for it describes accurately and succintly how the organisational fervour of the theocrats has translated into the hijacking of the Republican party, and the conservative elements of the Democratic Party.

In Canada, Stephen Harper is the man who engineered the hijacking and dissolution of the Progressive Conservative party. He had the complicity of the PC leader and former PM Brian Mulroney, a neocon and theocrat. They had the opposition of two former PC prime ministers as well.

Now, the former Reform and Alliance MP is the leader of the sole Conservative Party of Canada. It is no longer conservative, but neo-conservative, and it is no longer pluralistic, it is theocratic.

The election programme has begun. The US political operatives in Canada are using the moderate voices to conceal their true agenda. They speak words of tolerance and diversity while simultaneously planning using the Notwithstanding Clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to overturn both legislation and Supreme Court decision on the definition of marriage in Canada.

The "Notwithstanding Clause" was added by the neocons twenty years ago in order for the Charter to pass the House of Commons. It in fact, allows the country to practice legal discrimination on an issue of concern to the theocrats.

Although I doubt it will work, the liberal and progressive citizens are in full gear. The moderate voices include the statement that same sex couples could retain their marriage licences after they remove the right for everyone else. There is a political truth there. Ayn Rand would hail it as the virtue of selfishness.

Again, thank you for posting this. It should inform all that both the players and the strategy are the same on the Brazos as it is on the St. Lawrence.

by LIBERAL CROZIER on Sun Dec 04, 2005 at 11:08:51 AM EST

The truth is that the Republican Party took control over the Christian Coalition, not the other way around. People like President Bush and the Republican Party use the Christian religion and its followers to maintain power in America. They use the pro-life position, prayer in school, teaching creationism, the word "God" in their speeches, and other Christian symbolism to deceive voters into believe something that is not true about their morality or political ideology.

The reality is that the Republicans in Congress, President Bush, and a few right-wing media personalities are colluding and conspiring with a few mega wealthy families to rob our government and undermine our democracy (republic). They are creating an un-Godly fascist plutocracy in America and they are doing so using Straussian-Machiavellian methods; one of which is promoting strong religious ideals to motivate, control, and mislead the population.

The evidence of this reality is in the details of their actions and legislation. For example, Bush tells lies even in the face of the facts, and he promotes and passes legislation that is helpful to the very rich but at the expense of everyone else. He started a totally unnecessary war in Iraq that is very costly, both in dollars and in lives, and that has been carried out using torture, collective punishments, chemical weapons, and killing tens of thousands of non-combatant Iraqi citizens. He is a huge advocate for the death penalty despite that the fact that many innocent people have been put on death row, and some even put to death. He supports tort reforms that limit jury's powers and prevent corporate accountability. He has shifted the tax burden onto the middle class. He refuses to increase the minimum wage. The Republicans in Congress are currently trying to cut school lunch school programs, cut college tuition assistance, cut overtime pay requirements, and cut food stamps for the poor, and at the same time pass more tax cuts for people who make over one million dollars a year.

And I could go on and on with more examples and better details but these examples expose values that are the opposite of Christian values. Jesus did not preach and the bible does not teach these values that are based on greed, gluttony, killing, and torture, but rather the opposite.

Personally, I'm not a Christian I'm a Deist. I believe in God but I look to science, knowledge, and personal experience to find meaning and answers. As a Deist I support capitalism, democracy, and freedom, and I even like many conservative ideals, however, I agree with Kenneth Galbraith when he said "Economic justice can be measure by the screams of anguish from the very rich". And with President Roosevelt when he said "We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad for morals; we now know that it is bad for economics." and "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.". Even President Lincoln warn us about the danger to our democracy from the concentration of wealth into the hands of a few.

Finally, you shouldn't believe what Bush and the Republicans in Congress say, but rather believe what your mind tells you is the truth by studying their actions through their legislation. Once you realize that they are corrupt fascist who are creating a plutocracy you should make the decision to start fighting back. We cannot allow them to get away with this. In Robert F. Kennedy's words "If we do not attack organized crime with weapons and techniques as effective as their own, they will destroy us.".

I recommend we start by badgering, boycotting, and using civil disobedience to get the GOP out of power, and if these methods don't work we should increase our actions until they are gone. Otherwise, you may find yourself living in a cardboard box under a bridge without the ability to change anything.
     

by Chris Fick on Sun Dec 04, 2005 at 01:07:23 PM EST

I understand your explanation and it does explain away a lot of apparent un-Jesus like actions by the Bush administration and the GOP. However, if the term "Christianity" can be used to justify actions from one end of the moral and ethical spectrum to the other does it really mean anything at all, or is it just used like Thomas Paine suggested (paraphrased) "....(Christianity is) no other than (a) human invention (s) set up to terrify and enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit."?

Also, you suggest that these extreme Republicans, like President Bush, might be sincere in their nebulous Christian believes as it relates to social inequality, but social inequality is only one aspect of the GOP's immoral and unetichial actions during the past few years. What about lying, stealing, killing, and bribery?

I strongly suspect, and greatly fear, that Bush and his pals, who like to wear their Christian faith on their sleeves, are frauds. They are only using Christianity to deceive us while actually enriching themselves and their mega wealthy contributors. They worship gold, period.  

by Chris Fick on Sun Dec 04, 2005 at 06:27:17 PM EST

Joan asks, "Where were you between 1991 and 1994? Were you among the somnambulant masses or one of the few whose eyes were wide open?"

I would have to say that my eyes were being opened, from reading the work of researchers and writers such as Chip Berlet and Frederick Clarkson, and from listening firsthand to some of the dominionists and theocrats tell their own stories in their own words.

From the summer of 1993 through the summer of 1995, I was doing a bit of research for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) on the history, structure, and funding of anti-choice groups such as the National Right to Life Committee and the militant underground Operation Rescue. Both of these groups had been around for a while, but much research remained to be done on their genesis, leadership, funding sources, allies, and vision for the future.

That's where PPFA's Front Lines Research came in. It was a carefully researched and footnoted journal that provided credible information and penetrating analysis of these groups. The articles were of such quality that they influenced mainstream media coverage by, for example, The New York Times, Newsweek and CBS's "60 Minutes." And I give most of the credit to our editor at Front Lines Research -- Frederick Clarkson, who helped shape the vision of that influential journal, and contributed some of its best pieces.

Today, I'm glad to be working with a community of dedicated researchers and writers who take dominionism and theocracy seriously, and also take seriously our responsibility to do something in response to these gathering threats to American democracy.

by jhutson on Sun Dec 04, 2005 at 06:54:30 PM EST

I know they say the religious right doesn't have the support it once had... but I still think they are a force to be contended with...since they are rallying behind certain judicial nominees to further their agenda..they still must have considerable power to have such control over the republican party...my question what do we do to stop them.. I've been politically active..and I  am very much concerned with them achieving their goal and turning our country into a theocracy.. I personally believe in a strong democracy,separation of church and state and freedom of speech , religious freedom(or freedom from it.)  Our founding fathers  had a reason for the separation of church and state, namely to keep religious tyranny and oppression out of our state of affairs. A theocracy would be something akin to a religious dictatorship.... why would people want this... throughout history, there has been religious persecution, we know what influence the church had over the monarchy in England, before we landed in America...  It's like the blind leading the blind actually... I certainly don't want a religious cult ruling over us.

by akaladystar on Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 09:48:51 PM EST

And I was talking with a lot of people about how the party was being taken over by religious zealots and that I did not think that was who should be running the party or that was in our best interest.  Most people denounced me as being mistaken at best and delusional at worst.  I finally just gave up and didn't involve myself any further in local politics.
 
However, I have only recently come to understand that today; Democrats don't understand what has happened to the Republican Party.  They think it is just a few fanatics that will soon fade to black.  They have no understanding as to how well organized the religious right is or how long they have been putting this coup together.  There are a few who are beginning to understand where the religious right wants to take us, that being a theocracy, but they clearly are the minority.
 
Time is quickly running out.



by FreedomfromChains on Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 12:47:59 PM EST

Unfortunately I can't say that I was one of them who were awake for the danger. I am now though. This was a really interesting article and I'm glad you let us take part of it.
Lester, Programmer currently working on the anxiety herbal medication project.
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