Delay’s Dupes

by digby

Last summer I wrote a piece about a woman named Mary Fowler. She is a good, hard working woman from Oklahoma, a member of the Christian Right. Rose Aguillar interviewed her as part of a project to speak to people across the country:

Why do you think we’re in Iraq? People say we’re freeing the Iraqis one minute and then change their opinion and say they’re horrible people.

Soldiers over there say we don’t get half the news. There’s so much good going on. The majority of the people appreciate the help. The majority, not the weirdos who are deceived.

Where do you get your information about the war?

The Bible and the 700 Club. I also listen to preachers who know what’s going on. Pat Robertson.

What do you like about Bush?

He’s a praying man of god. He’s a family man and he does care. He gets blamed for everything. If this country would turn back to god, things would get better. You can’t go on killing babies and allowing homosexual stuff to stay. We do love the people, but we don’t love their actions.

Do you think talking about homosexuality does anything to improve healthcare or poverty?

I guess for me I’ve always had to trust the lord for the next job, which is usually housecleaning. If you have your eyes on him, he’ll take care of you. The government can’t help us.

Do you always vote?

Yes, I volunteered for the Republican Party and I enjoyed it very much.

Have you always been Republican?

When I first registered, I was a Democrat. Just from studying in school, I thought that’s what I wanted to be because I believed in government for the people, by the people and of the people. But after I was saved, I realized the Republican beliefs are me so I switched and I’m glad I did.

What does it mean to be a Republican?

Republicans pick the people who believe like we do.

You mean believe in the Bible?

Yes and godly principles. If we kick god out, we’ll be like other countries that have AIDS, sickness and poverty. God created the earth, he created the rules and he knows what’s best for everybody.

Unfortunately, we have AIDS, sickness and poverty in this country.

Yes, because we allow homosexuality.

You blame homosexuality for AIDS, sickness and poverty?

Well, sometimes people are innocent. This nation is in trouble. The ACLU are run by communists and funded by communists. What does that tell you? They want to take god away from us.

The ACLU once helped Pat Robertson’s son set up churches. They also helped Jerry Falwell fight church restrictions three years ago. If they wanted to take god way from you, why would they help Pat Robertson’s son and Jerry Falwell?

I haven’t heard about that. I’m sure there are a few good people in the ACLU.

I’ve interviewed a lot of people on this trip and while they want freedom of religion, none have said they want to take god away.

When they first started the country, those that didn’t believe in Jesus were put in jail. Once a country is dedicated to god and founded on its principles, it has to stay that way.

What issues are most important to you?

Getting the right Supreme Court Justice in you. I want god back in the schools. They kick god out of schools and they wonder why we have drugs and sex in the schools.

I suggested that it would not be very difficult to persuade Mary Fowler that the Republican party wasn’t fulfilling her vision of what government should do and considering her views, she would probably not vote at all. I wrote:

Mary Fowler is an evangelical Christian who believes that Republicans pick their candidates based upon their devotion to Jesus. In fact, she sees Republicanism as part of her church. For her, religion and politics are the same thing.

[…]

Mary Fowler can be dealt with only one way — we must separate Republicanism from her church. It won’t be possible to out church them but it can be done by exposing them. Republicans are not godly. When she finds out that they aren’t godly she will stop voting for them — most likely stop voting at all. (And unless she learns to separate religion from politics that is probably the best thing.) It won’t be easy to convince her, but she is much more attached to her vision of the Bible than the Republican party. She chose Republicanism after she was saved, not before. She will choose Jesus over Tom Delay if push comes to shove.

I do not wish Mary Fowler would stop voting. I wish she would vote for Democrats. But considering her belief system, I do not think it’s possible. It is not evil to want people like Mary Fowler, who do not believe in the US constitution or the principles on which this country is founded, not to be involved in politics. Certainly, it is in my best interest that someone like her not volunteer her time and money to a cause that seeks to destroy everything I believe in.

Evangelicals used to believe that politics was a bad business and existed in a “worldly” sphere that didn’t terribly affect them. It took some theological jiujitsu , some savvy political operatives and some huckster preachers to change that around and turn them into a behemoth voting block for the Republican party. They are voting for a lie, having been duped by Tom Delay and other phony Jesus pimps into believing that their religious beliefs are also political beliefs and it’s just not so.

These people are essential to the GOP machine. If they come to see that the Republican party for the criminal enterprise it is, this will not happen again:

… evangelical Christian groups were often more aggressive and sometimes better organized on the ground than the Bush campaign. The White House struggled to stay abreast of the Christian right and consulted with the movement’s leaders in weekly conference calls. But in many respects, Christian activists led the charge that GOP operatives followed and capitalized upon.

[…]

In battlegrounds such as Ohio, scores of clergy members attended legal sessions explaining how they could talk about the election from the pulpit. Hundreds of churches launched registration drives, thousands of churchgoers registered to vote, and millions of voter guides were distributed by Christian and antiabortion groups.

The rallying cry for many social conservatives was opposition to same-sex marriage. But concern about the Supreme Court, abortion, school prayer and pornography also motivated these “values voters.” Same-sex marriage, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, was “the hood ornament on the family values wagon that carried the president to a second term.”

These are the foot soldiers in the Republican revolution. It’s well worth our while to get them to lay down their arms and go home to their churches. Tom Delay is wrapping his fetid, reptilian reputation around the necks of the evangelicals and we should make sure they smell it for what it is.

Mary Fowler is a decent law abiding person. I think it’s good for her and good for us to let Mary know the extent to which “worldly” politics have failed her. It’s up to her what she does with that knowledge.

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