Patterico's Pontifications

8/16/2011

The Christians are Coming! The Christians Are Coming! (And It’s a Cookbook, Paul Krugman!)

Filed under: General — Aaron Worthing @ 7:35 am



[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.  Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]

Ugh, what can you say to this unfathomable stupidity from Newsweek/The Daily Bestiality?

As Ken Shepherd writes:

In other words, “Okay, so some of us on the Left called a false alarm about theocracy when Bushitler was turning the country into a fascist regime, but trust us! This time the threat is real!!!”

If nothing else, the Bush years showed us how idiotically paranoid the left could be, believing that Bush had an evil plan to overthrow democracy itself, diffused by the simple act of stepping down at the end of his term.  Suddenly eight years of liberal paranoia looked pretty silly, to people capable of self-consciousness.

But it’s all they can do.  Obama is going down in flames, but as many times as polls show that a Generic Republican will win the election, that isn’t an option.  (Seriously, he dropped out last weekend.)  So we will have someone who is…  someone–not generic, but with an actual personality.  And the left hopes to so terrify you about the possibility of X (X being whoever the nominee is) being president that we will decide that we prefer four more years of President Downgrade instead.  That’s the gameplan, because its all they got.

Well, that and “I got bin Laden.”  Including the impending “I got bin Laden, the movie!”  Hey, weren’t liberals opposed to evil corporations making campaign donations?

[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]

123 Responses to “The Christians are Coming! The Christians Are Coming! (And It’s a Cookbook, Paul Krugman!)”

  1. Puh-lease…

    I suggest this is another example of projection from the Left, that’s the real story.

    FWIW, the majority of Christians don’t like “Dominionism” any more than secularists do. (By this I mean the form that says Christians should be in charge of the government “now”, before Jesus returns. If by “Dominionism” they mean the belief that when the real Messiah returns that He will rule the Earth, well, then they’re just being spoiled sports that their “messiah” isn’t doing such a good job.)

    Just remember, while you should take this charge very, very seriously, you should not believe that a Jihadist (including any from Minneapolis) means what they say about the 12th Imam, destroying Israel, restoring Muslim control over previously held lands, and forcing the rest of the world to revere Mohammed. Nope, they’re just fooling around.

    MD in Philly (cd9679)

  2. There is nothing new under the sun, this is the tack they took after August 29th 2009, just dialed up to ‘eleventy’

    ian cormac (81c5c2)

  3. Well if ya’ll hadn’t been so paranoid about the supposed influence of the Reverend Wright, you might have a led to stand on.

    We have not seen this sort of thing at the highest levels of the Republican Party before. Those of us who wrote about the Christian fundamentalist influence on the Bush administration were alarmed that one of his advisers, Marvin Olasky, was associated with Christian Reconstructionism. It seemed unthinkable, at the time, that an American president was taking advice from even a single person whose ideas were so inimical to democracy. Few of us imagined that someone who actually championed such ideas would have a shot at the White House. It turns out we weren’t paranoid enough. If Bush eroded the separation of church and state, the GOP is now poised to nominate someone who will mount an all-out assault on it. We need to take their beliefs seriously, because they certainly do.

    Scary stuff.

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  4. As a footnote to my previous post, obviously there are many who are not Christian around, and such distinctions don’t mean much.

    I hold the same position whether a person “is” an atheist, agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim or other; it is not a label that matters, it is what the person believes about government as revealed in what they have done and what they say when only friends are around. Otherwise no pro-choice person would vote for John Kerry, because he says he is Catholic, and the leader of the Catholic church is against abortion. It’s not that Woody Allen’s brother(?) thinks he is a chicken that counts, but that he lays eggs. (Final monologue in “Play it Again, Sam”).

    MD in Philly (cd9679)

  5. “Dominionism”? Wha?

    I’m one of those scaaaary Christians who takes their faith seriously and hangs out with others who take their faith seriously, so if “dominionism” was a real thing you’d think I would have heard of it at some point. But this is the first time I’ve ever heard that word.

    And the concept is misapplied anyway: the term is borrowed from Genesis 1, in which God tells Adam and Eve to “[b]e fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” In other words, human beings are placed in a higher position than plants and animals. Which is a concept that upsets PETA to no end :-), but shouldn’t make any rational person worry about Christians wanting political dominion. (There’s also Jesus’ line about “my kingdom is not of this world” to consider, etc., etc.)

    … But then, there’s that pesky little word “rational” again…

    Robin Munn (347954)

  6. so paranoid about the supposed influence of the Reverend Wright

    It’s the eggs that count. If someone thinks it is “paranoid” to take into account the words of Rev. Wright, then one is committed to not bothering about what anyone says about anything, and you’re left thinking everything is equally pointless or important. Typical logical consequences one gets when trying to be a pain rather than say anything thoughtful.

    MD in Philly (cd9679)

  7. It’s not stupider than the throngs of people on the right who claim that Obama is a “secret Muslim”.

    Kman (5576bf)

  8. MD – it as irrational of anyone to think that Rev Hatey had any influence with Barack, despite Barack claiming Rev Hatey as his spiritual adviser and mentor and inspiration.

    JD (318f81)

  9. This is so obvious a Journolist special, like the ‘Two Minute Hate’ on NewsCorps, last month.

    ian cormac (81c5c2)

  10. Jesuses and penises.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  11. If you want to drive a reactionary leftist crazy, ask him to point out where the “the separation of church and state” is in the Constitution.

    TANSTAAFL (bb1ee7)

  12. “Dominionism”? Wha?

    I never heard of it either. I’m guessing Perry and Bachmann also haven’t.

    Gerald A (9d78e8)

  13. If you hang out with serious Christians, by the way, you’ll quickly learn that they’re not out to rule the world in the Dar al-Islam/Dar al-Harb sense, but they’re out to convert the world by persuasion. (Jesus’ final instruction to his followers was to “go and make disciples of all nations, […] teaching them to follow all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20, emphasis mine.)

    In fact, most Christians who’ve studied history are extremely leery of trying to combine Christianity with political power on a systematic scale. We’ve seen what happened when the Catholic Church did it in the Middle Ages, and the results weren’t pretty. The core teachings of Jesus (like loving your neighbor, serving God rather than money, and that those in leadership positions should see themselves primarily as servants) tended to get brushed by the wayside. Which is why the many Christians among the Founding Fathers (yes, some were Deists, but many, like George Washington, were firmly committed to the Christian faith) deliberately did not set up a system where the church would hold political power. Instead, they set up, in Jefferson’s words, a “wall of separation between church and state” (and boy, has that concept ever been mis-applied recently), for two main reasons: 1) so that the state would not be ruled by the church (and the question of “which church should rule?” was one of the problems that had plagued Britain for centuries, and something they desperately wanted to avoid in the U.S.), and 2) so that the church would not be corrupted by political power (this was obviously not a big concern of the atheists, of course).

    But hey, most of the people reading this already agree with me, and those like spartacvs aren’t going to allow themselves to be persuaded by any evidence whatsoever (“Don’t confuse me with the facts, I knows what I knows”), so I’ll stop preaching to the choir and get on with the work I’m supposed to be doing right now. 🙂

    Robin Munn (347954)

  14. #3 -Comment by Spartacvs — 8/16/2011 @ 6:18 am

    Truthfully, don’t you think that Rev. Wright’s certainly very irresponsible if not maniacal rantings and ravings gave some people legitimate reasons to be concerned about his influence on Barack Obame?

    Step back and stop being partisan for a few minutes. Don’t you think that some of Rev. Wright’s rhetoric was certainly threatening, if not maniacal?

    You talk about racists here. Don’t you think that Rev. Wright is a hater, and in view of Obama’s own wacky and vitriolic comments about what he calls “colonialists”, don’t you think that those are examples of his own over-the-top rhetoric? Certainly inappropriate for the POTUS, unlike comments which have ever been made by any other POTUS, well, except for Bill Clinton?

    Or have you rationalized that that is an acceptable form of racism?

    I’m not picking on you. Seriously, I’m trying to understand your rationale.

    Summit, NJ (75c9eb)

  15. I’m always amazed at how amped up these paranoid lefties get over religious stuff they don’t understand. With this Dominionist conspiracy theory about Perry and Bachmann we are supposed to believe they are both waiting to reveal their plots until they win the big prize, rather than tipping their hands through legislation or action earlier. Typical leftist thinking.

    Did the makers of Loose Change hatch this astroturf campaign?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  16. Summit –

    You’re overthinking spartacvs’s rationale; he/she is just throwing every argument he/she has at the wall and trying to make something stick. That’s as far as his/her thinking goes.

    Robin Munn (347954)

  17. The hatred and bigotry expressed by the Left for ordinary, Christian believers is beyond belief.

    And the Left has no shame.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  18. if foo sh*ts wear it
    spurty race imelda for
    the shoes of a clown

    ColonelHaiku (d1f5ff)

  19. One l Michele might could be a kooky dominionist it’s hard to say cause her record of governance is slim but Mr. Perry?

    Mr. Perry has a record what goes back many many moons. He’s very trustworthy.

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  20. Daley-
    It’s the projection again.
    Remember, the one worked very hard while in state legislature to make sure no one knew where he stood on anything by voting “present” (oh, except pro-infanticide in the case of a “failed” abortion, I guess that was important enough to him to peek his head up for a moment, not wanting any young women being “punished” by taking care of a baby- at least until giving it up for adoption…); and once in the US Senate spent most of his time running for president, again keeping a low profile on what he believed.

    MD in Philly (cd9679)

  21. This demonization of the opposition is all part of the left’s very un-pc and very uncivil strategy of hate, fear and stereotyping to turn the other side into such a caricature of evil and idiocy that to associate oneself with them by voting for them is incomprehensible.

    The New Civility!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  22. I would almost guarantee that this idea is being pimped at rawstory, mediamatterz, or thinkregress.

    JD (318f81)

  23. MD in Philly – Of course, which is why he says the words about how it important for us to live within our fiscal means but never publicly offers a plan, all the while holding the country hostage by threatening to veto those which don’t meet his secret criteria.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  24. FWIW… my niece had her hair styled like Michelle Goldberg and the family forced her into exile…

    ColonelHaiku (d1f5ff)

  25. #18 – Comment by happyfeet — 8/16/2011 @ 7:10 am

    Wait for it. You can be sure that Democrats will try to portray Perry as Bush II as an extension of their blame-everything-on-Bush posture of refusing to accept any responsbility for the consequences of their many screw-ups. But I don’t think that it will work.

    Summit, NJ (75c9eb)

  26. 21) Just look at the Journolist cue, it’s packed like that Tunnel in the Stand,

    ian cormac (81c5c2)

  27. Whew. I thought I was going to be the only Christian who had never heard of this.

    Darin H (a8a6bf)

  28. I don’t think it’ll work either. We elected a sadly diminutive flouncy bouncy socialist with zero zip nada nuffin record last time and the thing about Mr. Perry is that he’s got a very lengthy record that is solid and substantial.

    That’s the contrast that will prevail I think.

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  29. #27 – Pfew! Perry is a Godsend. It was getting sticky there for a while.

    Summit, NJ (75c9eb)

  30. I would be more impressed if she wrote “A Jewish Plot for Domination?”

    So, f her.

    S. Carter aka J-Z (786e37)

  31. he’s got a very lengthy record that is solid and substantial.

    Poaching low wage jobs from other states, hows that going to work on the national stage? Is he going to get back all the jobs we lost to Mexico and China by eliminating the minimum wage?

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  32. Mr. Feets – Not to be disagreeable or anything, but “fairness” has such a zippy, upbeat, campaigny, udefinable feel to it what could be next year’s “hope and change” they are waiting for.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  33. “Poaching low wage jobs from other states, hows that going to work on the national stage?”

    Evidence please.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  34. fairness is just redistribution and that’s same as stealin’ I think’

    but bumble doesn’t have any credibility left for to appeal to “fairness” or what have you

    all he can do is piss on people what challenge him

    piss piss piss

    “why is that man pissing on people all the time?” the people will ask each other

    “probably cause you’re all racists, maybe?” the press will reply

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  35. Pretty hilarious Spartacvs since Obama’s record is one of job killing.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  36. Yeah, and don’t forget about all those Uncle Tom black preachers and Sunday School teachers who’re in cahoots with nefarious Christian potentates on the double super secret dastardly plot to take over the whole wide world so Oil Can Harry can have his way with lefty damsels in distress and ensure that our precious bodily fluids remain uncontaminated by sneaky foreign notions like peace and freedom. Sufferin’ succotash!

    ropelight (c63139)

  37. Does Calabresi have no shame, that’s entirely a rhetorical question, as he proved in the Plame case,

    ian cormac (81c5c2)

  38. Mr. Feets – How do you think “piss” will test as a campaign slogan?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  39. Sparty,

    Texas has been “poaching” High Wage Jobs (TM -Obama) from California for decades–So I would have expected low wage jobs to follow too.

    Or, in reality, California has been chasing all employers with fire and pitchforks for decades out of the state (and out of the country). It is not a bug, but a feature of the system.

    Dear California, I am leaving you…

    You see, I love it here in San Diego. The weather is amazing, the beaches are beautiful, and the people are friendly and generally entrepreneurial. It’s a refreshing change from the Bay Area, where everyone seemed like they were always “too busy” to hang out. Here, life is more laid-back, and I’ve grown to appreciate it.

    But one thing I’ve struggled with about California for years is the government. (Yes, I’m going to break my own unspoken rule and wax political on my blog.) The government is notoriously business-unfriendly–with everything from high taxes on business earnings to badgering businesses into more work.)

    Wonder why Texas recently created 1/2 the new jobs in the entire country? Hmmm…

    DNC Chair: 1/2 Jobs Created In U.S. Were In TX But Obama’s Responsible, Not Perry! why would that be???

    What a joke our governments have become.

    BfC (2ebea6)

  40. Pretty ridiculous that Spartacvs thinks that propaganda as sloppy as Wasserman Tests’ is convincing.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  41. Poaching low wage jobs from other states, hows that going to work on the national stage?

    Comment by Spartacvs — 8/16/2011 @ 7:37 am

    The cracks in Rick Perrys job growth record

    Comment by Spartacvs — 8/16/2011 @ 7:55 am

    The article talks about some funds created by Perry to attract companies to move to Texas from other states. It does say those funds are controversial but nowhere does it say the jobs they created are low wage. One of the funds attracts high-tech companies which can’t be low wage.

    You either deliberately misrepresent the article or have low reading comprehension.

    Gerald A (9d78e8)

  42. The article spartacvs linked credits Texas’ job growth to three things: “geology, geography and demography. Texas’ booming energy and petrochemical industries; its ports and proximity to post-NAFTA Mexico; and its steady stream of low-cost labor have all combined to fuel above-average job growth since 1990,” according to the article, which tries to imply that Perry shouldn’t get credit for that.

    Funny thing, though: California has similar advantages. Plenty of oil in the south of the state, not to mention other valuable resources like gold. (Remember 1849?) Ports and proximity to Mexico, check. Steady steam of “low-cost labor” (read: illegal immigrants), check. (I wouldn’t chalk that up as a “job growth advantage” myself given the other costs that illegal immigration impose on society, but perhaps the nuances of the situation escape me). Not to mention Silicon Valley. Yet how many jobs have been created in California, compared to Texas?

    Now, why would that discrepancy exist? Perhaps this list might have something to do with it? Naaaaah, couldn’t be.

    Robin Munn (347954)

  43. Spartacvs is notorious for linking to things that prove his points that … just happen not to prove his points. Or even prove his opponents’, such as when he tried to dispute my claim that Federal receipts historically top out at approx 19% of GDP.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  44. It is frustrating to have one’s beliefs and motivations characterized by people with the opposite beliefs who don’t understand or know anything about them.

    I have heard plenty of the kind of anti-Christian BS presented here but this still appalled me. I’m not sure which is more disturbing, that she would put this garbage out there or that she felt confident she could put this ridiculous piece out there on a national forum and not get laughed out of her profession. The latter is so uncomfortable in it’s implications that my laughter chokes on itself.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  45. The bigotry is disturbing, Machinist.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  46. “Spartacvs is notorious for linking to things that prove his points that … just happen not to prove his points. Or even prove his opponents’”

    SPQR – A remarkably Gleenwaldian characteristic.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  47. Texas has the highest proportion of minimum-wage jobs and the lowest median wage in the country.

    No, the rest of the country doesn’t want to follow TX down that road.

    See the beauty of our system is that workers get to vote too and there are more of them than there are corporatists.

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  48. SpartacBS you effing liar.

    DohBiden (d54602)

  49. She’s a Journolist, this is the publication that has said over the last two years, Christianity is Dead, We are All Socialists now, and We must learn
    to live with Radical Islam,

    ian cormac (81c5c2)

  50. Spartacvs thinks unemployment is better than entry level jobs.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  51. Spurty appears to be intent on proving its stupidity and bigotry again. SHOCKA

    JD (0d2ffc)

  52. Watch — next spartacvs is going to bring up the fact that Texas ranks 47th in the country in average SAT/ACT scores. Pretty lousy results, right?

    Oh, wait.

    So, spartacvs — I’m curious. You keep on coming back to this site, even though you know by now that: 1) nobody respects you, and 2) you’re not changing anyone’s mind with your illogical arguments. Why? What’s so fun about getting repeatedly smacked down with the facts?

    Robin Munn (347954)

  53. And while I’m asking questions that won’t be answered, when’s the last time you visited Japan?

    Robin Munn (347954)

  54. It is puzzling, Robin, given how often we show Spartacvs to be dishonest and incompetent, why he/she returns.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  55. “No, the rest of the country doesn’t want to follow TX down that road.”

    Spvrty – Remind me how the above talking point fits with the population growth and job growth of Texas, you ignorant git.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  56. To disrupt the conversation. Note the last ten comments in a row were about the troll rather than the topic. Mission accomplished.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  57. Spvrty – Read the link @37 if you can read.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  58. Mr. Feets – I would advise Mr. Obama to stick with WTF as his 2012 campaign slogan, since there has been so much WTF? in what he has done so far and what he has said he wants to do in the future.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  59. NOBODY expects the DC Inquisition!
    Our chief weapon is surprise…surprise and fear…fear and surprise…. Our two weapons are fear and surprise…and ruthless efficiency…. Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency…and an almost fanatical devotion to the Tea Party …. Our *four*…no… *Amongst* our weapons…. Amongst our weaponry…are such elements as fear, surprise…. I’ll come in again.

    A. Weiner (d1c681)

  60. At last I have had a revelation. Sparticus is actually the reincarnation of Karl Liebknecht( or maybe Rosa Luxemburg )Who knew?

    BarSinister (e32ad2)

  61. To disrupt the conversation. Note the last ten comments in a row were about the troll rather than the topic. Mission accomplished.

    Comment by Machinist — 8/16/2011 @ 8:38 am

    Yep. They are better at this than they used to be. But this one has practiced for a long time.

    The objective is to reduce criticism of Obama by making everything about trolls or dishonest attacks.

    Their game plan is sheer hostility and nothing more.

    Dustin (b7410e)

  62. The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.

    This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been and are afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.

    The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries.

    That is from the Preamble of the platform of the (so-called) Constitution Party.

    Whether or not any current GOP candidates support Dominionist beliefs is just as relevant as the degree to which Obama supports Liberation Theology beliefs.

    Sam (8d527c)

  63. Back in my younger days I was an active member of an Episcopal church – until I could no longer in good conscience tithe my income to a church that tolerated the heretical teachings of Richard Spong (kind of difficult to stand up & recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday when your church’s leaders don’t believe a word of it) – became a Southern Baptist – got baptized by immersion too (despite the fact that all my life I had heard how SB’s were dumb, ignorant, racist hicks – to my shock, not at all); moved & then became a member of a Church of God (the Pentecostal persuasion); moved again & joined a Fellowship of Grace Brethren church. Plus I had a good friend who was Assembly of God, & I went with her to their revival meetings – people speaking in tongues & getting slain in the spirit left & right. And running the aisles too.

    The latter four of course would be described as evangelical & conservative. But at no time – never – did I hear preached or taught anything resembling Dominionism. Will the Church, as the Bride of Christ, one day triumph? And Jesus reign? Of course! That’s part of Christian teaching. But to willfully misinterpret that to mean some kind of scheme to achieve political power is beyond dumb – to conflate spiritual with political – it’s just deliberate propaganda.

    Just reinforces the idea that liberalism is a mental disease. Or … the symptom of a disease called hate.

    BTW, at the first church, the entire congregation was of the lighter nation. The other churches – all kinds of different skin tones. And cultures. The Left is just so ignorant of true Christianity. They try to dumb it down & water it down to some tasteless gruel peddled by Jim Wallis or try to turn it into Marxist revolutionary tribal religion a la Jeremiah Wright. They don’t get it – they never will – unless & until they allow their eyes to be opened & their ears unstopped by the very One who created them.

    Miranda (4104db)

  64. “I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God” … with “bad luck”

    I guess only a god has bad luck.

    Maybe that whole thing with Jesus and the cross was “bad luck” too.

    Islamic Rage Boy (d1c681)

  65. I missed something. WTH is a dominionist, and how are they remotely related to the Constitutionist party, and WTF does any of that have to do with the current political climate?

    JD (d56362)

  66. How is this different from the Islamophobia shown when Governor Christie appointed a Muslim as a New Jersey trial court judge?

    Michael Ejercito (64388b)

  67. ________________________________________________

    unfathomable stupidity from Newsweek/The Daily Bestiality?

    When studies show that people of the left can be — contrary to stereotype — surprisingly non-generous, uncaring, even rather inhumane people, and that they display such unflattering traits far more than do people on the right, I bet that profile fits Michelle Goldberg to a “T.” Even more so since I can tell she’s the type who oozes contortionist-routine, backflip-rationalizing, disingenuous ultra-liberalism.

    She’s sort of a leftist version of an ultra-rightist who, say, back in the 1960s would have excused away the act of lynching because such a person would proclaim “all colored people are lazy and shiftless and prone to crime.” (BTW, anti-lynching legislation in Congress was considered controversial in the early 1960s).

    I read another essay of Goldberg where she deals with a woman of Islamic background who has become well known for her opposition to Islamicism. But I can tell that Goldberg struggles to be as resentful and indignant about the fanaticism of Mohammed’s theology as she is towards Western religiosity, Christ’s theology in particular.

    People like Goldberg are quite pathetic and disgusting — if not frightening — because they believe their heart and compassion are as pure as gold. Or that by admiring that aspect in humans, and falling for the idea that left-leaning ideology is rooted in such a characteristic, they therefore are excused for all the times they’re phony, dishonest and anything but humane and decent—witness their approach to Stalin, Mao, Castro or Hugo Chavez.

    Informationclearinghouse.com, Michelle Goldberg, March 2008

    Conventional wisdom had already decreed that the liberal [Jeremiah Wright’s] jeremiads against American sin, unlike the equally scathing rants of leading white evangelicals, were so shocking, so outrageous, that Barack Obama’s long association with him was politically toxic. The obvious thing for Obama to do was to try and play down his relationship with the preacher…to sacrifice him to the great banal god of public opinion. Patriotism is itself a religion in the US, and Wright had blasphemed, shouting, in one sermon, that God would damn the country for its unholy treatment of black people, and, in another, that September 11 represented “America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”

    This could have finished Obama’s campaign, the pundits warned, and even his supporters feared they were right. There must have been at least some temptation to repudiate the man outright. Instead, after denouncing Wright’s most inflammatory statements, Obama said this:

    “As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children … I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.”

    The bravery of this doubling down was astonishing. It may also turn out to be politically smart, because by not spinning and denying how close he was to Wright, Obama has shut down months of speculation, taken away the bait that hordes of right-wing journalists and bloggers have been slobbering over.

    We will not have to endure months of breathless exposes attempting to prove the link between the two men. Obama explained it in a way that was full of subtlety and sensitivity, precisely those qualities stomped out of political discourse by endless fusillades of talk-show triviality. He bet – and this is a very risky wager indeed – than Americans are smarter and more discerning than their media.

    That’s why the speech exemplifies the deepest virtue of Obama’s campaign, which is its stand against the politics of picayune bullshit.

    ^ Aw, shucks, Michelle. You’re a beautiful human being. You’re so sophisticated, so tolerant, so kind and understanding. You’re so wonderful compared with the heartless rabble rousers bothered by people like Jeremiah Wright and those who rationalize away — if not embrace — such people’s ideology/theology.

    A big shout out to you, Michelle Goldberg.

    Mark (411533)

  68. SP @52

    Oh yeah that ought to work. Under a Perry administration people may have as many as two or even three jobs. Yipee!

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  69. WTF does any of that have to do with the current political climate?

    Obama knows that every second spent talking about something other than jobs is a relative victory for Obama. There are many other areas to talk about where Obama still looks worse than Perry or Bachmann, and religion is one of those, but it’s better than talking about jobs.

    And if Perry has to deny this accusation about religion, it could alienate somebody out there. It’s hard to say anything about one’s faith that someone out there doesn’t disagree with.

    The democrats are going to rant about Christians and weird Texans and every other silly thing they can, just to bring about these defenses.

    It’s not a winning strategy, but what is their alternative? Other than cutting government seeing the economy recover, that is.

    Dustin (b7410e)

  70. Oh yeah that ought to work. Under a Perry administration people may have as many as two or even three jobs. Yipee!

    Comment by Spartacvs — 8/16/2011 @ 9:35 am

    Just ignoring the facts you presented in a smear effort.

    You can’t very well show what Obama accomplished so you have to lie about Perry.

    Compare Texas to any other large state. Case closed.

    Dustin (b7410e)

  71. So Barcky says it is all just because of evil defense and oil. Spurty says it is all due to McDonalds, and links to something that proves something other than what he claims. Seems the left cannot figure out which lies to run with yet.

    JD (822109)

  72. Dustin, Perry is trumping his experience as Gov. of TX. Do we want the rest of the country to look like TX. It’s a legitimate question for the voters don’t you think?

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  73. Yes and yes.

    Ag80 (f1a661)

  74. Let’s compare and contrast Barcky’s success at community organizing and job killing to Perry’s success at creating jobs. Yes. Please.

    JD (822109)

  75. In Sparty’s world, an unemployment or welfare check from Uncle Sam is far better than a job. That, friends, is liberalism in a nutshell.

    JVW (4d72aa)

  76. Perry’s argument is ‘The government getting out of your way will lead to jobs and prosperity’. It is not ‘Perry personally intruded and manipulated and controlled Texas the way democrats like to, and did it better’.

    So when democrats say ‘Perry is trumping up his record’ they are being disingenuous. The fact is that with less intrusion and a balanced budget, Texas is superior. Perry’s principles are well proven, and have been over a very long period of time.

    Do we want the rest of the country to look like TX

    It’s a wonderful question. And the answer is ‘of course we do’.

    Dustin (b7410e)

  77. Well I would be more than happy to have Perry campaign on the theme of making the rest of the country more like TX. Finally something we can agree on!

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  78. It’s a wonderful question. And the answer is ‘of course we do’.

    Compare to West Virginia. It is no contest.

    Michael Ejercito (64388b)

  79. you kinda have to figure that Perry’s made the calculation that any backlash against his promiscuous religiosity will only help him with Team R primary voters I think

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  80. happy, yes.

    R primary voters anywhere, expect maybe NH, which the Mormon probably has a lock on anyway.

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  81. Apparently “Sam” was a drive-by today. I have no idea what his point was either.

    Icy Texan (9cf674)

  82. This is no fantasy.

    Once I have absolute power, I’m going to make all you guys go to church.

    Every day.

    All day.

    Dave Surls (9b942e)

  83. you kinda have to figure that Perry’s made the calculation that any backlash against his promiscuous religiosity will only help him with Team R primary voters I think

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/16/2011 @ 10:35 am

    I get the sense Perry’s either very lucky, or responsible for the timing of many aspects here. What is the greatest liability in the general will be old news by then.

    It’s too soon to say that I think he’s going to win. Yet I do.

    Dustin (b7410e)

  84. I don’t understand NH I never been there my whole life all I know is that “sununu” is their word for douchebag

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  85. West Virginia, Michael @ 10:33 am?

    Seriously? West Virginia, thanks to previous Gov Joe Manchin, who, despite his Dem status, pushed real alternatives to coal etc during his years as Gov. He was a very pro-growth, pro-business Gov.

    WV’s unemployment rate was 8.5% in June, compared to 8.2% in June for Texas. That rate is really phenomenal when you think of the anti-coal agenda of Obama’s EPA.

    btw I wish Joe Manchin would switch parties already. I am hoping & praying he will. He’s against Obamacare, and pro-life, in addition to being pro-business. He doesn’t belong in the party of Harry Reid & Chuck Schumer & Barbara Boxer.

    Miranda (4104db)

  86. I think he’s gonna win the nomination by a very healthy margin Mr. Dustin

    And then poor bumble isn’t going to be eager to debate Mr. Perry at all at all… he’s just gonna be craving cigarettes the whole time cause he’s gonna be so nervous and twitchy

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  87. happy @82 –

    … any backlash against his promiscuous religiosity …

    Did you mean “prominent”? Because I don’t see any evidence that Perry has changed religions over and over. 🙂

    Robin Munn (347954)

  88. Sparticles, I guess my case must be atypical.

    I make $5,000 more per year here in Texas compared to when I was doing the exact same job, working for the same company, in Arizona.

    That’s right — I moved here because the jobs are better.

    But I’m sure that my situation is the exception. [eye roll]

    Icy Texan (9cf674)

  89. Surls at #85

    Thread winner!

    Icy Texan (9cf674)

  90. “Thread winner!”

    So…where’s my prize?

    Dave Surls (9b942e)

  91. I just mean he likes to spread it around

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  92. Higher pay AND no state income tax.

    Yeah, it sucks out here. Can’t wait to leave [/Sarc]

    Icy Texan (9cf674)

  93. like buttah

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  94. About the only scenario I can see where Perry doesn’t stroll to the nomination is if Ryan runs.

    … Which he’s apparently considering.

    This primary is going to be interesting.

    Robin Munn (347954)

  95. SPQR,
    Thanks for the Texas jobs link. Excellent!

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  96. Machinist, that’s from Glenn Reynolds.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  97. Munn @97

    Let’s hope he leads with his budget to privatize Medicare and SS in order to increase tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. That will be a sure winner in the primary and a sore loser in the general. So I’m all for Ryan throwing his hat into the ring.

    Spartacvs (2d9449)

  98. I entrust my soul to God, and my life to John Moses Browning!

    Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (ce6d84)

  99. -Comment by SPQR — 8/16/2011 @ 11:16 am-

    Fleming didn’t invent penicillin but I still thank him for pointing it out to us.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  100. From the “article”:
    In many ways, Dominionism is more a political phenomenon than a theological one. It cuts across Christian denominations, from stern, austere sects to the signs-and-wonders culture of modern megachurches. Think of it like political Islamism, which shapes the activism of a number of antagonistic fundamentalist movements, from Sunni Wahabis in the Arab world to Shiite fundamentalists in Iran.

    — Yep. No agenda here. Move along. Sheesh!

    Icy Texan (9cf674)

  101. Machinist, you’ve been very witty lately. I’m always clicking on Machinist comments in the side bar now.

    Dustin (b7410e)

  102. Thank you Sir. I’m afraid it will probably pass. I don’t know if I’m turning a new leaf or just milling around.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  103. Is that a vertical, or horizontal, mill?

    Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (ce6d84)

  104. Vertical Sir! Bridgeports rule!!

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  105. A horizontal mill is just a confused lathe.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  106. imdw is just DYING to get a comment through to this thread. 😉

    Stashiu3 (601b7d)

  107. imdw, it’s not the content of your post… it’s that you’re posting at all. You are banned. Your opinions, valid or invalid, are not desired here. The serial dishonesty you displayed caught up to you. Any comment you successfully post will be deleted, no matter how true or untrue.

    Do you get that? It doesn’t matter. Begone.

    Stashiu3 (601b7d)

  108. Thank you. I needed that. 🙂

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  109. Michelle Goldberg is one of those women who assumes she embodies modern feminism. Sadly, she lacks the self-awareness to see her own paradoxically smug irrelevancy.

    Althouse showed us just how much so as Goldberg searched for a feminist theme in the Norwegian massacre.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  110. I don’t know that alienating a large swath of the population is a good strategy, but it is a strategy.

    But it must feel real good to repressed Stalinists because they seem to love it so.

    Ag80 (9a213d)

  111. What I like about Sparticvs/Hax’s Dumber Brother/Sir Robin/Whatever is how he makes this hysterical Freudian slips. Because he is so smart. Like:

    “…Dustin, Perry is trumping his experience as Gov. of TX….”

    Now, I realize that Sir Robin meant “…trumpeting his experience” and all. But the dictionary definition of “trumping” is pretty delicious.

    He just isn’t very smart, this troll. But very self important. Like DCSCA without spell check.

    Simon Jester (cdcfc2)

  112. Which is why the many Christians among the Founding Fathers (yes, some were Deists, but many, like George Washington, were firmly committed to the Christian faith)

    Two quibbles with that. AFAIK the only Deist among them was Paine, and that was one reason he was so despised. Also AFAIK Washington was not a Christian in the generally accepted sense of that term; he was a unitarian, as was Jefferson and many others in that clique. They believed firmly in a Creator who is aware of what we do, guides our fate, and listens to prayer, but they did not believe Jesus is that God. Patrick Henry, who was an orthodox Christian (though not an Orthodox one) got stick from his fellow Christians for associating with those infidels at the White House.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  113. How is this different from the Islamophobia shown when Governor Christie appointed a Muslim as a New Jersey trial court judge?

    I assume you’re being sarcastic. There was no islamophobia shown on that occasion; merely a perfectly reasonable concern at the new judge’s Islamist connections.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  114. This is no fantasy.

    Once I have absolute power, I’m going to make all you guys go to church.

    Every day.

    All day.

    Then it’s a good thing you’re not running for absolute power, and nor is any Republican, isn’t it? Republicans don’t want absolute power, because they believe nobody ought to have it. Democrats, OTOH, do run for and would like to have it, and try to arrogate it to whatever positions they do achieve.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  115. If I had to choose between the terrible, evil Christian plot for domination and the existing plot for domination by racist socialists like Obama, Wright, Ayers (who wants to murder tens of millions) et. al., I’ll take the Christians.

    ErisGuy (f98b1a)

  116. About the only scenario I can see where Perry doesn’t stroll to the nomination is if Ryan runs.

    Well, I’m still holding out for Palin, but I agree that both Perry and Ryan would be formidable candidates and I can easily see either of them persuading me to switch. And of course there’s always the possibility that Palin may decide that with those two excellent candidates in the race the country doesn’t need her.

    My concerns about Ryan are that he has no executive experience and that he’s so young; if I were he I would be looking to stay another term in the House, see the budget through with a Republican president, and then in 2014 see whether Governor Walker is ready to move on to Washington, in which case I’d go for his position. Then I’d set my sights on 2020.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  117. Holder apparently told Issa and Grassley he was requesting the transcript for the DOJ and for the Office of the Inspector General — the entity that’s supposed to be distinct enough from Holder’s office to conduct a fair Operation Fast and Furious investigation.

    Holder and other DOJ officials have repeatedly said the DOJ’s Inspector General is conducting its own internal investigation into what went wrong with Fast and Furious. Even so, Holder’s latest request on behalf of the OIG sparks skepticism from investigators in Congress.

    Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/08/17/holder-requests-fast-and-furious-docs-from-issa-grassley-for-independent-investigation/#ixzz1VNx4TYBY

    ian cormac (81c5c2)

  118. Hmmmm, Special prosecutor, anyone?

    Maybe Fitzgerald (right? not Fitzpatrick or some other name giving me Fitz) is looking for something to do.

    It is true that two wrongs do not make a right, but there is something to be said that as long as wrongs are being done, let them be equal. I am sure there is more to this wrongdoing than there was in letting people in Washington who didn’t already know Plame worked for the CIA that she indeed did (and that was how she got her husband a job gathering intelligence for the CIA, which was the issue, after all).

    MD in Philly (d6c18e)

  119. Doc, I think Fitz is still following paths generated by the case against the IL Gov (or at least I hope he is – there seem to be a lot of unanswered questions in that matter).
    No, it might be good to bring in somebody from outside – some have called for the appointment of J.Christian Adams to the position, knowing how much affection he has for Holder & Co.

    Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (52c114)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1543 secs.