Screwed again

I don't have a lot of sympathy or for that matter pity for hard-right christianity. But you do have to wonder these days how they feel about getting screwed time and again by the people they heaved into power.

Take, for example, this case. Now, the fundies have gone to the mat for Bush and his wars on brown people time and time again, so you have to wonder how they feel about someone in Afghanistan being sentenced to death for converting to christianity. See, in Islam, apostasy is punished with death; and since our new protectorate in the Hindu Kush is officially an Islamic Republic, one established with American tax dollars and protected by American forces, the death penalty for converting to anything from Islam is valid statutory law.

Nice going there, boys. Is that whatcha signed up for?

Next up, Bush's recent appearance at one of his scripted photo-ops town hall meetings, where he was asked if various crap was a sign of the impending rapture/end of days/whatever. No, the questioner did not mention Paris Hilton, who is indeed a sign of the end. But anyway, what was Bush's reaction to the question? Interesting, because this delusion of the nearing end is actually widely held by his base, or, as I like to call them, "people to stupid to realize they're being cynically exploited".

He laughed. That's right, he laughed at this belief and therefore the people who hold it. See the video here.

Next up, from the Washington Monthly, America's best magazine, a piece on a campaign to make bible classes available in Alabama public schools. Guess who's fighting that idea tooth and nail? Not the ACLU. Not the DNC. Not even Americans United. Nope - the resistance is coming from the local republican party. Read the article, it's definitely worth it. And why are they resisting it? Because the legislation is being pushed by two Democrats. That can't happen, because the republicans need you. It's not about "faith", guys, it's about something far more interesting to every politician: Power.

So you see, guys, that email exchange between Michael Scanlon, Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff, in which you are described as "wackos" and as targets for manipulation was not an aberration. But just for the fun of it, here's the quote:

"The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees," Scanlon wrote in the memo, which was read into the public record at a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them."

Basically, "wackos", you're getting screwed, laughed at behind your backs, and exploited. Which does indeed make you worthy targets of exactly the kind of derision you get behind the scenes.