The Same Old, Same Old
by digby
As Rep. Michele Bachmann put it in a speech here Saturday: “Social conservatism is fiscal conservatism.”
The Minnesota congresswoman’s line, though an over-simplification, was echoed by numerous social conservatives in conversations with The Huffington Post over the weekend. Their argument is that many of the outcomes that have produced the nation’s economic crisis are, at their core, driven by moral deficiencies: greed, dishonesty, selfishness, cowardice, and the like.
“Go back to Jefferson and Washington. They said, ‘If you want this country to be great, you better first be good,’” said Bob Vander Plaats, the man who has led the charge in Iowa against same-sex marriage. “And so that’s where we’re at saying, ‘You know what, if you think all it is is over here on the economic side while youhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif want all this other stuff to erode, you’re dealing with a house of cards.’”
Sure, why not. There’s no reason you can’t wear a tri-corner hat and a cross at the same time. (Or, as Sinclair Lewis put it much more colorfully back in the day when one was allowed to speak the obvious.)
Update: Must read this analysis of the current abortion wars by Amanda Marcotte. These people are very savvy, very seasoned campaigners. There’s simply no way the GOP could ever do without them. But they won’t have to.
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