Saturday, June 6, 2009

The other right-wing

Sarah Palin may be going after "fear of government control of your lives" as her message, but there is another wing of the right-wing: the old one.

And Newt Gingrich is playing that one to the hilt. He and Mike Huckabee spoke at a Virginia event today, "Rediscovering God in America." Both urged members to get involved in politics in order to increase the presence of religion in our public life.

Both men railed against abortion rights, gay rights and the lack of religious influence in American public life, however Gingrich upped the ante in his attempt to stir up the crowd with this line:
I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history. We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism.

Huckabee went further, saying the the U.S. is a blessed nation and that it was "a miracle from God's hand," that defeated the legalization of gay marriage in California.

I wonder what he'll say when gay marriage gets reinstated in the next ballot initiative? And why didn't God do a miracle in Vermont, Iowa, Maine, and New Hampshire this spring?

I should never be cynical about someone else's religion, but I really do find it hard to believe that Newt's embrace of it is genuine and not opportunistic. When someone, whose prior life has not been exactly exemplary, suddenly "gets religion" just as he's trying to whip up support for a presidential run, and he is obviously courting the religious right vote -- I think Newt himself would question that, if it were someone else.

Ralph

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