Turn Left @ hypocrisy.com

In the first part of this article, I provided a basic overview of Dominionism and what it would mean for America. The Christian right has gained extensive control of the Republican party. It is now evident that no GOP candidate will be able to capture the presidency without its backing. That’s how pervasive its control has become. I also mentioned in the first part of the article that the Dominionists like to operate under the radar screen. Back in 1986, Pat Robertson - himself once a presidential candidate - distributed a memo to the Iowa Republican County Caucus entitled “How to Participate in a Political Party.” Here’s what it said:

“Rule the world for God.

“Give the impression that you are there to work for the party, not push an ideology.

“Hide your strength.

“Don’t flaunt your Christianity.

“Christians need to take leadership positions. Party officers control political parties and so it is very important that mature Christians have a majority of leadership positions wherever possible, God willing.”

The goal was to be in control of the government by 2004. George Bush may not have been quite as rabid an idealogue as Sarah Palin, but he was close. Bush took care of those who helped get him elected by pushing faith-based initiatives. He stifled stem cell research. He held back funding for schools unless they taught abstinence-only sex education. George Bush actively sought a Constitutional ban on gay marriage more than once. Had George Bush not blown it in so many other areas, John McCain may well have been elected, bringing Sarah Palin with him. To be sure, Barack Obama’s election has thrown a monkey wrench into their time line, but do not believe for one minute that they are giving up the ghost.

The 2008 election

Although I’ve mentioned this before, I’ll mention it again because it’s that important. Sarah Palin was not John McCain’s first choice for the vice presidency. It has now been revealed that McCain and Palin barely spoke during the campaign. McCain himself was never the Christian rights first choice as president either. It was Mike Huckabee, a Dominionist who wanted to reclaim the land for Jesus, if you will remember. When it became evident that McCain was going to be the presumptive nominee, the Christians moved to Plan B, which was to control the game via the vice presidency. McCain was told that if he chose Joseph Lieberman (aka Benedict Arnold), he would not receive their support. The Council for National Policy vetted and chose Sarah Palin for him. She did what she was expected to do: She energized the Christian base and it’s an energy that will live on in anticipation of 2012 when they believe Sarah Palin with replace Barack Obama as president of the United States.

Since Obama’s election, there have been stories about Sarah Palin becoming a rogue candidate, not adhering to the campaign’s strategy, giving unapproved interviews, and attacking Obama with the Ayers allegation without the McCain camp’s approval. That’s because Sarah Palin has her own agenda. The mainstream media has interpreted this as Sarah Palin’s own ambitiousness, and they are right to a certain point. She wants to be president in 2012 and the Christian right wants her to be president in 2012. What the mainstream media is missing is why she’s driven. She’s driven because she’s a Dominionist of the worst magnitude. This is a woman who believes that we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan because it’s God’s will. Sarah Palin, much like the Reverend John Hagee, believes that a preemptive strike on Iran (in concert with Israel) will fulfill Biblical prophesy.

Here’s what Palin had to say to Greta Van Susteren of FOX News when asked about a 2012 presidential run, “You know, I have - faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator’s hands - this is what I always do. I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door.”

In keeping with that theme, she also hasn’t ruled out a run for a Senate seat. When Larry King asked if she’d serve out her term as governor, Palin replied, “I will do what the people of Alaska want me to do.” Then she added, “if they call an audible on me, and if they say they want me in another position, I’m going to do it…My life is in God’s hands. If he’s got doors open for me, that I believe are in our state’s best interest, the nation’s best interest,I’m going to go through those doors.” Should Senator Ted Stevens retain his seat, he will almost certainly be ousted for his felony convictions. Palin could run for his seat in a special election. Or, she could challenge Republican incumbent Senator List Murkowski in 2010.

I’d like to say that Sarah Palin will be back, but the reality is that she has not gone away. Her mug is occupying every news show she can find, and you can be that this is by design. Some Republicans believe she is the future of the Republican party while others believe she will be its downfall. With the leverage the Christian right has in Republican party politics, many believe that Sarah Palin will be a big part of the GOP retooling.

As one watches Sarah Palin today, there is a marked difference. She references God and her faith much more than she did during the McCain campaign. She is no longer restricted by his campaign strategy.

Pre-Palin Dominionist politicians

Republicans have already elected Dominionist public servants, perhaps unwittingly. Sam Brownback, who ran for president for a short time in 2008, is a Dominionist, along with Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo. Perhaps the most famous, however, is former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris - famous for helping George Bush win the presidency in 2000. She later went on to win a seat in the US House of Representatives.

In 2006, Harris went on a rambling, run-on explanation about how religion fits into government, “The Bible says we are to be salt and light. And salt and light means not just in the church and not just as a teacher or as a pastor or a banker or lawyer, but in government and we have to have the faithful in government and over time, that lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized, thinking that they needed to avoid politics and that is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.”

Amen, Katherine.

One thing is certain. Regardless of the fact that many of these Dominionist politicians lost their seats in the 2006 mid-term elections, it will be essential for all of us to be vigilant in order to protect the US Constitution and our way of life.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. John McCain is using distraction and drama to try to win the 2008 presidential election because he’s got precious little else to run on. That’s what this whole “suspending my campaign” propaganda is all about. That McCain has told lies since this campaign’s inception is hard to argue. The facts are the facts, and he has been caught in every single one because, frankly, he’s not a particularly good liar either. The night he stood up David Letterman, he was supposed to be putting his country first and flying back to Washington because this whole bail out issue had to be resolved right now. This minute. Instead, he was displaying his incredible lack of judgment by being in the very same studio as David Letterman being interviewed by Katie Couric. To Letterman’s credit, he rightfully embarrassed the Senator. Someone called it a ‘hissy fit’ on Letterman’s part but, let’s face it, John McCain is a liar and got what he deserved.

He’s a liar because the next morning he was still in New York speaking at Bill Clinton’s feel good Global Initiative. He wasn’t in Washington building bi-partisan consensus, which is the outright garbage he tried to feed the American people. John McCain has absolutely no expertise in money and markets. In fact, he has not even demonstrated that he understands the Wall Street problem. He has very little to offer in the way of help and members of his own party said that, when he finally did show up, he was more of a hindrance than anything else. As of Tuesday night, McCain admitted in an interview that he hadn’t even read the two-page requisition for slimy Hank Paulson’s $700 billion dollar blank check. How does it take to read something like that? If you’re challenged, maybe ten minutes. Yet, he wants us to believe he put country first and had to rush back to Washington to solve the problem. He flatters himself because John McCain has proven that he’s not the solution to anything.

John McCain is a liar because he looked the American people in the eye and told them he was “suspending” his campaign. He did not suspend his campaign. The bash Obama ads continued to run. His campaign staff continued to go on air with interviews throughout the day touting their selfless maverick candidate. Suspending a campaign means everything stops. What John McCain should have said to the American people was, “I’m down in the polls and I’m a disorganized candidate. I’ve picked an uniformed, unqualified vice presidential candidate who is embarrassing my candidacy with the interviews she’s giving. So, I’m going to go to Washington to try to get some attention and see if I can get this train wreck back on track. Oh, yeah, I also want to try to avoid the debate if I can.” That would have been much more accurate. I mean, if he’s honest John McCain, let’s just be honest here.

The one thing Senator McCain has done is prove that he lacks judgment on all fronts, particularly in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. Most inexperienced people get better as time goes on, but Sarah Palin gets worse. Why? Because it isn’t simply lack of experience. She really isn’t all that intelligent. She cannot speak to the issues because she doesn’t understand the issues. She barely has command of the English language. If anybody thinks her interview with Katie Couric was coherent and lucid, I want some of what they are smoking. It was painful to watch from my perspective. I thought Dan Quayle was just about the worst. I was wrong. It can get much, much worse. Oh, by the way, this notion that Sarah Palin represents everyone in small-town America is an insult to those who proudly live there. The American people are much smarter and much more aware than Sarah Palin.

Senator McCain is no leader. Apparently, he has a problem multitasking. He has to suspend a campaign (lie) to go back and deal with the Wall Street debacle? How is he going to run the country? Take a look at the mess his friend, George Bush, is leaving him. We have two wars going absolutely nowhere and people dying every day. Now, we’re fighting the Pakistanis, our supposed allies in the war on terror. We have economic disaster everywhere, not just on Wall Street. People are losing their homes and jobs at alarming rates. We clearly have an energy crisis going on that will need a lot more than the childish “drill, baby, drill” antics on display at the Republican convention. So, how is John McCain going to run this country? I think that’s a valid question at this point. John McCain should show up at the debate to night and put his ideas in front of the American people. Let’s see if he can win their hearts and minds. Let’s see if he has any ideas. Let’s see if he has any solutions to the challenges facing this nation. At this point, make him prove he deserves the job.

Drama after distraction after drama. From the ‘postponement’ of the Republican Convention because of Hurricane Gustav, to choosing Sarah Palin, to calling for the firing of the SEC Chairman, to suspending his campaign so he can fly back to Washington and save Wall Street, to not being able to commit to tonight’s debate…that’s what John McCain is all about. He’s like a child who will do anything for attention, even if it’s negative attention. It’s one thing for a five-year-old to do it. It’s another thing for a 72-year-old who wants to be president of the United States to do it. At McCain’s age, there’s usually something psychologically pathological about it.

One thing became abundantly clear this week: George Will was right. John McCain is not fit to be president of the United States.

The Republicans love distractions. It’s one of the little touches that Karl Rove brought to the GOP. And we all know, of course, that he’s involved in the McCain campaign. Distraction is one of the reasons why John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Why deal with the real issues, like the sad state of the economy, our broken health care system, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when he can get you caught up in Palin’s personal family drama? There’s not much substance at the GOP convention. In fact, the McCain strategists have openly stated that they don’t want this election to be about issues. They want it to be about personality. The basic plan is to wrap John McCain in a giant American flag and paint him as a true American hero. First, a little tribute to John McCain, the POW. Then, evoke a few 9-11 images strictly for political purposes. We had the usual cast of characters at throughout these proceedings - Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney and even Joseph Lieberman - but McCain’s new running mate stole the show.

Sarah Palin, that little breath of fresh air, made her debut on Wednesday night. While the Republicans positively gushed over her performance (at least publicly), she was less than honest about many things. Oh, what the hell, she’s supposedly likable and Americans have been lied to for so long they can no longer tell truth from fiction. There’s a thing called perception, loosely defined as a mental image. There’s another thing called reality, loosely defined as an actual fact. There’s a lot of perception vs. reality going on with Sarah Palin. Let’s take a closer look.

Perception: Sarah Palin is a reformer who has stood up to special interests. According to Palin, she said ‘thanks but no thanks’ to Congress on the Bridge to Nowhere. She also took credit for being a champion of reform when it comes to Congress’ wasteful spending on earmarks.

Reality: Sarah Palin originally supported funding for the $398 million Bridge to Nowhere, a bridge that connects Ketchikan to Gravina Island (Pop: 50; with an airport). She did not withdraw her support until it became the subject of ridicule. She must have conveniently forgotten that little detail. As Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin hired Steven Silver, Ted Stevens’ former chief of staff, to lobby Congress for earmarks. He came away with about $27 million in federal money, more than any other state.

Perception: Sarah Palin’s experience rivals (or eclipses) that of Barack Obama.

Reality: Sarah Palin has been governor of Alaska since 2006. Prior to that she was the part-time mayor of Wasilla City, Alaska, population 9000. She was also a member of the Wasilla City Council (and, of course, the PTA). Barack Obama has been the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois since 2005. He was also a member of the Illinois State Senate from 1996-2004. Nope. This is not quite the same. Sorry, Mr. Rove, but no amount of spin can even up this score.

Perception: Barack Obama has not authored one single piece of major legislation, not even in the state senate. Actually, this was an outright lie told by Sarah Palin in her acceptance speech. It wasn’t the only one either.

Reality: Barack Obama has worked with Republican Senator Richard Lugar to pass legislation to expand efforts to intercept weapons of mass destruction and to destroy stockpiles of conventional weapons. As a state senator, Obama sponsored a bill to study racial profiling by police, as well as a bill that ordered interrogations in potential death penalty cases be recorded.

Perception: According to Mrs. Palin, Barack Obama only uses the word victory when he’s referring to his presidential campaign, but not when he talks about the war in Iraq. This was a second outright lie. (Hey, she fits right in now.)

Reality: Barack Obama has used the word ‘victory’ several times when talking about the war in Iraq. The only reason Palin can’t get her arms around this one is that he’s not talking about a victory brought about by utilizing weapons or bombs.

Perception: Sarah Palin is just an ordinary hockey mom; she’s just like us; she’s ‘everywoman.’

Reality: No. She’s not just like us. Palin is a pro-lifer who believes that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. She is against abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. Palin also believes that creationism (intelligent design) should be taught in school as part of the science curriculum. Finally, she doesn’t believe that the behavior of human beings impacts the environment. No doubt there are some out there who share Palin’ s ideology. However, I do not believe that she reflects the values of the majority of American women. She’s the non-thinking-woman’s woman, a throwback to the paleozoic era.

Perception: Sarah Palin wants Bristol’s pregnancy kept private because it’s a family matter.

Reality: If Sarah Palin wanted to handle Bristol’s pregnancy like a private family matter, she wouldn’t have brought the baby’s father along to the Republican convention for show. The reality is that Sarah Palin is using Bristol’s pregnancy for political purposes. Displaying Bristol and her future husband allows Palin to tout her anti-abortion, pro-family stance and ingratiate herself to the right wingers that John McCain has identified as the most important audience in this election. When the media raises the issue, McCain and Company then go ahead and bash the media. Sarah Palin can’t have it both ways. If she’s going to bring Bristol’s pregnancy front and center, it’s going to be a topic for the media (and rightly so).

Perception: Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air that is going to help John McCain change America.

Reality: The propaganda that Palin is a bright, shiny new entity coming to Washington with a clean slate is another lie. She is under investigation in her own state for abuse of power, accused of using her office to settle a family score in a divorce case. These allegations are not going away. In fact, Palin has just hired a lawyer to defend herself. Nobody’s talking about how she was one of the founders of Senator Ted Steven’s 527 corporate slush fund, a fund designed to skirt the edges of campaign finance laws and allow Stevens to raise unlimited amounts of cash from big oil and other corporate entities.

Sarah Palin aside, all of this starts with Senator McCain and his own set of perception-reality issues. Contrary to the perception he’s trying to create, John McCain is anything but an agent of change. He has voted in line with George W. Bush 95% of the time, so that notion is foolish. He avoids taking public positions because all of them either continue or expand upon George Bush’s unpopular, failed policies. His choice of Sarah Palin even calls into question his judgment. By all accounts, McCain wanted Joseph Lieberman, the Democrats’ own Benedict Arnold, as his running mate. The right wingers did not. Enter Sarah Palin. Although McCain claims to put country first, the fact is that he did not put America first in this instance. He put winning first.

Don’t ever worry about Sarah Palin not being completely vetted. She was. John McCain put that responsibility in the hands of a right-wing group called The Council for National Policy, a secretive right-wing group that networks wealthy right-wing donors with ultra-conservative operatives. So intent are they to advance their agenda that nothing but Palin’s ideology mattered to them. The fact that John McCain would capitulate to such a group and choose a candidate already under investigation for corruption is nothing short of disgusting. It reveals his true ambition to win at all costs and his utter disregard for what is best for this country.

It has been reported in the Congressional Quarterly’s CQToday that nine Republicans broke rank yesterday and voted in favor of sending Representative Dennis Kucinich’s Article of Impeachment HR 1345 to the Judiciary (10 Republicans abstained). It is anticipated that Chairman John Conyers will now hold hearings on abuses of power by the Bush administration. The movement began to pick up steam when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi retreated from her “impeachment is off the table” position and stated that the Judiciary should look into the issues raised by the Kucinich article.

CQToday says that Conyers’ hearing would cover a variety of issues that have been under investigation for some time, including the firing of the U.S. Attorneys, the leak of the name of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame-Wilson to the media, and the information fed to Congress to justify the invasion of Iraq.

The Kucinich Article of Impeachment focuses on the claim by the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that there was a connection between Hussein and the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Kucinich promises that a surprise foreign official will testify at the hearing. Kucinich relies on many sources for his article, including the transcript of a July 23, 2002 meeting of Tony Blair’s senior ministers, now famously known as the Downing Street Memo. Among other things, the transcript states that the intelligence showed that the U.S. case for war was ‘thin’ at best. Iraq’s neighbors were not being threatened and that it’s WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.

For the record, the nine Republicans who voted in favor of advancing Kucinich’s article are: Kevin Brady, TX; Wayne Gilchrest, MD; Walter B. Jones, NC (including Camp LeJeune); Dan Manzullo, IL; Tim Murphy, PA; Ron Paul, TX; Dave Reichert, WA; Christopher Shays, CT; and Mike Turner, OH.