1986 and 1994...two events on the road to the religious right takeover of the GOP

[madfloridian]

John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin was a bowing down to the religious extremist wing of his party. It was the fruition of years of effort by groups of Christians to take over the Republican Party. They now have one of their own named as VP nominee.

Palin believes as George Bush does about Iraq:

Palin asked the students to pray for the troops in Iraq, and noted that her eldest son, Track, was expected to be deployed there.

"Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she said. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."

Palin and Iraq

It's been a long and successful road for these Christian groups. An event from 1986 in Iowa:

In March, 1986, Joan Bokaer was on a speaking tour in Iowa and received a copy of the following memo Robertson had distributed to the Iowa Republican County Caucus:

How to Participate in a Political Party

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 whenever possible, God willing."

Taking over the Republican Party

1994 was a very important year for this group. 1994 was the year Republicans took control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. It was also the year that Republicans made a huge gain in State Legislatures.

Up until 1994, Democrats held strong majorities in both houses of most State Legislatures. In 1992 Democrats had majorities in both bodies of twenty-five legislatures, Republicans eight. In 1994, Democrats had majorities in eighteen, Republicans, nineteen. By 2003, Democrats had sixteen, Republicans, twenty-one.

TIME Magazine in May 1995 featured Ralph Reed on its cover.

Time Magazine, in May, 1995, called Ralph Reed "The Right Hand of God" and credited the Christian Coalition with giving the Republicans their victories. Out of forty-five new members in the U.S. House of Representatives and nine in the U.S. Senate in 1994, roughly half were Christian Coalition candidates.

1996, 45 million voter guides were sent out.

In 2000, 75 million voter guides were sent out to support George Bush.

In 2002 - 24 million. In 2002 the Religious Right backed candidates won 18 new House seats, and 11 Senate and Gubernatorial elections. Ralph Reed resigned from Christian Coalition in 1997, it lost its tax exempt status in 1999, and Robertson resigned in 2001.

The organization appears to have lost much of its momentum, but it changed the course of American politics. The candidates it has supported now reside in the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, the courts, state boards of education and more. And most of the Republican leadership of the U.S. Congress consistently receive 100% scores from Christian Coalition. Thirty-eight out of fifty-two Republicans in the U.S. Senate received 100% scorecards from Family Research Council in 2003 and forty-one out of fifty-one Senators received 100% scorecards from Christian Coalition in 2004.

Taking Over

The 2004 Platform of the Texas Republican Party was a prediction of what we would be facing with Bush back in power. That platform can be read as a blueprint for Bush administration policies, and reflects the values of Dominion Theology.

Dominionists believe the federal government should recede into the background. This would be achieved through massive tax cuts. Then the Church would assume responsibliltly for welfare and education. Tax cuts, Faith-based initiatives and school vouchers are the cornerstone of Bush administration domestic policies and recommended in the Texas GOP Platform. These policies are putting the U.S. on the path toward becoming what the Platform calls a "Christian" nation.

John McCain enabled the religious right again in his party with his choice of Sarah Palin as his VP. It was truly a shameful thing for him to do....to put the interest of his party above that of his country.

Howard Dean said it best I think:

“I frankly don’t believe the John McCain of 2000 would even consider voting for the John McCain of 2008, I really don’t,” said Dean.

“Saddest of all," Dean added, "John McCain was against torture until he supported the president’s veto of the Democrats anti-water-boarding bill. This is a guy who appears not to have principles. And if you don’t have principles when you are president, you shouldn’t be president. Wanting to be president and serving America honorably in the armed forces is not a good enough reason to be president if you don’t have a core set of beliefs that you are willing to stand for.”

The McCain of 2008

This statement from Theocracy Watch by Bill Moyer is powerful.

Today's hard right seeks total dominion. It's packing the courts and rigging the rules. The target is not the Democrats but democracy itself.

According to acclaimed journalist and television host Bill Moyers,

"True, people of faith have always tried to bring their interpretation of the Bible to bear on American laws and morals ... it's the American way, encouraged and protected by the First Amendment. But what is unique today is that the radical religious right has succeeded in taking over one of America's great political parties. The country is not yet a theocracy but the Republican Party is, and they are driving American politics, using God as a a battering ram on almost every issue: crime and punishment, foreign policy, health care, taxation, energy, regulation, social services and so on."

They may be weakened, but they are not done. Look at the influence they are exerting on the Democratic Party as we attempt to win in the climate they have created in this country.

[madfloridian]

1. Their philosophies can be seen in our economic crisis...

Religious Right economics

Starve the Federal Government through Tax Cuts
Tax cuts are one of Bush's signature issues. Most taxes are unbiblical according to Beliles and McDowell in their chapter on Christian Economics. Income tax is "idolatry," property tax is "theft" and inheritance taxes are simply not allowed in the Bible. The book mentions two kind of taxes that are mentioned in the Bible: a poll tax (called a flat tax today) - which is uniform, and tithing (voluntarily paying 10% of your income to your Church.) (214-215)

As reported in the Washington Post, August 4, 2004, J. Dennis Hastert, (R-Ill.) the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives published a book that suggests abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and replacing the current tax system with either a flat tax, a national sales tax or a value-added tax. Are Hastert's taxes meeting the criteria of Biblical taxes? Curiously, they are all taxes that would favor the wealthy and burden the poor.

The New York Times,, August 13, 2004, reported on a study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that concludes the President's tax cuts "heavily favor the wealthy." The Washington Post reported on that same study that the tax cuts "hurt the middle class."

The Texas Republican Party platform spells out which taxes to cut. It calls for abolishing the IRS and eliminating "income tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, capital gains, corporate income tax, payroll tax and property tax." The platform doesn't mention a sales tax which is also not cited in America's Providential History as "Unbiblical.".

More:

Social Security is Unbiblical

With the propagation of socialism, people were ready for the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt. Programs such as Social Security and other welfare agencies, set up the State as provider rather than God. (America's Providential History, p.251)

Social Security tax will gradually be phased out for a system of private pensions. From the Texas GOP Platform:

The Party supports an orderly transition to a system of private pensions based on the concept of individual retirement accounts, and gradually phasing out the Social Security tax. (p.13)

They also want to shift education and welfare to the churches:

Shift Education and Welfare to Churches

Beliles and McDowell tell us: "Scripture makes it clear that God is the provider, not the state, and that needy individuals are to be cared for by private acts of charity." (187) In the Texas GOP Platform a starved federal government is accompanied by a scaled-down federal government with the abolition of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Education. Welfare of the needy is shifting to churches through Bush's Faith Based Initiatives, another of his signature issues. The Bush administration's strong support of school vouchers is paving the way for government funding of religious schools.

February 10, 2005: The Institute for America's Future released a report detailing the cuts and funding freezes to education . The report shows that Bush fails to adequately fund essential early education and after-school programs, eliminates the Even Start literacy program, freezes work-study funding for college and kills funding for 48 education programs. Outraged, IAF President Robert Borosage says, "If the president has his way, the poorest children will bear the largest burden - suffering cuts to education, nutrition and health care, and the bill of increased debt which they will be forced to pay throughout their lives."

And of course ending government regulation of corporations is vital.

I forgot to add in the OP that we are not sure what else Palin agrees with George Bush about. She simply spouts folksy talking points when asked direct questions.

[treestar]

35. Even if they got their way

Some of the churches, like the Unitarians, would be liberal. There would be Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other institutions. In that way it would deepen division, since each group would be educated separately.

The Christian right would still not have its way - it could even be a minority.

[madfloridian]

36. But a very vocal, very rich minority.

And still very organized. The choice of Palin by McCain shocked most of us, but it was probably underway for a long time.

:hi:

[checks-n-balances]

2. K & R - Thanks for putting this together

I never realized these people were using the Bible to eliminate taxes. They're as dangerous to democracy as the corporatists, just in a little different way.

[Robbien]

3. Thanks for this post

There is also the piece of this that is the coordination of this political takeover being done by Doug Coe and The Family. The Family is spreading this religious takeover globally, not just here in the US.

Really scary stuff.

Thanks Madflordian. Bookmarked and recommended.

[Demeter]

4. Not That Successful

The Religious Right are unsuccessful, because as parasites they are killing the party they tried to take over. Success would have been to maintain a symbiotic relationship satisfying to both the Fundies and the Fiscal Fascists. But when the GOP goes under next month because the Fundie message is roundly rejected by the electorate, where will the hapless, clueless Fundie voters go? The Libertarians won't tolerate them, they would puke at the thought of the Greens, and as for Socialists, the less said, the better.

I guess they'll just have to colonize and destroy the Democratic Party. After all, they're halfway there already.

[checks-n-balances]

5. "Today's hard right seeks total dominion." That's true, religious or not.

Dick Cheney. George W. Bush. Karl Rove.

And Sarah Palin?

[TahitiNut]

6. Those of us paying attention saw this beginning on boards of education and town councils ....

... all over the country starting in the late 70s and especially in the early 80s. It was unprecedented in the early 80s and the new folks were strangely 'stealthy' about their agendas and church affiliations ... at least initially. This was when we saw a SURGE in "prayer in schools" and movements to change textbook publishers (to strangely right wing publishers) and budget challenges and the very beginnings of talk about 'vouchers.' The boogeyman at the time was "sex education" ... God forbid kids receive actual knowledge about human reproduction!

Ninety percent of anything is SHOWING UP! Democracy is about participation! It's a Do-It-Yourself project and the liberals were strangely absent from ANY local politics ... tuned in, turned on, and dropped out. It was an almost fatal error ... and we're in critical condition.

[Dystopian]

7. KandR....I always watch for your posts...

Although I don't usually comment, (mostly silently recommend) I have great respect for your writings of substance and this type of factual post with links...making it easier to connect the dots. These are dangerous people...and I am truly afraid of the coming of Palin. I have fears regarding the rigging of the election.
I see liberal-minded people being taken over by these groups...right in my own workplace.
It's horrifying....and they're being brainwashed with the help of the media...

peace~

[madfloridian]

11. I see your cat is still puzzling over that Rubik's Cube.

I love that picture.

Yes, I agree, they are dangerous people. It is almost a mockery to our intelligence by McCain that he chose someone like that.

[Dystopian]

15. Happy you like the cat.....

She is me....and this picture is the only piece of substance I actually post here...
Without even trying ....

Not a writer...avid reader ;)



Thanks for being one of the best!
This is coming from one who is has Palin Paranoia, along with my therapist...
Hard to seek help when she's just as freaked out as I am :scared:

peace~

[madfloridian]

29. I love the cat, and Palin gives me the creeps.

I love the cat because I relate to it so well. Puzzled, confused....what the heck is going on? The world is confusing enough...who needs Rubik's Cubes.

I feel like the cat.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. kick

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. The Church has already given us a great reminder of what they'll do if given power.

The Dark Ages, the Inquisition, etc.

Christ preached love, forgiveness, tolerance, and moving beyond our animal side. I'm not sure that his message can be mixed in any manner with that of the dominionists, or that it stands any chance of being mistaken for the actions and message of the dominionists.

It's not in the bible, is it. Just admit it. Where does it say in the new testament to use force to get others to do what you want them to do? Do what I say or else is old school, and we can obviously see where it leads.

[truedelphi]

10. They would have Chosen Huckabee if they wanted just the Christian RW - they

Choose Palinbecause they want toahve the oil interests in charge for another eight years.

And the RW has cooked the election machinery, and thus ensured the coming election, so I doubt there is much of a way to stop them short of getting out in the streets today.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. Good Stuff! Katherine Yurica has a lot to add, too

In my opinion, Katherine Yurica has written the definitive piece on Dominionism. A Must Read!

The Despoiling of America


How George W. Bush became the head of the
new American Dominionist Church/State

by Katherine Yurica

Most Americans have been aware that religious
right Republicans have become extremely active
politically in the last twenty years. But because
we're Americans and we're mostly tolerant of other
people's religious beliefs, their rise to power hasn't
really troubled us. We should be troubled. There is
now overwhelming evidence that conservative
Christians set out to overthrow the government of
the United States, dispense with our democracy,
and institute in its place, a government ruled by
Old Testament laws-- including an expanded litany
of death penalties. This article is not a conspiracy
theory. It contains the legal elements required for
the prosecution of any criminal or civil conspiracy
in our nation. The proof is in this article.

A MUST READ!

http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm

[madfloridian]

13. Thanks, I am much impressed by her website.

I had read that but forgotten it. We can't forget.

[BrklynLiberal]

21. That is an EXCELLENT site!!

[2speak]

14. A new word needs to be given to the xxxxxxxx right wing

because they are so far from christian teachings it's not funny.

[greendog]

16. k&r

[Iterate]

17. An unholy alliance and doomed to failure.

Briefly, this is how I looked at it in the past:
Once upon a time The Republican party was one of country club wealth, predatory big businesses, and the militarists. Nixon invited the racists in when they were dumped from the Democratic Party. They brought their churches with them and Reagan welcomed them. It's hard to imagine he envisioned the destruction of his party when he did so, but then I would never have accused him of foresight.

I was one of those "drop-outs" who simply wanted to raise a family and live a peaceful life, but I saw them take over a small town, destroy the "moderate good-government" version of the Republican party, and begin to dominate the schools. That was the late 70's to early 80's and along came hate radio to cement the deal and militarize the movement. And I got involved in politics again. Before I left there, God was even in the weather reports.

Now I don't know what will happen. I can look at history and see that they will fail, it will, it is, coming apart. The elements of their party are fundamentally incompatible, but I always thought the money and military parts of their party would dump the fundies and move on. That's the way it looked back when. I never considered that they would actually take it over. If they do, or if they have, then the history of similar dramas in other cultures is not where you want to look for reassurance.

Time for some reading and thinking. Thanks for a great post.

[madfloridian]

22. Nice post.

I saw my Southern Baptist church hijacked. My family is mostly Republican, and they are not that kind of Republican. They are the sensible kind overall.

Some of the Republicans I know locally are disgusted, but afraid to say so.

[ngGale]

26. My whole family is Baptist ...

but I left early on in life. It must have been the way the church was changing during my marriage.
When I had my children, I sent them to the family church even though I didn't go. None of them go to church...it turned them totally off.

I tried to outrun the Falwell and Robertson bunch without thinking of my kids, really. Finally ended up in the Catholic church where I was happy until the '04 campaign. I've always been political and worked for the Kerry campaign. That's when the crap really hit the fan, over John Kerry.

At that point, my small southern Catholic church became the Evangelical/Catholic church. ???

I'm so sick and tired I don't write much anymore, either. I do read your posts because I relate to your story. It's soothing to be around one who knows and understands. I've gone silent around my friends. They are in total denial...they really don't know as most are from up north.

The banking disaster may help bring them out of the dark. I'm not sure anything can really. I just try and keep my mouth shut, which is totally unlike me. (Sigh)

This religious right thing has no soul ... the political system has burned a cross into my forward.
Figuratively speaking...

K & R

[madfloridian]

38. We don't go to church anymore.

That's what they have done with their narrowminded ways and hate-filled rhetoric.

Somehow we don't miss it right now.

[Forkboy]

18. Awesome post.

Big K&R!!!

:kick:

[Raine]

19. Good info ... THANKS! nt

[BrklynLiberal]

20. In the future, the history books will make comparisons between what happened to

Germany in the 1920-1940 and what happened to the US in the 1980-2010. Both countries followed a parallel path into Fascism and were responsible for death and destruction around the world. Their demise was mourned only by the most avid fanatics of their despotic regimes.



I fervently hope that this election will turn the tide for America.
Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[madfloridian]

37. I fervently agree with you.

We must have learned from the last 8 years...

[bertman]

23. Excellent post, Madfloridian. The only way to defeat these people is through exposure. While it is

correct that there are many Christians in government, I believe that most of them value our democracy and do not want to help facilitate a theocracy. However, it's appropriate to point out that it only takes a dedicated minority to impose its will on a befogged and apathetic majority, a la Bolshevism and Nazism.

The big problem is these dominionists run a stealth campaign. And the corporate media, for whatever reason, facilitates that stealth. Take Sarah Palin's church activities. They are all over the internet, yet did we hear a single question from Gwen Ifill on Thursday evening that related to Palin's extremist religious views? HELL NO. She treated her with kid gloves in the only nationally-televised event where almost every politically-aware American was watching.

The Family is certainly part of the explanation due to their extensive influence in media and major corporations, in addition to their government activities like the Weekly Prayer Breakfasts. But, are they colluding with the other big players like the military general staff and Pentagon leaders? Are they in league with Big Oil? What about Big Pharma? It's hard for me to grasp how all of these groups could be in the tank for dominionists. Are THEY using the dominionists to achieve their ends?

Having been raised Southern Baptist, and having been subjected to endless hours of bible study, I am still surprised by how few of these rabid faux-Jesus freaks actually know what the scriptures say. Mostly they seem to be malleable individuals who have abdicated all responsibility for interpreting the scriptures for themselves. I guess it's much easier to just swallow some preacher's interpretation than to actually read the bible and try to figure out what it means.

Disclaimer: I have long since left behind my Christian roots in favor of a non-theological view of the world, but I still believe that Christ, as represented by the teachings that have been attributed to that Jewish Rabbi of the early 1st century, was a very wise man and offers a lot that humanity can benefit from.

But back to the main thrust of my post. The only way to defeat these people is to expose these anti-democracy zealots and enforce the laws that are on the books. And specifically the Constitution. That will be the first task that President Obama will have before him if he is able to overcome the almost insurmountable obstacle of Republican-Dominionist control of the voting apparatus in America.

[tanyev]

24. I just finished reading Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer. Fascinating stuff.

The religious right often credits his father, Francis Schaeffer, as founding the movement and for a time Frank also helped and did speaking tours. But Frank got off the crazy train a while back and has some very harsh things to say about the Falwell/Robertson/Dobson crowd.

A few choice snippets:

What I slowly realized was that the religious-right leaders we were helping to gain power were not "conservatives" at all, in the old sense of the word. They were anti-American revolutionaries.

The new religious right was all about religiously motivated "morality," which it used for nakedly political purposes. This was a throwback to an earlier and uglier time, for instance to the 1930s pro-fascist "Catholic" xenophobic hatemongers like Father Charles Coughlin and his vicious anti-Roosevelt radio programs.

Long before Ralph Reed and his ilk came on the scene, Dad got sick of "these idiots," as he often called people like Dobson in private. They were "plastic," Dad said, and "power-hungry." They were "Way too right-wing, really nuts!" and "They're using our issue to build their empires."

[madfloridian]

27. Thanks, will check that book out. Sounds very interesting.

:hi:

[trudyco]

25. You really think the Religious Rt are anything other than pawns?

I think they are manipulated and their leaders aren't religious right at all. They (right wing leaders and so called religious "leaders") manipulate the gullible. It's all about power and money.

[madfloridian]

33. A lot to that. They have been manipulated and used.

:hi:

[CreekDog]

28. Your every thread belongs on the greatest page

every single time. thank you for this and all the others too. :hi:

[madfloridian]

30. Well...

I think that was very nice, but not true. There are so many talented writers here whose posts just drop.

But a nice thing to say, never the less.

:hi:

[litlady]

31. Good stuff...

I wonder if 20 years ago there would be a market for something like the Saddleback Church Forum where candidates discuss religion as it relates to government. Scary, really.

[Hekate]

32. Bookmarked. This is VITAL to keep bringing up at DU.

DU is where I learned about the Dominionists/Christian Reconstructionists, then followed up by reading about them at Theocracy Watch. They are terrifying, and the more people here who know about them the better. Who vetted both George W. Bush and Sarah Palin? Their leaders.

Hekate

[madfloridian]

34. I agree, it needs to be covered frequently.

Repetition is a good thing. :hi:

[peacetalksforall]

39. Thanks for this article. Timely. Do you or does anyone know anything

about the trade of agenda for votes. In the most practical application, there have been intial meetings followed by an agreement. I specifically target the year or years leading up to 2000.

I agree with the article and the comments - they have slowly, surely started at both ends - the WH and Supreme Court and the local school boards and civic positions.

But, at some point there must have been a meeting of the RNC and the Dobson type reverends to find agreement on participation. They have an army of people who contribute money, knock on doors, steal signs, steal votes - if asked. Their leaders were not going to mobilize them without some promises.

Assuming meetings to trade votes took place - is it legal under the Constitution?

(I believe they used one person as a conduit between the reverends and the RNC/Bush family - Bill Bennett.)

(The greatest act of phoniness is to condemn the religious control in Saudi Arabia or Iran and accept the religious control in the United States.)

[RFKHumphreyObama]

40. I think you left out an important date

1980 -When Ronald Reagan won the presidential election to succeed Jimmy Carter. Reagan wasn't from the religious fundamentalist base per se but he seemed to at least appeared to give the impression that he shared their values and beliefs on key issues and he pandered to them to some extent. He managed to tap into the disillusionment of religious fundamentalists that President Carter, for whom many had high hopes because of his religious background, didn't cater to their agenda

His elevation also marked the final triumph of conservative politics over moderate republicanism and I think this in turn partially provided the basis for the right wing fundamentalist wing of the party to increase in power and strength