedy of Terri Schiavo is highlighting once again the Achilles Heel of the conservative movement. Dormant for two presidential elections, the yawning chasm between economic and social conservatives is reemerging, and with it, a serious threat to the Republicans' majority status. As we've noted before, the ascendancy of the Right is constantly threatened by the strains between social conservatives and their fiscally conservative, often libertarian allies. On one side, the religious Right of Robertson, Falwell,... more Posted on March 23, 2005 \| Comments (6)

	To Err is Texan Three critical points have been almost entirely absent from the media's discussion of the Terri Schiavo affair. I've written about two and others in the blogosphere have done a great job addressing the third: 1. Moral Arguments Favoring the End of Life Support A thorough discussion of the very strong moral arguments in favor of honoring Terri Schiavo's end-of-life request to her husband has been completely missing in the media. For my take, see: "Schiavo, Mill and the Culture of... more Posted on March 21, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Schiavo, Mill and the Culture of Living President Bush often likes to speak of a �culture of life�, a catch phrase that neatly frames his opposition to reproductive choice and stem cell research. The tragic case of Terri Schiavo, now featuring dangerously irresponsible and unprecedented Congressional intervention, is only latest chapter in his conservative playbook. It is high time to end the melodrama of Republican political opportunism and regain control of this debate. Progressives must do this not because we�re �right� or because our position in this... more Posted on March 20, 2005 \| Comments (4)

	Bill Frist: Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hide Like death and taxes, you can always count on Bill Frist's hair to perfect and his politics to be opportunistic. His unprecedented and inappropriate meddling in the case of Terri Schiavo is no exception. Tom Delay is using the Schiavo case to distract attention from his imminent ethical implosion. The Republican Party leadership is using the Schiavo tragedy to energize its anti-choice base. In the case of the Senate Majority Leader, he's abusing his medical credentials and flouting his Hippocratic... more Posted on March 19, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	Gay Time in the Old Town Tonight On Monday, San Francisco County Superior Judge Richard Cramer ruled in favor of the city of San Francisco and a dozen same-sex couples, stating that withholding marriage licenses from gays and lesbians is unconstitutional. While this is but one positive step forward in the struggle for equal marriage rights for all Americans, it is clear one all the same. Echoing the reasoning in Supreme Court cases from Loving v. Virginia (striking down bans on interracial marriage), Romer v. Evans (ending... more Posted on March 14, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Today's Quiz It's time to take Today's Quiz. The topic: threats to the American way of life. According to conservatives, which of the following is NOT a threat to the American republic? A) Spongebob Squarepants, rumored front-sponge for the gay agenda. B) Buster Baxter, the PBS cartoon bunny who counts Vermont lesbians among his friends. C) Patty Bouvier, Homer Simpson's lesbian sister-in-law involved in the first animated same-sex wedding. D) Jeff Gannon, the gay male prostitute turned GOP operative turned White House... more Posted on February 22, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Fresh Air and Gray Skies: An Even Hand at NPR For the raging right, National Public Radio is the poster child for liberal bias in the media. From Accuracy in Media and the Media Research Center to the National Review and Bill O'Reilly, NPR (or "National Palestine Radio" to its detractors), is the bete noir. How very surprised, then, they must have all been while listening last week to NPR's Terry Gross on the Fresh Air program. Over three days last week, Gross brought in some of the heaviest hitters... more Posted on February 20, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	Unrepentant In San Francisco on Sunday, Mayor Gavin Newsome spoke at city hall to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Valentine's Day Revolution. It was a year ago that Newsome ordered the City Clerk to begin performing same-sex weddings in keeping with his reading of the California constitution. 3,000 invalidated marriage licenses, 12 state gay marriage bans and one reelected George Bush later, Mayor Newsome is still committed - and unrepentant:. "I've never felt a greater sense of purpose but... more Posted on February 13, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Bush, Race and the State of the Union During the February 3rd segment of the Abrams Report on MSNBC, part of the discussion focused on President Bush's surprising and vocal support for DNA evidence funding during the State of the Union address. Abrams and his guests seemed mystified as to why President Bush, a man who presided over more executions than any other contemporaneous governor, would have a "born-again" revelation as to the importance of DNA evidence in securing defendants' rights. As with virtually everything else with this... more Posted on February 4, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	SpongeBob Outed? Children's cartoon favorite Spongebob Squarepants is the latest cultural icon to draw the ire of the American Taliban. Identified as an agent of the gay agenda by Focus on the Family's James Dobson, Spongebob joins Rick Santorum's dogs and John Cornyn's box turtles as a threat to the American family. What is it about Spongebob that drives these imams of intolerance into a rage? One easy answer is projection: Dobson et al perhaps cannot come to grips with their homo-erotic... more Posted on January 27, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	African-Americans and the Bush Social Security Plan Only days after the Armstrong Williams paid-for-pundit debacle, President Bush used his January 12 "town hall meeting" to once again reach out to African-Americans. this time on his Social Security privatization plan. With a hand-picked audience of supporters present on stage and in the Washington DC audience, Bush was on the top of his game: "Another interesting idea...is a personal savings account...which can't be used to bet on the lottery, or a dice game, or the track. "Secondly, the interesting... more Posted on January 13, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	Armstrong Williams Redux? On the heels of the Armstrong Williams "Payolagate" scandal come rumors that Bush administration may be planning additional outreach to the African-American community. While not confirmed, the DC grapevine has it that the Bush folks have in fact asked NWA and their lead man Ice Cube to perform their smash hit "Straight Out of Compton" at the inaugural. I heard that NWA was replacing Toby Keith, who was supposed to sing "Buy My CDs or Bin Laden Wins" and "Video... more Posted on January 11, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	Bush, Absolute Value and the Time "Man of the Year" Every once in a while, you realize that the apparently pointless concepts you learned back in math class were not completely without value. Or in the case of the Time selection of George W. Bush as its "2004 Man of the Year", absolute value. Bush's second crowning as Man O' Year reminds us of the notion of Absolute Value. As you'll recall, the expression \|x\| meant the positive value of x, regardless of whether x had a positive or negative... more Posted on December 21, 2004 \| Comments (1)

	Yet Another Faux National Tragedy In the latest example of what Perrspectives has called a "Faux National Tragedy", Scott Peterson was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Laci. As we described in 1997 after the Heaven's Gate cult mass suicide, a Faux National Tragedy has four identifiable traits: Unlimited Media Frenzy. This is the necessary but not sufficient first indicator of an FNT. The event in question, through its pure horror, strangeness or scatology, completely mobilizes the national media, which in turn... more Posted on December 13, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	George W. Bush: Rhythm Methodist On Thursday, the United Methodist Church defrocked a lesbian minister, the Reverend Elizabeth Stroud of Germantown, Pennsylvania. This was the first such step by the Church in 17 years, reflecting its law that bars ""self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" from ministry. Convicted by a 12-1 vote and defrocked by a 7-6 majority, Stroud may still perform other duties for her congregation. Leaving aside the fundamental issues of fairness, homophobia and church doctrine for church members themselves to debate, today's developments do raise... more Posted on December 2, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	Not That There's Anything Wrong with It Two recent news developments highlight once again the fallacy of "rational rejection" of the rights of gay Americans by social conservatives. In their ongoing quest to mask theology as social science, they have once run into the dual brick walls of the academy and the Supreme Court. The first instance of conservatives being "mugged by reality" (to appropriate neocon Irving Kristol's phrase) comes from the University of Virginia, where a study led by Dr. Charlotte J. Patterson showed that teenagers... more Posted on November 29, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	American Taliban The �War on Terror� has provided Americans with a helpful introduction to theocracy. The fight against Al Qaeda, the war on the Taliban, and the growing tensions with the regime in Iran has offered a quick primer on the hallmarks of the religious state. First is the rule of religious authorities, whether it be Bin Laden�s new Caliphate, Mullah Omar�s Taliban regime, or the mullahs in Tehran. Second is the imposition of the faith�s sacred texts as law, in these... more Posted on November 25, 2004 \| Comments (19)

	The Deer Hunter, 2004 Edition In the latest installment of the Red State Pathology Report, we bring you this bit of psychosis from Wisconsin. Apparently, five people were killed and three wounded in a shootout over the use of a deer hunting platform. The Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle summed up the episode, "it's absolutely nuts." The bizarre massacre does seem inexplicable to most. But to many of the "God, Guns and Gays" denizens of Red America, there could be a simple explanation. The... more Posted on November 22, 2004 \| Comments (21)

	Markets, Morality and Monday Night Football With the election over and the Scott Peterson trial completed, the American media apparently has little else to report but the supposed scandal over the raunchy Terrell Owens Monday Night Football pre-game skit. For conservatives like the Heritage Foundation's Rebecca Hagelin, ABC and the NFL joined to open yet another front in the war against the traditional values and decency of the American family. For those on the left, the Disney-owned ABC network's cross-promotion of its Desperate Housewives during MNF... more Posted on November 19, 2004 \| Comments (22)

	Scott Peterson and the Unbearable Whiteness of Being In what is only the latest in a long line of Faux National Tragedies, Scott Peterson was found guilty of murdering his wife Laci. The media's obvious fixation with the tragedies of predictably white, often blond, and usually well-to-do girls continues unabated. Laci Peterson joins BYU student Brooke Wilsberger, Dru, Elizabeth, Jon Benet, Samantha, and Danielle in the pantheon of 24/7 coverage from CNN, Fox, MSNBC et al. These admittedly sad tales, of course, have no real national import. None... more Posted on November 12, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	Red America: Coming to a Body Near You Sometimes, a single day of news tells you everything to know about what is or what is to come. On April 2, 2004, for example, the New York Times featured no fewer than seven stories covering different scandals, deceptions, stone-walling and perversions of science by the Bush administration. November 9, 2004 is another one of those days. Today's headlines provide a chilling preview of what life will be like over the next four years in George W. Bush's Red America:... more Posted on November 9, 2004 \| Comments (22)

	Is the Pope Catholic? While President Bush continues his cynically transparent effort to court American Catholic voters, some U.S. bishops are doing his dirty work for him. A group of American bishops, backed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, proclaimed that pro-choice politicians should not receive Communion. Others have gone further, issuing statements and newspaper advertisements that true Catholics should not vote for pro-choice politicians. As Pew Research has found, American Catholics are... more Posted on October 25, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Bush Top 10 Flip Flop List Four years ago, George W. Bush accepted the Republican nomination for President, and famously set the moral tone - and expectations for his presidency: "So when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, I will swear to uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God." It has not, of course, worked out that way. As we pointed out... more Posted on October 1, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	Abort, Retry, Ignore? For the third time, a federal district court judge has ruled the so-called Partial Birth Abortion ban unconstitutional. Judge Richard Kopf in Lincoln, Nebraska followed his colleagues in New York and San Francisco in upending Congress' ban on the very rare intact dilation and extraction procedure. All three judges fired shots across the GOP bow, stating plainly that the law cannot pass muster because it does not allow for exceptions to protect the health of the mother. The anti-choice forces... more Posted on September 14, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	RNC Irony Watch Perhaps the only joys in watching the Republican National Convention are the rich servings of irony. Served fresh in virtually GOP speech, these morsels of sweet revenge help slow my otherwise inexorably rising bile. It is worth bearing in mind that the Republican platform calls for a ban on same-sex marriage and equates the rights of a fetus with those of its mother. The Texas GOP platform is particularly frightening, which "affirms that the United States of America is a... more Posted on September 1, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	A Google-Perrspectives Truce For those who have been following the controversy created by Google's ban on advertising from Perrspectives, a Najaf-like truce of sorts has been reached. On July 23, Google reversed course and upon further review concluded that Perrspectives did not violate its guidelines on advocacy speech. Unfortunately for all involved, however, Google did not change its dangerously broad "language that advocates against" standard as we proposed. For that reason, Perrspectives for now will not resume its ads on Google - this... more Posted on August 25, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	Reflections on Reagan Now that the orgiastic collective mourning of Ronald Reagan is complete, we can from the distance of a week honestly reflect on the legacy of Ronald Reagan. Here is a look back at the man and the myth, in his own words and those of who (theoretically) admired him... Continue reading "Reflections on Reagan"...... more Posted on June 12, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State My wife and I have just completed �USA Road Trip 2004�, a month-long vacation around America. In our minivan, we drove from Boston to national parks and rural backwaters, sunny beaches and snow-capped mountains. Getting back in touch with America couldn�t have come at a better time. The Abu Garaib abuse scandal in Iraq left most Americans disgusted and ashamed. U.S. standing in the world is at its lowest ebb since the end of World War II. Gas prices are... more Posted on May 26, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	What Would Jesus Do? During the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush was asked to name his favorite philosopher. He memorably answered Jesus Christ, because �he changed my heart.� Now in 2004, it�s time to ask Bush the obvious follow-up: what would Jesus do? Given W�s well-publicized memory lapses (�What did I do in Alabama for a year in 1972-3? When did I last do coke?�), it might be helpful to offer him a WWJD primer. As the 2004 election battle with John Kerry heats... more Posted on March 8, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	What Would Jesus Do? During the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush was asked to name his favorite philosopher. He memorably answered Jesus Christ, because �he changed my heart.� Now in 2004, it�s time to ask Bush the obvious follow-up: what would Jesus do? Given W�s well-publicized memory lapses (�What did I do in Alabama for a year in 1972-3? When did I last do coke?�), it might be helpful to offer him a WWJD primer. As the 2004 election battle with John Kerry heats... more Posted on March 8, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	States' Blights As the past week�s Democratic debates in Los Angeles and New York showed once again, there are generally very few substantive policy disagreements between John Kerry and John Edwards. On the issue of same-sex marriage in particular, there is very little difference in their approach: play it safe. That may be politically expedient and even politically necessary, but unfortunately, it also dangerous to the cause of personal liberty. Unlike abortion rights, which enjoy consensus support nationwide, same-sex marriage is still... more Posted on March 2, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	Slippery Slope Here we go again. Once again, the anti-choice movement, with support from congressional conservatives and President Bush, is pushing legislation that chips away at women�s reproductive rights. Once again, squeamish Democrats in the House and Senate are going along for the ride. And once again, they are playing directly into their opponents� hands, helping to bring about the gradual undermining of abortion rights... Continue reading "Slippery Slope"...... more Posted on February 25, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Opt Out Society, Part VI: The Democrats' New American Bargain in Action In 2004, Democrats must answer the GOP assault on national unity with a program based on reciprocity, responsibility and opportunity that calls on the best in Americans and their government. On national security, Democrats must not only pass the threshold of credibility, they must demonstrate clear leadership compared to the GOP. There is no better way to do this, substantively and symbolically, than through national service. While the volunteer army currently seems sufficient to fight foes abroad such as Afghanistan... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Opt Out Society, Part V: A New American Bargain Democrats need a new, revitalized public philosophy and politics not only to achieve victory in 2004, but also to have any hope of attaining majority status in the next decade. In contrast to a conservative Opt Out ideology increasingly at odds with the best American civic traditions, Democrats should seek to usher in the "Reciprocity Society." Characterized by shared national identity and values, commitment to common goals and public institutions, national service, mutual responsibility, and universal opportunity, the Reciprocity Society... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Opt Out Society, Part IV: Identity Politics and the Threat from the Left Unfortunately, Democrats cannot credibly speak of a politics of national unity and common American interest unless they make a clear break with the identity politics, multi-culturalism, and group privileges of the party's left. Democrats during the Clinton reign in the 1990's made great progress overcoming two of the three barriers to the party gaining majority status: being trusted on national defense and to provide economic growth. On cultural issues, however, the Clinton program of "100,000 cops" and welfare reform (not... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Opt Out Society, Part III: Branding the Opt Out Society Democrats in 2004 would do well to emulate two successful approaches of their opponents in branding the GOP and its Opt Out philosophy. In 1994 with Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America" and again with the 2000 Bush campaign, the Republicans succeeded in both labeling the Democrats as outside the mainstream while effectively positioning their own program in easily understood, hard hitting and, at least superficially, universally appealing sound bites. The result was and continues to be GOP domination of the... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Opt Out Society, Part II: On Your Own The impact of the Opt Out Society can be seen across the policies the Bush administration has pursued since coming to office. These are consistently defined by three characteristics. First is market idolatry; all public policy issues are framed in terms of market choice, competition, and privatization. From school vouchers to a market for pollution credits, any outcome that results is by definition the right one, since it was freely decided by the market. Second, the politics of the Opt... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Opt Out Society, Part I: Introduction There's an old saying that says, "don't bring a knife to a gun fight." Another old saw goes "know your enemy." Truer words were never spoken as Democrats approach the 2004 elections. President Bush, fresh off his victory in Iraq, the staged performance on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and the capture of Saddam, has maintained strong approval ratings. But while the president wraps himself in the flag and the banner of unity in the American war against terror, the... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	The Smallness of King George Robert F. Kennedy once said, "Richard Nixon represents the dark side of the American spirit." Well, RFK never met George W. Bush. Not since the days of Tricky Dick has the White House seen such a secretive, paranoid and vengeance-filled occupant. President Bush may not have the Plumbers, CREEP (the Committee to Re-elect the President), or the "Enemies List", but in its essence his administration has all the same hallmarks as the Nixon team. The politics of retribution, secrecy, and... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	Faux National Tragedy Did Michael Jackson murder Jon Benet Ramsay? Was Samantha Runyon killed by Scott Peterson? Was Robert Blake behind the abduction of Elizabeth Smart? Aside from the 24/7 media's fixation with young, attractive, well-to-do white children, what do these episodes tell us about the crisis of American values, culture and society? Nothing. As we reported all the way back in 1997 in the aftermath of the Heaven's Gate cult mass suicide, these faux national tragedies portend no larger societal breakdown. At... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)