Duping the Religious Right

To begin with, I want to say to anyone who reads this who considers themselves a member of the "Religious Right" or the "Christian Right" or perhaps one of the "morals voters" that this post is not intended as gloating or to take pleasure in your misfortune.

I write this for the same reason I write the bulk of my blog postings: because I believe our President is not what he sells himself to be, and because I believe our nation as a whole will be stronger the more cleare and more accurate a picture we have of our leaders.

That said, there is a new book out (set to hit the shelves next Monday) called "Tempting Faith". The book is written by David Kuo, who was formerly a Special Assistant to the President and number two person in charge of President Bush's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives.

Now, I have not yet read this book. The staff over at MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann have, and while you may not like their politics, I have rarely found them to be wrong on facts (except in the lighter segments such as "Oddball", where humor is the primary focus; this was not such a segment).

According to the Countdown segment (more scheduled for tonight), the book shows an astounding lack of compassion or solidarity with the Religious Right in this country, seeming to view them solely as a solid bloc of voters who can be consistently and reliably duped into voting Republican. Kuo reports that in Karl Rove's office, evangelical leaders are privately referred to as "the nuts". Kuo writes "National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous,' 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy.' "

The folks over at Crooks & Liars have a transcript of the Olbermann segment here if you'd like to read it, and as I said, Countdown has promised a more in-depth look at the book in the next day or two, so stay tuned.

In fairness, I do not know Mr. Kuo, had not heard of him until this story aired. He may have an ax to grind (although he is described as having "impeccable conservative Christian credentials"), or he may simply want to sell books. Clearly those on the Right will dismiss the book as politically motivated, its release coming so proximate to the upcoming election. But I have long wondered why Christians, and particularly extremist Christians, seem so enamored of the Republican party, a party whose core principles and ideals are a square peg jammed via a carefully orchestrated campaign into the round hole of the teachings of Christ.

So I want people to know about this book, not to cause them angst or anger, nor to cause them pain, but to open their eyes. The Democrats may not be who you are looking for to run this country, but at least they aren't courting you for your rich Daddy's money and then making fun of you while seeing the hot, poor girl on the side. If the most important thing to you is voting for someone who shares your morality and your values and will work hard to enact them, you've been duped.

You're hardly the first. I am honestly sorry.

Liam.