What Worries Jeff Dee?

ON THE BRINK

October 26, 2002

The Republicans are one Senatorial seat away from controlling all three branches of our government. That has not happened since 1929, and it would have a devastating effect on all aspects of our society - much more so this time around, since the Republicans are currently under the control of extreme right wing Christian fundamentalist conservatives. They have especially focused on Minnesota, where their candidate Norm Coleman has been in a tight race with incumbent liberal Democrat Senator Paul Wellstone. Coleman is a right wing conservative Christian, hand picked by the White House to oppose Wellstone - who Bush obliquely referred to as, "one of these polarizer-type people, pitting one group of people against another". There's irony for you. When Coleman introduced Bush at a campaign stop last week (Bush's 4th appearance on Coleman's campain trail), he said: "George Bush is a leader for our times. When we sing 'God Bless America,' it is a prayer, and I believe this person is part of God's answer."

Yesterday, Senator Wellstone, his family, top campaign officials and everyone else on board their plane died in a plane crash minutes after takeoff from a Minnesota airport. The Democratic party is scrambling to come up with a replacement candidate, with only 10 days left until the election. And you know the religious right is viewing this as another "part of God's answer" to their governmentally sanctioned prayers.

This is the future of our nation we're talking about, folks. I won't tell you who you should vote for, but I will tell you that if you don't go out and vote against the right wing conservative fundamentalist takeover of America, then you are helping to hand them the reins of power. And you know what they will do with that power, because they make no secret of their intentions. They'll use public school to indoctrinate the next generation of religious robots, and to marginalize any child who doesn't goose-step in line. They'll remove real science from public school and replace it with Biblical fairy tales. They'll open the floodgates of public funds to "faith based" everything - from social services to mental health care to who knows what else. Faith based lawn care, maybe. They'll take away the reproductive freedom of women. They'll put up Christian insignia on every aspect of our governemnt - promoting their claim to America's, authority, legal system, even America's very existence. They will cement their control of the Supreme Court by installing right wing fundamentalist Christian judges. They'll bring about the conflagration they're hoping for in the Middle East, which they believe will lead to the END OF THE WORLD and the return of their beloved Jesus.

I'm not a prophet. I am not predicting the future. This is not a slippery slope argument that I'm concocting in order to scare you. I am telling you about the power that the right wing fundamentalists are ONE SENATE SEAT AWAY from attaining, and what they have already said they want to do with that power.

I can't predict what they'll do after that. But maybe YOU can. When they've had their conflagration and the world is still here and still no Jesus, where do you think they will turn their attention next? We know they don't like anyone who isn't a Christian Fundamentalist - particularly atheists. Bush's daddy is on record saying that atheism is incompatible with citizenship. And they've already made it clear that they consider the Constitution nothing but a minor annoyance (at least when they're not twisting it to pretend it says what they want it to say). Do you think once they have the unchecked power to re-interpret or re-write it that your own Constitutional freedoms will be safe? This isn't crystal ball stuff. Look to Afghanistan if you want to see what lies in the future of an America ruled by religious fundamentalism. The Taliban publicly executed infidels. I can't say it'll go that far here. But I can ask: once the Christian fundamentalists control every branch of our government… what's to stop from happening here?

If you are not yet registered to vote, get registered now. If you can vote early and haven't voted yet, go out and vote now. And if you can't vote until Nov. 5, find out where you'll need to go and when you'll have to be there now. If you have friends or relatives who oppose the religious right, and you don't know for sure that they're going to vote, go and remind them now. I do not want to wake up on Nov. 6 to an America run exclusively by right wing conservative Christian fundamentalists. Do you?


FOLLOWUP
Nov. 14, 2002

Well, what do you know. The Republicans now control Congress and the presidency. And the news media are already reporting that the religious right is claiming the credit, and clamoring to have their agenda implemented pronto. PAY ATTENTION. And don't say nobody warned you.

posted by Jeff Dee @ 11:07 AM