Do Republicans ever hold any of themselves accountable for anything:
He [Newt Gingrich] also acknowledged having an extramarital affair with
Callista Bisek, then a House staff member, while leading impeachment
proceedings against Mr. Clinton for lying about his own sexual
transgressions. NY Times, 2011-02-28
I don't think they do hold themselves accountable. I think they believe they are
special, touched by god, with wisdom so sublime and transcendent that
mortal men cannot even begin to apprehend the audaciousness of their wisdom.
When you think you are so right that those who disagree with you are not
mere political opponents but enemies of the state-- nay, enemies of God!-- foreigners, and subversives, consistency
is truly the hobgoblin of little minds.
"In America, religious belief is being challenged
by a cultural elite trying to create a secularized America, in which God is
driven out of public life.”
Never imagine that any kind of scurrilous, scumbag, divisive politics is
beneath a Republican. Newt Gingrich has found Jesus. Just in
time for 2012. Do even fellow Republicans buy this? Does anyone
in the Republican Party ever acknowledge that the movement itself would be
better off if it sounded a little less cynical and opportunistic?
Is there anything more that anyone needs to know about Newt Gingrich than
that he is willing to stand in front of a crowd of Republicans and make the
statement he made above, (at a gathering of the Ohio Right to Life) February
28, 2011?
Nobody can seriously believe that Newt actually believes this. If
he does, America is far worse off than even I imagined. But it does
magnify something that has become more apparent since 9/11: he doesn't even
care if you believe he believes it or not. It doesn't matter.
How does one avoid being rude when observing what should be obvious but
obviously isn't? That New Gingrich, ready to make another run at the
presidency, studied the polls and decided that Americans-- actually,
Republicans who vote in the primaries-- want a leader with
genuine religious convictions so, all right, we can do that. Here's
how: you say "In America, religious belief is being challenged by a
cultural elite trying to create a secularized America, in which God is
driven out of public life.” You say this in front of "Ohio Right to
Life". Just drink in the applause. Ahhhh. Feels good.
It's so easy. And the money keeps rolling in. And James Dobson
is already behind you, on his knees, lips puckered.
It's like "fiscal responsibility" and "no new taxes" and
"strong military" and anything with "America" in the title, on a book-- not
that anyone will actually read it. They just need to know that
you, like Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee and everyone else out there on the
right, has not only read at least one book in your life but has also written
one. Something like "Fighting for America". Or "Finding the Real
America". Or, "America-- the America of Americas". Or "God and
America". Or "How Immigration is Ruining America" by Nancy McDougal
and Sid Hofstetter.
Not that you could actually have ever been bothered to actually
write the book. Gosh, that's not time well-spent for God's appointed
leaders-- that's hack work, for what's'isname-- the elite intellectual snob
we hired just for this kind of work.
But conservatives don't give a flying
leap about whether you actually wrote a book you "authored". That's
for those effeminate, liberal, snobbish eastern elites. People
like Al Gore and Barack Obama. No, by God,
a real leader just puts his name on it. Nor do they seem to give a damn about the rankest
hypocrisy imaginable (see sidebar).
I suppose people should be reassured that Gingrich has discovered,
thrillingly, if belatedly, that 2+2=4. We all look forward to the next
miracle: how he will balance the budget, cut taxes for the rich, and
increase military spending, without cutting any programs.
Aside from all that, isn't Gingrich more or less openly saying that
America should become a Christian Theocracy? If not, then what is
he saying?
