What It Takes to Get the Republican Nomination in ’08: Bow Down to Theocrats

By Leah Fishbein & RJ
Schinner, 3/6/07

With millions of people
outraged by the whole direction in which the Bush regime has taken and is taking
the world, and growing disappointment at the lack of any fundamental changes in
the aftermath of the Democrats” ’06 victory, the presidential race is quickly
becoming the focus of nationwide attention. 
The ’08 elections are acting as a vacuum to suck the disaffection of
millions of people into a political process that will not by any means dislodge
the Bush Regime’s agenda (and perhaps this is the reason this election season
is starting so early).

Just to be clear, a toeing-the-line
Democrat as president will not address the pressing issues the country faces – complicity
in torture perpetrated by the government, the disappearing of civil liberties
and reproductive rights, an unjust war on Iraq and a war being planned on Iran,
etc. – that the “moderate” Democratic Congress hasn’t addressed in
months and, for the record, doesn’t plan to.

We”ve seen the relative
inaction of Congress on the big questions the whole world is asking.  For many, it seems like all that’s left is
waiting for something or someone to come along and clean up the horrifying mess
the Bush Regime has gotten the world into.  But when you look honestly at who the new “electable” candidates are
and at the terms of debate and discourse, it is clear that this political
process is not where our energy and resources need to go. What is urgently
required is not waiting for and putting our hopes in ’08, but massive
resistance and political upheaval from millions of people to reverse the whole
direction Bush has taken the world, and drive him out of office.

Why is this the case? To
understand why the driving forces behind the Bush regime are in no way
disappearing when he himself leaves office, it is telling to look at the
Republican primary race.

For starters, every candidate
has already proven themselves to be “tough on terror”, and is ready
and in fact enthusiastic to continue
the war for empire Bush has started, with all its horrific consequences
(torture, destruction of civil liberties, civilian casualties, a doctrine of
pre-emptive war, etc.) – even if they have some differences with the exact way
to carry it out.

But most ominous is the fact
that to stand a chance of receiving the Republican presidential nomination for
2008, candidates are bowing down to the Christian fundamentalist power-brokers
within the Republican Party and making every effort to prove they would in fact
advance a theocratic agenda if nominated and elected.  While it’s smooth sailing on the
fundamentalists” sea for more outright theocrats like Senator Sam Brownback[1] or
Representative Duncan Hunter[2], more
moderate candidates have to flip their positions and prove their conservative
credentials.

Rudy Giuliani, who supported
abortion rights as mayor of New York (even while being personally opposed to
abortion), recently sent words of support to Christian fundamentalists while
speaking in South Carolina: “On the federal judiciary I would want judges who
are strict constructionists because I am [one]”, even going so far as to
cite Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito,
both opposed to abortion rights, as the kind of judges he would nominate.[3]  For the far-right, “strict
constructionist judges” is simply a code word for judges who would
overturn Roe v. Wade.

More dramatically, Mitt Romney
– former governor of Massachusetts
turned presidential hopeful – has completely flipped his positions on abortion
and gay rights.  Ruth Markus of the
Washington Post writes:

During his Massachusetts races, Romney paraded his
conviction that “abortion should be safe and legal in this country”
and promised that “you will not see me wavering” on Roe vs. Wade.

Now Romney says he
opposes abortion except in cases of rape and incest or to save the life of the
mother, and supports overturning Roe. At the National Review Institute
Conservative Summit last month – at the very hotel where he had told us of his
commitment to not altering state law one way or another – Romney boasted that
each time an issue involving reproductive rights came up during his
governorship, “on every single one of them I came down on the side of
respecting human life.”

Romney’s
“Extreme Makeover: Political Edition” goes beyond abortion rights.
Once he supported allowing gays to serve openly in the military and backed a
federal law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation – not
anymore. He’s gone from saying “I don’t line up with the NRA” to
becoming, last August, a life member.[4]

In
addition to Romney and Giuliani, Senator John
McCain is jumping into the fundamentalists” popularity contest. Still hurting
from the Christian far-right’s burns after calling religious right leaders
“agents of intolerance” in the 2000 campaign, and very worried about Focus
on the Family’s James Dobson’s[5]
refusal to back his presidential bid, McCain recently began to rethink his
support of politically polarizing (a.k.a. not conducive to mobilizing an
intolerant far-right base) comments.[6]  He has since begun closer, friendlier
personal relationships with Jerry Falwell and others, stating that Falwell is
definitely not an agent of intolerance
or anything close to it.  A profile of
McCain for the 2008 election states that since his blasphemous comments, “the
two have discussed their shared values”[7]
and made up.

John McCain & Jerry Falwell

McCain began publicly proving
his credentials to the Christian Fundamentalists last spring by giving the
commencement speech at Falwell’s Liberty
University.  McCain told 800 people at a recent rally in South Carolina “I
do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned.”, and went on to
vow that he would appoint judges who “strictly interpret the Constitution
of the United States
and do not legislate from the bench.”[8]

It’s bad enough that every
major contender for the Republican nomination is changing or reaffirming their
positions on abortion, gay marriage, and other social issues to be in line with
the Christian Right.  But what makes this
even worse is that smear campaigns are already beginning in order to duke out who
the “real” fundamentalists are. 
Mitt Romney’s campaign recently sent out an email to 100 influential
social conservatives which argued that McCain hasn’t been strong enough on
opposing abortion, staying out of the debate in the 2000 election and not
taking a leading role against women’s rights in Congress.  McCain’s spokesman Matt David responded by
stating “Senator McCain ran as a
pro-life candidate, was elected as a pro-life senator and serves as a pro-life
senator.”  The reality that this is
the kind of context the Republican primary is already setting out for 2008 will
only lead to an even more far-Right nominee.[9]

In recent
years, Christian fundamentalist theocrats have increasingly taken over the
Republican Party, occupying key positions of leadership and influence, with
their agenda of banning abortion, birth control, gay marriage, and enforcing a
narrow and hateful morality and a non-scientific ignorance on society as a
whole.  These powerful theocratic forces,
together with the neo-conservatives, who are the architects of the current
endless war for empire, are the driving forces behind the Bush regime[10].  Far from receding to the background in the
wake of the 2006 elections, these forces are still largely setting the terms
inside American politics, and are insisting that their agenda continue to be pushed
after Bush’s presidency ends.

A recent
meeting held by the Council for National Policy, a secretive group of a few
hundred influential conservative leaders, including Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, the Rev.
Jerry Falwell of Liberty
University, and Grover
Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform is quite indicative of this continuing
presence. The private meeting featured speeches from some of the most
fundamentalist political players inside the Republican Party, including Gov.
Mark Sanford of South Carolina (whom influential attendees actually sought to
enlist as a presidential candidate after demanding more intolerance on the part
of the current candidates), and former Senator Rick Santorum.

Pushing
ahead in light of Sanford’s polite decline, attendees set about figuring out
how to ensure the Republican nominee for 2008 would be as far to the right as
possible on everything from Christian fundamentalist “values,” to immigration,
to the “war on terrorism”.   While some expressed dissatisfaction with the
three current frontrunners, this fact should not be interpreted as a loss of influence
on the candidates, but an indication of the fact that influential
fundamentalists are insisting any candidate picked completely bend to their
will.  Grover Norquist explained to the
press at the event that any candidate lacking an ultra-conservative past could begin
redeem themselves now, even making a comparison to a fundamentalist abstinence
program being promoted in high schools, where students who have already engaged
in sexual relations can make a pledge to never do so again until marriage.  He said, “It’s called secondary
virginity.  It is a big movement in high
school and also available for politicians.”[11]

So there
you have it.  As things currently stand,
the Republican presidential nominee will be someone completely willing and even
enthusiastic to further an intolerant, theocratic agenda.  Already under Bush’s presidency, far-Right
judges who make clear their intent to overturn Roe v. Wade have been appointed
to the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court. 
A Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage got 48 votes in the
Senate.  Federal agencies have been
stacked with Christian fundamentalists who do everything in their power to
limit access to abortion and birth control, teach their brand of religion in
schools, cut access to contraception and sex education, and much more. Funding
cuts to AIDS prevention programs, abortion services and family planning
worldwide under the Bush regime have meant the deaths of hundreds of thousands
since he took office.  This is a bleak
future.

And how
has the Democratic Party responded?  With
the rationale that “in order to defeat them, you have to become
them”.

[larger image]

Chuck Schumer and Rahm Emanuel, respective heads of the
Democratic Senate and House campaigns in 2006, purposely picked candidates who
were more in line with Christian fundamentalist “values”, justifying
this in the name of political expediency. 
Bob Casey, Jr., who defeated Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, made clear that “I am and
have always been pro-life”.[12]  Heath Shuler in North Carolina said during his campaign,
“I’m pro-life and I’m part of the Democratic Party, so I hope it’s part of
the platform”.[13]  Perhaps most disturbing, Democrat Harold Ford,
Jr., who lost the Senate race in Tennessee, responded to attack ads from his
opponent accusing him of supporting gay marriage with the following statement:

I
do not support the decision today reached by the New Jersey Supreme Court
regarding gay marriage. I oppose gay marriage, and have voted twice in Congress
to amend the United States Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. This
November there’s a referendum on the Tennessee
ballot to ban same-sex marriage – I am voting for it.[14]

When
8 states had ballot initiatives banning gay marriage (7 of which passed), where
were the voices from the Democratic Party condemning the bigotry and
intolerance emanating from the Republican Party?  When asked about gay
marriage on 60 Minutes in October, Nancy Pelosi said “Well, that’s an
issue that is not an issue that we’re fighting about here.”[15]

We
could go on here at great length (and readers can check out previous articles
on worldcantwait.org for a fuller picture[16]),
but the point is that the Democratic Party has refused to take on the moves
towards theocracy, instead insisting on finding common ground with religious
fanatics and running candidates that pander to their agenda.  Ceding ground to such a dangerous and
determined forced can only mean disaster for women’s reproductive rights, for
the rights of gays, for those suffering from AIDS, for the education of future
generations, and for the future of society.

In
the face of this ominous danger, which is only made more clear by the
Republican primary race, what is needed is massive opposition to this whole
theocratic agenda and those in power who are enforcing it.  Defensiveness and consequently allowing the
Christian Right to set the terms will only amount to disaster.

But
we cannot look to the 2008 elections as an avenue for such opposition.  This will have to come through a mass movement
from the people, setting its own political terms and challenging the rest of
society to confront the danger of theocracy and act to stop it. 

—

Check
back at worldcantwait.org for future articles on why waiting for the 2008 elections to stop the
Bush regime is not only too late, but won’t provide an avenue to derail the
Bush agenda itself.