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Monday, July 19, 2010

The Gap Shrinks Even More
Posted by jurassicpork | 9:47 AM

(A Brilliant @ Breakfast exclusive.)

If Hitler and Stalin came back from the grave to support Obama on anything, it could be taken as an article of faith, pardon the pun, he'd gratefully accept their help in spite of, ahem, spotty human rights records. The Nazi and Communist leaders would be standing on either side of the Chief Executive during a news conference at the Rose Garden, each wearing their respective iconic military uniforms. It would be touted in the most reverential of terms by Mr. Obama as the most glorious type of bipartisanship. Six million Jews gassed? Millions more dead in Soviet gulags? Can't we let bygones be byegones? Obama would ask us as Hitler and Stalin would balefully look at the free but fawning press, each wishing they were back home so they could release the stormtroopers and the hounds on them.

Well, unless we accelerate cloning technology and think of some really horrid misuses for it, we won't be seeing such an alliance just yet but Obama has the next worst thing standing in his corner: Evangelicals.

Because they're Obama's new allies in the next growing, conservative hot button issue: Immigration. Evangelicals? Really? Aren't they supposed to be social conservatives, and gooseleggedly marching in lockstep with the GOP on virtually very issue? Well, yes, but as the old extra-Biblical saying goes, The Lord helps those that help themselves and that's exactly what they're doing here.

You see, NY Times reporter Laurie Goodstein isn't coming out and saying it but do you think that evangelicals would actually side with Obama on anything, including humanitarian immigration reform, unless there was something in it for them? Not a fucking chance. With 12,000,000 estimated illegal immigrant souls in this country hanging in the balance, the dozens of evangelical factions that are rushing to Obama's side in this matter see a wonderful opportunity that can be summed up in one ugly word that fills me with shivering loathing:

Proselytization.

In Goodstein's front page article in today's NY Times, we see clues as to their true intents (emphasis mine):
Hispanic storefront churches are popping up in strip malls, and Spanish-speaking congregations are renting space in other churches. Some pastors, like Mr. Hybels, lead churches that include growing numbers of Hispanics. Several evangelical leaders said they were convinced that Hispanics are the key to growth not only for the evangelical movement, but also for the social conservative movement.

So there you have it: They're forging a temporary alliance with Obama simply in the interests of growing their religious and political base. And if Obama doesn't see this, then he has to be even stupider than his predecessor, President Evangelist Zero. And that's saying something.

Elsewhere, Goodstein quotes Richard D. Land: "Hispanics are religious, family-oriented, pro-life, entrepreneurial. They are hard-wired social conservatives, unless they’re driven away."

"Hard-wired social conservatives"? This, of the fastest-growing voting bloc in America and one that reliably votes Democratic. One also detects a strong whiff of ideological bigotry: If one loves their family and puts its interests above all else, if you're pro-life and want to make something of yourself by owning your own business, then you can't be a liberal. And let's just ignore the fact that the vast majority of Hispanics are still and will remain Roman Catholic.

The only possible upside to all this is that it will absolutely fracture the xenophobic Steve King/Tom Tancredo faction of the GOP who may finally take advantage of this schism to finally divest themselves of these snake-charming canvas tent-dwelling Bozos.

But take heart, people: The earth hasn't been wrenched completely off its axis: Some conservatives have stayed the course, such as Bryan Fischer of the homophobic AFA:
"What my evangelical friends are arguing is that illegal aliens should essentially be rewarded for breaking the law. I think it’s extremely problematic from a Judeo-Christian standpoint to grant citizenship to people whose first act on American soil was to break an American law."

I won't get into the discussion of how many laws we'd broken since the 16th century when white men began populating North America and stealing land from the very same people whose ancestors once owned it and whose descendants are now seen as illegally encroaching on it.

Keep the faith, Fischer.
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3 Comments:
Blogger Friðvin said...
Re: your last paragraph... I think that was also a Judeo-Christian ethic, wasn't it?

Perhaps the biggest mistake the natives made was not having flagpoles along the shoreline to indicate the land was already taken.
7/19/10, 2:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I do not think Hispanics will be fooled so easily, especially when their white brothers and sisters (yes, there are huge area of the country where people can and do co-exist!)advise them of the snake oil salesmen ahead.

In observing my Roman Catholic friends in the Northeast part of the country where I live, I cannot see where the "teachings" of the Vatican hold much weight with them. This is probably true of the Hispanic who seem to like to worship within their own communities.

However, Evangelicals feel theirs is the only path to salvation, and let us not forget all the "coin" the Evangelicals are missing out on from their Hispanic "sinners".

Even God cannot escape good old American capitalism!
7/20/10, 4:51 AM  
Blogger jurassicpork said...
"Evangelicals feel theirs is the only path to salvation..."

But don't all religions feel the same way? This is why, if I had a gun put to my head and forced to choose one denomination, I'd choose the Unitarians. They tend to be more secular and are open to gays and bisexuals like me. A secular, liberal, all-inclusive, non-dogmatic denomination makes the most sense, if one must go that route.
7/20/10, 1:07 PM  
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