Once again as they have for the passed forty year are warning that America is threatened not just by foreign terrorists but by a fifth column of anti-American anti-free Market socialists and communists and liberals.
They characterize President Obama as a foreigner and a secret Muslim, a Communist, a socialist, as evil as Hitler, as the Anti-Christ, a black supremacist out to destroy America.
These values voters the inheritors of Rev. Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority believe that the very principles upon which America was founded are being discarded and dismissed as old fashioned.
The problem is their reading of American history is at odds with the reality of the the beliefs of the founding fathers whom they claim to revere.
For instance they believe Religious Freedom and the Separation of Church and State are misunderstood. Since they believe America is a Christian nation based upon Judeo-Christian values and other beliefs whether Islam or Buddhism or Paganism or atheism etc. should not be granted the equal rights with Christianity and Judaism.
One of the keynote speakers Gary Bauer for example has been associated with the extremist Theocrats known as "Dominionists" for the last twenty years .
The Dominionists and Reconstructionists favor a form of theocracy and local government . Many of the policies and laws which they publicly object to which are adhered to in strict Islamic countries they themselves would in some cases approve of in their Theocratic America such as criminalizing Homosexuality, adultery, pre-marital sex, blasphemy and would favor curtailing the rights of women and certain ethnic racial minorities. They are sometimes savvy enough though to hide their intentions behind a more politically correct rhetoric. Though some like Michelle Bachmann and Christine O'Donnell just blurt things out not realizing how extreme they sound to the mainstream and even to mainstream conservatives and members of the GOP.
What is disturbing is these wacky characters and "True Believers " and cynical manipulative media personalities and graven self-promoting politicians and pundits are heroes to millions of Americans. These Americans especially those who are not wealthy are unable to see these elitist and religious fanatics for what they really are.
"But the most glaring problem of the Values Voter Summit is not the sin of commission but rather the sin of omission.From: The Values Voter Summit Vs. The Census Data On Poverty by Paul Raushenbush,at Huffington Post Sept. 18, 2010 ( see more below)
The Values Voter Summit wants to bring God, and more specifically Christianity and the values of the New Testament into politics. But anyone who has read the words of Jesus knows what his values are - and they don't include strengthening the military. Jesus came to give life abundant to all people, to liberate the captive, bring freedom to the oppressed and called the poor blessed. There is not one thing that Jesus talks more about than the need for justice for the poor. In fact, the word poor occurs in the bible over 2,000 times. Any attempt to bring religious or Christian values into politics must make justice for the poor a priority - or they are not truly representing the Gospel."
Comparing the ideology and prejudices and over generalizations of all Muslims as being "terrorists" and "Jihadists is like claiming all white protestant men are the same. That is to say that all white protestant men in the past or present are to be held accountable for the centuries of injustices and bigotry committed by white protestant American men against all those Americans who were different from them in order to maintain their privileged status.
"Using the same logic as those who group all Muslims under one America-hating banner, the answer would appear to be yes. And if we follow this same ignorant logic, it would indeed make sense to begin protesting the building of Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist churches near hallowed sites that are supposed to symbolize the highest ideals and values of the American experiment: religious freedom, opportunity for all, equality before the law, sacrifice for a greater good, and so on.
Forget about diversity within white Protestantism—the Social Gospel and pacifists, or communitarian movements and Unitarianism—in this worldview. "
Above Quote from Dangerous Religion Which religion has proved the most violent and destructive in US history? The answer should not be a surprise. # By Gary Laderman August, 20, 2010 at Religion Dispatches (see more at end of post)
MSNBC w/ Cenk: Values Voters Summit 2010
TYTInterviews | September 17, 2010
Cenk Uygur (host of The Young Turks) filling in for Dylan Ratigan on MSNBC talks to Politico's Andy Barr about the 2010 Values Voters Summit.
also see Values Voters Summit website
Protect Marriage • Champion Life • Strengthen the Military • Limit Government Control Spending • Defend Our Freedomsand from
The Ed Show: PSYCHO'S SUMMITSeptember 17, 2010 MSNBC The ED Show http://MOXNews.com
For instance here is Newt Gingrich speaking at Ralph Reeds "the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference and Strategy Briefing " Sept. 10, 2010.
Newt Gingrich begins by saying the Public schools should be teaching religion , Christian Morality/Puritanism and then knowledge which he erroneously claims all of the Founding Fathers of America believed .
He argues that the notion of a "social gospel" is at odds with America's and Christianity's basic principles.
But many Christian theologians would strongly disagree . But Gingrich's form of Christianity is really" Americanized Christianity" which is a perverted form of the message of Jesus.
Gingrich 's version of Christianity is quite similar to that of Billy Sunday at the beginning of the twentieth century. According to Gingrich Jesus was a warrior and would approve of a massive military budget while the poor, the disabled, the mentally ill , the unemployed, single mothers are given just scraps from Gingrich's banquet table. According to these Pseudo-Christians Jesus favored torture and the abuse and humiliation of POWs and the destruction of whole cities in blatant acts of revenge . (Fallujah/Basra/ Baghdad)
Jesus they say also hated all those who refused to follow him and so were deserving of being exiled, shunned ,incarcerated, or executed . (Sounds like the Taliban)
Their Jesus would be against gun control and unions and universal Healthcare and racial integration.
Newt Gingrich in agreement with Glenn Beck Trashes Christ' Message Of The Social Gospel at Faith & Freedom Conference, Sept. 10, 2010. Jesus loves the prosperous and hates the poor.
The danger to America and to its notions of a liberal democracy could be quite alarming if these various groups could be brought together-that is the joining of Glenn Beck's Restoring America and the Tea Party movement added to Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition and Christian Coalition with the likes of Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove who both gave speeches at Ralph Reed's event combine this with the alarmist and hate-filled and hate Mongering right wing media which daily attacks the Obama administration and its supporters then this could represent a real challenge to Democrats, liberals, moderate Republicans
Michelle Bachmann to alter American government by election or revolution or insurrection.
If the American people or "Real Americans" such as those at The Values Voters Summit or those in the Tea Party etc. can not alter the current criminal administration through elections then by what means can they? This is the question left unanswered.
Video of Michelle Bachmann at Freedom's Lighthouse website
Values Voter Summit – Michele Bachmann: “Would you Like to Alter your Congress, President, Supreme Court?”
God's Party God's Country Theocracy
From today's Christian Reich confab in DC.
via Joe.My.God blog
Tea Party pick O'Donnell: 'We are our country' at Values Voters Summit
The poor get poorer and the rich get richer-the American Way
God these Uberconservatives tell us has a plan -the faithful get rich the unfaithful stay poor.
These elitist and right wing ideologues praise selfishness, greed and materialism while tapping into feelings of resentment and continue to promulgate fear & lies while twisting the Gospel to fit with their own free-market place unfettered capitalism which they claim is what Jesus preached in his power-point lectures .
The Values Voter Summit Vs. The Census Data On Poverty by Paul Raushenbush,at Huffinton Post Sept. 18, 2010
With a startling lack of self awareness, the Values Voter Summit began their conference two days after the census report on poverty levels was released. However, poverty is not what concerns these 'Values Voters.' According to their website their values instruct them to: "Protect Marriage • Champion Life • Strengthen the Military • Limit Government • Control Spending • Defend Our Freedoms."
Now these objectives do represent values - but whose?
To begin with, there is a schizophrenic quality to the values of these voters. They want to control spending, but strengthen the military; and they want to limit government and defend our freedom, but want the government controlling personal morality and affection. These desires work at cross purposes with one another and certainly put the 'Value Voter' at odds with the 'Tea Partier.'
But the most glaring problem of the Values Voter Summit is not the sin of commission but rather the sin of omission.
The Values Voter Summit wants to bring God, and more specifically Christianity and the values of the New Testament into politics. But anyone who has read the words of Jesus knows what his values are - and they don't include strengthening the military. Jesus came to give life abundant to all people, to liberate the captive, bring freedom to the oppressed and called the poor blessed. There is not one thing that Jesus talks more about than the need for justice for the poor. In fact, the word poor occurs in the bible over 2,000 times. Any attempt to bring religious or Christian values into politics must make justice for the poor a priority - or they are not truly representing the Gospel.
Now I know that this sets me up as an adherent of liberation theologian or the social gospel - well those titles do not offend me. But I prefer the title of Christian. A Christian who understands the values Jesus preached and is trying to bring them into the society in which I live. The news that one out of seven of my sisters and brothers are in poverty requires a Christian response. Those who want to infuse our country with values cannot continue to bless an economic playing field that radically increases the gap between the rich and the poor leaving us without a middle class.
Christine O'Donnell fights back at Values Voter Summit By Felicia Sonmez and Paul Farhi at Washington Post, September 18, 2010
It's unclear whether Christine O'Donnell will be coming to Washington for the long haul. But on Friday afternoon, social conservatives meeting in the nation's capital welcomed her as their ascendant star.
Pick your metaphor: O'Donnell, the winner of the Delaware Republican Senate primary and a darling of the "tea party" movement, was the rookie of the year, the ingénue sensation and the It Girl of the Values Voter Summit, the Family Research Council's annual gathering of roughly 2,000 social conservatives from across the country.
Speaking at the end of a long line of national Republican luminaries, including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, O'Donnell electrified a ballroom of activists with a message aimed squarely at her critics -- both inside and outside the GOP establishment.
"They're trying to say we're taking over this party or that campaign," O'Donnell said to a raucous reception. "They don't get it. We're not trying to take back our country. We are our country."
The Values Voter crowd, a collection of antiabortion activists, anti-same-sex marriage advocates and Christian conservatives, has been a key constituency for Republican candidates on the national stage, propelling the likes of Huckabee and Romney.
The enthusiasm with which O'Donnell was greeted Friday afternoon stood in stark contrast to the dour assessments of her electoral viability, even after her stunning upset of establishment Rep. Mike Castle (R).
O'Donnell has been attacked from within her own party as an extremist gadfly out of touch with the generally moderate to liberal Delaware electorate.
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Former White House adviser Karl Rove dismissed O'Donnell the night of her win, telling Fox News's Sean Hannity that "there were a lot of nutty things she has been saying that don't add up."
You wouldn't know it from her appearance Friday at Washington's Omni Shoreham Hotel. O'Donnell was the recipient of multiple standing ovations during her 18-minute remarks. Her speech elicited so much emotion from the crowd that some attendees in the few first few rows had eyes welled with tears.
Such an emotional outpouring may reflect the sentiment among many social conservatives that they, much like O'Donnell, have been underestimated and undervalued by the media and political establishment.
Christine O’Donnell Takes The Values Voters Summit By Storm By Gary P Jackson at A Time For Choosing Sept. 18, 2010
Christine O’Donnell made an appearance on Friday at the Value Voters Summit In Washington, D.C. On Friday. This was Christine’s first major outing since her crushing victory over Mike Castle and the GOP
establishment on Tuesday.
Dangerous Religion Which religion has proved the most violent and destructive in US history? The answer should not be a surprise. # By Gary Laderman August, 20, 2010 at Religion Dispatches
...it is a question at the heart of the debates surrounding mosques and Muslims in America today. The opposition against building an Islamic center near the site where the World Trade Center once stood, and the growing outcry around the country about the creation of other Muslim places to gather and worship, suggests that many Americans are not afraid to answer the question without hesitation.
In the post-9/11 world we now live in, Islam poses the greatest threat to American lives and security; a nefarious, fanatical religion that can bring death and destruction to innocent people, that disregards our laws and codes of conduct, and that is prone to acts of violence beyond the pale of civilized society. At least this is the message we are hearing more and more frequently in the news, especially in the wake of President Obama’s recent statements; views espoused by religious and political leaders as well as average American citizens fearful of Muslims abroad and at home.
...So let me be even bolder and say that Protestants, and even more specifically, Anglo-European Protestant men, would appear to be the most dangerous religious individuals in American history. Without question white Protestant males from the colonial era to the dawn of the twenty-first century have inflicted more pain, more suffering, more terror than any other individuals in this so-called “city on a hill.”
This historical perspective is placed in sharp relief by a new book that coincidentally arrived in the mail as I was preparing to write this piece last week. Religious Intolerance in America: A Documentary History, edited by John Corrigan and Lynn S. Neal, is chock full of fascinating documentation pointing to this interpretation, providing evidence that throughout US history the perpetrators of religiously-inspired violence have usually been white Protestant men fearful of non-Protestant communities. It’s an easy case to make with or without the book when commonly known events from historical eras are brought to mind:
• In colonial America, Protestant men burned witches at the stake, hanged Quakers on the gallows, destroyed indigenous surrounding cultures, and supported the heinous slave trade bringing Africans to North America.
• In the early national period and through the antebellum era, white Protestant males continued the wanton devastation of Native American tribes as the American territories expanded; inflicted horrible suffering on slaves by tearing families apart, raping innocent women, and killing blacks as if they were not human beings; murdered Joseph Smith and harassed early Mormon followers; and discriminated against Catholics in both subtle and overtly hostile acts of violence.
• In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, men associated with Protestant churches espoused awful anti-Semitic views that led to the lynching of Leo Frank and a host of discriminatory practices against Jews, harassed freed blacks and others by wearing white hoods and engaging in despicable, cowardly, and murderous acts, and enacted numerous policies that forced Native peoples to convert to Christianity.
• From the early decades of the twentieth century on through to the end of the twentieth century, white Protestants made sure that Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps on the West coast, joined a variety of Christian militia movements spread across rural America that promoted violence against the federal government, and participated in a range of hate crimes against blacks, gays, and others deemed to be enemies worthy of discrimination and brutality.
and comparing the generalizations made about Muslims to those which could also be made about Christian Protestants he concludes:
Is it Fair to Generalize?
Throughout American history white Protestant men enjoyed privilege and opportunities not available to others, and asserted that the destiny of the nation belonged to them under the providential power of their God. And they had no qualms about creating laws to oppress those less fortunate or taking the law into their own hands to lash out against the perceived threats to their version of a Christian nation. Racist views, economic injustices, and political machinations were rationalized by religiously-inspired, divinely-sanctioned hatred emanating from the home, the streets, and even, at times, from the churches they attended.
Did every single white Protestant male share exactly the same perspectives on blacks, Native Americans, Catholics, gays, and others? Were all white Protestant men guilty of heinous actions based on the cruelties and violence perpetrated by segments of the Protestant communities? Is it fair to generalize about an entire religion by singling out the acts of specific individuals associated with that religion?
Using the same logic as those who group all Muslims under one America-hating banner, the answer would appear to be yes. And if we follow this same ignorant logic, it would indeed make sense to begin protesting the building of Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist churches near hallowed sites that are supposed to symbolize the highest ideals and values of the American experiment: religious freedom, opportunity for all, equality before the law, sacrifice for a greater good, and so on. Forget about diversity within white Protestantism—the Social Gospel and pacifists, or communitarian movements and Unitarianism—in this worldview.
But no one in their right mind would use the kind of simplistic, odious, ill-informed logic we hear so frequently in the news and originating from the blogosphere and mainstream media about Muslims. Muslim-Americans who worked and died in the World Trade Center, who are pillars of their local communities, who participate in significant interfaith efforts—all of these religious human beings are utterly and completely disregarded in the vile rhetoric spewing from those who oppose ensuring Muslims have the same rights as other Americans. Even white Protestant Americans who belong to the same religion as those in the past who have been killers, fanatics, and terrorists.
Ralph Reed: Ralph Reed’s Synergy with the Religious Right by Sarah Posner at Religion DispatchesSept. 10,2010.
...the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference and Strategy Briefing today, Ralph Reed's inaugural effort at reconstituting the Christian Coalition for the 21st century. There aren't that many attendees here -- probably a couple of hundred people in the main ballroom to hear this morning's speakers -- but Reed has competition from a couple of different tea party events going on around town today.It's clear that Reed seeks synergy with those groups -- he asked the audience at one point how many of them had been at Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally (a few) and how many were planning on going to Sunday's 9/12 march (again, just a few). Most, though, had been to some sort of tea party event.
But while much homage has been paid here to the tea party's anti-government positions, the "faith" part of FFC's message has also been on display. (As I write this, I'm listening to the session "Politics and Culture: Marriage and Family Issues in 2010," which is all about, well, what the speakers think the Bible means and how religious freedom is under assault.) Reed even told a story about how God speaking through Sean Hannity prompted him to launch the FFC.
But the turnout at Reed's event is a fraction of the usual turnout at the annual Values Voters Summit, slated to take place next week. But Reed wants to work with them -- Tony Perkins and Ken Blackwell of the Family Research Council were featured speakers here this morning.
Reed told me that there was indeed "synergy" between the FFC and the Values Voters Summit groups, but that FFC "brings something to the table" that those groups don't have: organizing and get-out-the-vote drives.
...It remains to be seen, of course, if "Ralph Reed is back." As I wrote back in March, not all conservative evangelicals would be thrilled with the return of Jack Abramoff's sidekick. There aren't a lot of new faces here -- although McDonnell will speak within the hour, Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich had prime speaking slots before lunch. But Reed's organizing capabilities are highly respected by a lot of conservatives, and if candidates his FFC supports win in November, I'm guessing that Reed will claim Voter Trak and his state-level organizers deserve credit.
and see:
Birtherism at Values Voters Post by Sarah Posner at Religion Dispatches, Sept. 17, 2010
Ralph Reed:
: Ralph Reed’s Synergy with the Religious Right by Sarah Posner at Religion DispatchesSept. 10,2010.
Much of this has already been achieved to a certain extent and more so in some states than others as the Obama administration has discovered that various local, state level governments and bureaucracies and even federal agencies and the judiciary are chock full of right-wing True Believers who are willing to use various strategies and tactics to slow down or just refuse out-rightly to implement the changes his administration is in favor of whether for ideological reasons or a matter of principle or just to make the administrations governance relatively unworkable.
For instance the Text Book controversy in Texas which has banned Darwinian Evolution and gives tacit support to Creationism or Intelligent Design and now has dinosaurs and humans co-existing while telling students if they engage in masturbation hair will grow on the palms of their hand and aids is God's punishment of Gays and that the downside of slavery has been exaggerated and that Lynchings were a good thing are now taking on Islam and the media and academia's attacks on Christianity.
Texas Board of Education Sets Sights on Islam Post by Lauri Lebo at religion Dispatches Sept. 17, 2010I guess in their efforts to whitewash history, conservative board members of the Texas Board of Education must have felt they had missed a demographic. Next week, they will revisit its social studies curriculum passed in May that puts a decidedly conservative Christian rewrite on American history. Now, a proposed resolution submitted this week would warn publishers not to include too much information about Islam in their textbooks and warns of a “pro-Islam anti-Christian bias.”and so it goes,
According to the Dallas Morning News:
Members of the board’s social conservative bloc asked for the resolution after an unsuccessful candidate for a board seat called on the panel to head off any bias against Christians in new social studies books. Some contend that “Middle Easterners” are increasingly buying into companies that publish textbooks.
A preliminary draft of the resolution states that “diverse reviewers have repeatedly documented gross pro-Islamic, anti-Christian distortions in social studies texts” across the U.S. and that past social studies textbooks in Texas also have been “tainted” with pro-Islamic, anti-Christian views.
GORD.
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