The Intolerable Dominionists

From Peter Montgomery at HuffPo:

Organizers argued (unconvincingly) that “The Response” was about prayer, not politics. But groups like the American Family Association (AFA), which paid for the rally and its webcast, and organizations like the Family Research Council, whose president was among the speakers, are not designed to win souls but to change American law and culture through grassroots organizing and political power-building. They have a corrosive effect on our political culture by promoting religious bigotry and anti-gay extremism, by claiming that the United States was meant to be a Christian nation, and by fostering resentment among conservative evangelicals with repeated false assertions that liberal elites are out to destroy religious liberty and silence conservative religious voices.

By calling for this rally, and partnering with the far right of the evangelical world, Perry aligned himself with all these troubling strategies. When he drew criticism for the event and the extremism of its sponsors, Perry suggested his critics were intolerant of Christians. Speakers returned to the theme, with one of them declaring that “there is an attack on the name of Jesus.” Such claims of anti-Christian persecution are a tried-and-true strategy of the Religious Right for rousing conservative Christians to political activism. And for those who actually believe that Christianity is on the verge of being criminalized in America, Perry’s event defined him as a defiant and courageous defender of the faith.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is a liar. There is no attack on the name of Jesus, just as there is no attack on Christians. Instead, there is, and well should be, an attack on the agents of hatred and intolerance who call themselves Christians. Perry does not speak for the Christian community, but has aligned himself with the evil groups who seek to dominate our government in the name of Christianity.

Perry, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Dick Armey and a host of other evil pols have infected the Christian religion and the GOP like a cancer. They align themselves with each because of the political power the religious right represents. But, if we view these opportunists clearly, they have more in common with the neo-confederate Libertarians as presented by the Auburn, Alabama based Ludwig von Mises Institute, which frames itself as an Austrian economic think tank. However, it is in fact a bigoted, racist, misogynist apologist for the old South and the historical stain of slavery. Among their hopes are secession, which has been avowed by Perry and Palin in the past. Not only would these potential Presidential candidates seek to ruin this country with savage austerity, they would likely attempt to tear our republic asunder.

As for Perry, he is merely walking in the footsteps of George W. Bush, who also pretended to be a born again evangelist to garner their support. Of course, W. had no dominionist pretensions, but laid this country low with tax cuts and imperial insanity, while also ignoring the rule of law. His brand of Neoliberalism, which Kevin Phillips called Texanomics, left the poor and disadvantaged to fend for themselves. Say what you want about Obama, but a lot of what he has failed to fix was inherited from Bush. I have no desire to go down that terrible road again with someone like Rick Perry.

Regarding Palin and Bachmann, I quote Dr. Andrew Brod at Wordup in March, concerning C4GC:

If the Dems can’t beat these turnips, shame on them.

Real Christians, such as Sarah Posner, have been on this for awhile:

Perry, Wilder argues, is venturing into new territory for an aspiring presidential candidate by courting pastors who are followers of the New Apostolic Reformation. The NAR apostles, he writes, have “bizarre” beliefs, including “some” who “consider Freemasonry a ‘demonic stronghold’ tantamount to witchcraft” and one who thinks the Democratic Party “is controlled by Jezebel and three lesser demons.” These unusual beliefs, says Wilder, wouldn’t be so remarkable except for the NAR’s “growing fascination with infiltrating politics and government.” NAR adherents want to “not just take ‘dominion’ over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the ‘Seven Mountains’ of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world. They believe they’re intended to lord over it all. As a first step, they’re leading an ‘army of God’ to commandeer civilian government.”