Jerry Falwell

The Totalitarian Rick Santorum: Barry Goldwater Would Have Opposed Him Vehemently!

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48 years ago, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona led the Republican Party to total disaster in the Presidential Election of 1964. He was seen as dangerous in foreign policy, and wishing to wipe out the New Deal of FDR. And he had a tendency to have a loose mouth!

But if Barry Goldwater was alive today and involved in following the political scene, he would be vehemently against former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum without any doubt. The question is why would this be so?

The answer is that Barry Goldwater throughout his life was a libertarian, who believed that people’s PRIVATE lives were just that, private! He would be opposed to any interference in the social issues that the Republican Party is so wedded to in today’s political environment.

He made it clear over time in his later years that he was opposed to the Religious Right, the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition, led by preachers such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. He believed in total separation of church and state, and believed it was not the business of politicians to get involved in religious causes and promotion.

Goldwater declared his opposition to the so called Pro Life movement, believing in the right of women to control their own bodies, and therefore, to abortion rights.

Goldwater would have been shocked to have politicians wish to outlaw contraception, therefore effectively promoting poor people having children they could not afford, and which would impoverish them further.

Goldwater believed also in gay rights, and in no discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military, stating that in a foxhole, no one would care about another’s sexual orientation, as long as one could shoot straight!

Goldwater would be stunned at the support that Rick Santorum received in last night’s primary in Missouri, and caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado. He would condemn the totalitarian mind of Santorum, who complains about government interfering in any form in economic regulation, but has no problem in interference in social regulation!

Santorum has a wife who adores him, and gave up her profession of law to produce eight children for him. She looks at him as if he is perfect, a god like figure, in itself a sickening display! That may be fine for Rick and his wife, if she chooses to be like a 1950s “Ozzie and Harriet” or “Father Knows Best” wife. But it is NOT what a vast majority of women in America are going to allow in their lives, that the men order them around and control their very existence!

And gay Americans are not going to allow a hate monger, religious zealot like Rick Santorum to control who they love or marry, or any other aspect of their lives!

The candidacy of Rick Santorum will NOT be accepted by the nation at large, and if the GOP is smart, they will stop him as a danger to basic human rights and freedom, with his totalitarian ideas!

The Total Hypocrisy Of Christian Conservatives: Not Interested In Social Justice!

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President Obama spoke this morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, giving the usual impressive speech he is capable of, and spoke of his Christian beliefs including the need to care for others, and give up some of what he has to help others.

For this, he was immediately attacked by Christian conservatives led by Ralph Reed, who used to work with the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition led by Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, as Reed asserted that Obama is distorting the message of Christianity by promoting activism to assist those less fortunate. Obama endorsed Social Justice Christianity, something advocated as early as a century ago during the Progressive Era by such ministers as Washington Gladden, Walter Rauschenbusch, and Josiah Strong.

Reed, now associated with the Faith and Freedom Coalition, argued that Christianity had nothing to do with what Obama advocated: caring for the least among us (the poor), being your brother’s keeper, and demanding much of those to whom much has been given.

The Republicans intend to make religion, their conservative Christianity, an issue, as they declare war on Barack Obama, who they claim is out to destroy religion. Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich have made this a key issue specifically. Their sick view of religion would be enough for anyone of conscience to wish to be an atheist, rather than a hypocrite!

Holy War In Play: Social Conservatives Against Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, And Separation Of Church And State!

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Social conservatives have always been a problem for the Republican Party since the rise of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and the Moral Majority, Christian Coalition and their associated groups, including large numbers of Tea Party Movement activists.

Insisting that separation of church and state are not the beliefs of the Founding Fathers who created our Constitution, the evangelical Right has been exasperated over the performance in office of Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush, and discontented with the candidacies of Bob Dole in 1996 and John McCain in 2008.

So now, a large group of these social conservatives, including many religious leaders and wealthy businessmen, have met in Texas, and decided to coalesce around former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum as the best hope to stop former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.

More than two thirds of those gathered in Texas decided that Texas Governor Rick Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had too many weaknesses and shortcomings, and that Santorum, who has emphasized his opposition to gay rights and abortion rights, was their “man”!

These religious right wingers are desperate to defeat Barack Obama, but see Romney as a “Massachusetts liberal”, and many are uncomfortable with a Mormon running for the Presidency, as many of them see the Church of Latter Day Saints as a cult.

It will be interesting to see whether the Evangelical Right will be able to stop Romney from being the nominee, and stop Barack Obama from having a second term of office in the White House.

The whole idea of a Mormon candidate against a mixed race President, who is black in appearance, drives these religious fanatics crazy. The whole concept of separation of church and state, and the idea of personal freedom of individuals to control their own lives, drive these extremists to fury and anger.

Hate is the key word here, and it seems likely that the evangelical Right will lose on both counts, and America will be the better for their repudiation!

The Total Hypocrisy Of Evangelical Christian Minister Pat Robertson: Divorce Mate If He Or She Has Alzheimers Disease!

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Evangelical Christian Minister Pat Robertson has long been a leader in the Christian Right Movement, having been involved in the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition groups in the 1980s and 1990s. along with others, including the late Jerry Falwell.

Robertson has long been controversial for his statements and actions, regarding liberals, environmentalists, feminists, gays and other groups. And he also ran for President in the Republican primaries of 1988, claiming that God was behind him.

He has always emphasized “family values” on his Christian Broadcasting Network, and continues to have millions of followers, despite his controversial stands on many issues.

Now 81, he made the controversial statement after the Mid Atlantic Earthquake in August that it was caused by people who “act gay”. He had earlier blamed September 11 on the various groups mentioned above.

He has been known for statements far greater in number than the above, all of which would make anyone wonder about his sanity and his ethics!

But now, in the latest controversy, he suggests that IF a person has a mate who has Alzheimers Disease, it is proper to divorce and find someone else!

Imagine that: forget the vows one takes in marriage regarding being there in sickness and in health, till death do us part. Instead, pursue one’s own selfish interests, and give up all morals and ethics, as long as you put yourself first!

What kind of a religious leader would preach such outrageous ideas to his followers, many of whom are young, and already live in a society where marriage is not valued, and divorce is looked at as something to be expected?

Pat Robertson should give up his ministry and his television network and stop speaking out, as everything he professes is simply poison, hate, and insanity!

And one has to wonder if he has the early signs of Alzheimers Disease himself! What a disgraceful “good Christian” this man is, an embarrassment to the concept of Jesus Christ and religion!

Margaret Hoover And The Future Of The Republican Party: Eliminate Social Conservatism And The Religious Right Influence

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Margaret Hoover is the great granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover, and has written a new book entitled AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISM, in which she promotes the ideas of her great grandfather as the way for the Republican Party to grow and succeed in the future, by drawing the support of voters under 35 with their often expressed view of economic conservatism mixed with social liberalism.

Hoover says that social issues have damaged the Republican Party, and that they have become tied to the evangelical Right on such issues as abortion and gay rights and school prayer, and that these issues should not be connected to the party platform, as they cause the loss of support among those under 35.

Separation of church and state should be promoted, as it was until the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the party was influenced and captured by the Christian Coalition of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and other evangelicals who have become influential factors in Iowa and elsewhere, and have a tremendous influence on the Presidential nominating process and the Congress.

Even if one does not agree with Margaret Hoover’s promotion of economic conservatism, one can sympathize with her view that the Republican Party needs to stop being captive to the religious Right, liberate itself, and if it does so, it will have a better, long term future competing for the younger more socially liberal voting population, which has grown dramatically in recent years.

And as far as the evangelical Christian right is concerned, they have every right to run a third party candidate, but their influence over the major parties should be eliminated, and we should return to the concept of separation of church and state in American politics.

Why Not The Equal Rights Amendment For Women 40 Years After Its Origin?

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The Republican Party has actively been promoting amendment after amendment to the Constitution in the past two years, and the thought has emerged that it is time to re-introduce the failed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, passed through Congress in 1972, reaching 35 states ratification by 1976, and then collapsing, with no more support, and failing of ratification by 1982, three states short of adoption.

Women have seen their fortunes change amazingly these past four decades, and are now the majority of the work force, attending universities at a higher percentage than men, and entering all of the professions in tremendous numbers, with them being the majority in more and more occupations.

Women have been “liberated” from the old controls that religion and conservative values put on them, and there are even many Republican women in the House of Representatives and a few in the US Senate.

So why not promote the adoption of the amendment which would put women into the Constitution directly, for only the second time, after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote after a 72 year battle in 1920?

Even the arguments used by evangelist Jerry Falwell and conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, among others, no longer have any validity, as if they had justification at the time of the ERA!

These and other critics argued that passage of the ERA would:

1. Promote Lesbian marriage–which now exists in six states and Washington, DC.
2. Advocate Unisex public toilets–which now exist all over the nation in shopping malls and many hotels and other public restroom locations.
3. Allow the involvement in combat situations of women in the military–which now occurs on a regular basis.

With all of the great advancements of woman in the past two generations, this is the time to institutionalize what has happened by laws and by natural evolving over that time!

We should put Republicans on the line for a modern Equal Rights Amendment, make them stand up for human rights for women, at a time when Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin are potential future Presidents! They, the other women in the Republican party in Congress, and the men of the party, need to show that they believe in true EQUALITY for women and have no problem making it a permanent part of the US Constitution, that they claim they revere!

The Centennial Of Ronald Reagan: Myth And Reality

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Today is the centennial of President Ronald Reagan’s birth, and it begins a year of commemorative events relating to our 40th President.

Ronald Reagan was a very charismatic leader, handsome even at an older age than any other President, and very charming and personable. It was hard not to like Reagan as a human being, and he could be very funny, and played the ceremonial role of the President as if he was the Queen of England!

But many myths have been built up around Ronald Reagan in the years since he left the Presidency, and particularly in the years since his death at age 93 in June 2004.

The myths have sustained the Tea Party Movement of the past two years, and have motivated the ignorant, poorly educated Sarah Palin, who was the absolutely wrong person to speak at commemorative events this weekend in southern California! It is a travesty to assert, as some do, that Sarah Palin is the heir to Ronald Reagan, as she has no clue as to his accomplishments, shortcomings, and motivations. Reagan would be shocked that Sarah Palin is speaking in his honor, a point well made by son Ron Reagan, Jr.!

Ronald Reagan restored our defenses which helped to lead to the breakdown of the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan restored a sense of patriotism and honor after the difficult years following the Vietnam War’s sad ending. And Ronald Reagan was an inspirational leader in his rhetoric, stimulating the American people like no one since John F. Kennedy.

But Ronald Reagan had many shortcomings and failures, which are conveniently forgotten by his supporters in the Republican Party and Tea Party Movement, or better still, many are totally unaware of the reality of his record in office!

This is a man who tripled the national debt, beginning the long downhill trend in responsible economic policy which has led to the present massive national debt problem that is the leading economic crisis since the Great Depression!

This is a man who set back civil rights, labor rights, the environment, and worsened the plight of the poor, while promoting the rich getting richer, and the middle class becoming poorer, via giving major tax cuts to the rich, but adding to the tax burden of the middle class!

This is a man who ignored human rights in many countries, and allied with Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, who both turned against the United States after we armed both of them so readily!

This is a man who reacted to a terrorist attack on our troops in Beirut, Lebanon, by withdrawing from the Middle East, something his supporters try to make believe did not happen!

This is a man who talked about the social issues of the Moral Majority led by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, and yet never followed through on them more than rhetoric, and hardly ever went to church or associated with his children, preferring to spend his personal time with his wife Nancy without their children!

This was a man who was tough with the Soviet Union, but negotiated significant arms agreements with Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s, and had a vision of banning nuclear weapons worldwide over the long haul!

This was a man who talked about smaller government, but actually increased the size of the government, and created a new cabinet agency of Veterans Affairs and backed off on a campaign pledge to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy, which many Republicans today would love to destroy!

And the myth that is probably most believed is that Ronald Reagan was supremely popular throughout his time in the Presidency, which is the furthest thing from the truth, as he was more popular AFTER his Presidency, particularly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1994. Much of the time during his eight years in office, his public opinion ratings floundered. John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and George H W Bush were all more generally popular in the polls than Ronald Reagan, as hard as that is to believe!

Ronald Reagan may be the patron saint of the far right today, but in many ways, it is clear that he would not approve of the inflexibility of his party in Congress, and the loony, nutty behavior of many of its top leaders, as well as the right wing talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel!

Historians will be writing about Ronald Reagan for all time, and he will continue to be one of the most fascinating and significant Presidents we have had, but the concept that he was an ideal President who mostly succeeded in making the country a better place will continue to be contested by those who wish to look at reality, rather than promote a myth!

But then, mythology around Presidents is a popular activity, and it makes the job of historians only the more important, to separate truth from propaganda. So the work of demythologizing Ronald Reagan continues in earnest!

Pat Robertson Rears His Ugly Head: The Haitian Earthquake

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Lately, I had been thinking about what happened to Pat Robertson, who has been out of the news recently. It was a relief that he had not spouted his hypocritical brand of evangelical Christianity that promotes hate and prejudice instead of the true Christian spirit.

But lo and behold, Pat has just spoken up on the tragedy of the Haitian Earthquake, possibly the worst earthquake of modern times in the Western Hemisphere, and the latest natural disaster to hit the poor country of Haiti, coming on top of four hurricanes in 2008.

Robertson’s poison was to say that the Haitians two hundred years ago had made a pact with the devil by fighting against French control of their country, with many adopting Voodoo in opposition to French Christianity.

Robertson needs to be silenced, as he is promoting hate and racism, nothing new for him, but despicable in the midst of such a great national crisis. But then, one must remember that it was the same Pat Robertson who, after September 11, blamed the event on gays, feminists, environmentalists and liberals.

That other notorious evangelical Christian leader, Jerry Falwell, has been taken from us by his God,with no loss to mankind. Let’s hope that Pat Robertson soon will be silenced by a loving God who realizes how Pat has distorted the message of true Christianity: to be thy brother’s keeper and promote love and tolerance, not hate and prejudice and division! 🙁