-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
In a desperate attempt to distract the media away from the “Niggerhead” story, the Perry campaign used Rev. Robert Jeffress to claim that Mormonism is a cult. Jeffress, pastor of Dallas’ First Baptist Church, introduced Perry at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Perry hasn’t been doing too well recently and his latest problem was the revelation that his family’s secluded West Texas hunting camp was known by the name painted on a flat rock near its gated entrance: Niggerhead.
Jeffress’s views on Mormonism are well-known to the Perry campaign. He has previously claimed that Mormonism is a cult and that “it is not Christianity, it is not a branch of Christianity.” Like a dog with a new toy, the media went chasing after this new story, forgetting all about the Niggerhead story. Perry just has to deny that he thinks Mormonism is a cult, and the media is left searching for a new toy.
Most evangelical Christians don’t consider Mormonism a Christian sect, so it doesn’t hurt Perry to remind those voters that he is a true Christian and his number one rival is not. If one believes that their faith is the one true faith, then different faiths are necessarily false and not to be tolerated.
I won’t be shedding any tears for Romney. You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. You pander to bigots, don’t be surprised when they turn on you.
H/T: Blue Texan, Right Wing Watch, Washington Post, AlterNet, Politico.
HenMan,
We have so much in common … that was how I played my first video game … pong. Stuck a plastic sheet on the TV screen bounced that little ball from one side to the other.
To Elaine and others,
I should have clarified that I meant people here were unlikely to vote for any of the current Republican candidates except, possibly, Ron Paul. It would have made what I said more understandable and I agree that was a mistake on my part. I also would vote for a Republican and have voted Republican and third party.
It is also absolutely important to evaluate and criticize any person running for office. That isn’t my point. My point is to watch the pattern of criticism. It’s actually ties in with something David wrote in his post. He said Perry was calling Mormonism a cult to distract from his own wrongdoing. Indeed, this is precisely what Perry is doing. Distraction is a time honored tactic. What I am trying to point out is exactly similar. I am saying Democrats need to watch out for the tactic of distraction by Obama. On the left, distraction often takes the form of stories about Republicans.
Unlike what Blouise and S.M. claim I wrote, I specifically said there is something to fear from the Republicans (who are currently running). Here is what I actually wrote: “Are we afraid that the candidate is a war monger, will increase the surveillance state, will destroy the social safety net, will refuse to turn away from oil and gas, will further impoverish the poor while enriching the banksters? I believe those are all well founded fears.”
Saying something is a well founded fear cannot be twisted around to mean that I am not worried about it or that it is wrong to look at those facts. So I hope S.M. and Blouise will be honest enough to reread what I actually wrote and represent it fairly.
Now to talk about distraction. As I said, if you look at many “liberal” sites, such as Alternet and RawStory (to name two), you will see precisely a pattern of distraction aimed at Democrats. A great deal of these sites will be taken up with the Republican presidential horse race and Republican wrongdoing. Now it certainly makes sense to cover this, but when that type of writing becomes predominant on a site we need to ask why that is so. We also need to ask why other things are not covered, or covered in a way that repeats the propaganda of the administration. For example, an article in RawStory casually referred to al-Awalki as a terrorist, something they have no right to do. That is nothing but an administration talking point.
I have found the left wing to be complacent about being propagandized. There was an extreme level of propaganda aimed at the left in 08 by the Obama campaign. Obviously, it was quite successful. I see that it never really stopped but it’s ramping up right now, big time. The only way to counteract propaganda is to be aware of it and look for it. It does mean being willing to question ideas that are comforting but are actually being used as a cynical form of manipulation. Distraction is powerful and effective. We have a better chance of resisting manipulation if we work together to point it out. No one person will see everything but if each of us sees a part of it and will speak out, we can help each other see through lies.
Blouise-
re your comment of Oct.9,2011 at 3:06pm:
You’re pretty cute yourself.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I don’t have the Smiley Face technology on my 1955 Muntz computer, so I stuck one of those yellow stickers on my screen. Right over the DuMont Network logo.
Are you a bigot if you are intolerant of Neo-Nazis or members of the Ku Klux Klan? I believe that’s different from being prejudiced against people because of the color of their skin or their religious beliefs.
SwM,
Fear based on facts is good … fear based on lies is bad. Funny how some folks don’t know the difference.
Oro’s prior post reminded me of an NPR segment from 2008 when they interviewed people attending the southern baptist convention. One person interviewed stated that they could never vote for a mormon or catholic, because they were not christians. This statement has continued to puzzle me.
Wasn’t Catholicism the original christian religion? Followed by Lutheran, when Martin Luther started the protestant reformation? It was my understanding that all other christian groups then were derived from there.
Either way, any group that tries to gain legitimacy by denigrading others should probably be ignored.
Nal – Great Post
Oro – great follow up.
Question: if the fundamentalists found out that Jesus was jewish, would their heads explode?
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/10/03/334031/mitt-romney-pledges-to-push-for-federal-abortion-restrictions/
Oro Lee,
That is what I found most intriguing about A Conservative Teacher’s post … the attempt to excuse the bigotry on the right by suggestion that Nal was a bigot for pointing it out.
Bigotry is intentionally dishonest especially when trying to disguise its ugliness but like Stewart’s definition of porn … I know it when I see it. I see it in A Conservative Teacher’s post.
I have voted for a democrat for president since I first was eligible to vote in 1972 when I voted for McGovern. I voted for a republican in Minnesota for senate when the liberal democrat I was working for lost a primary challenge. The republican, Dave Durenberger, turned out to be a disaster. I have voted republican occasionally in city elections. Now I live under tea party control in Texas, and I would hate to see that happen nationally.
Blouise, If presenting the facts is fear mongering then I am guilty as charged.
Jill,
You are making a mistake to assume that many of the regulars here have always voted for Democrats on the national level. I voted for John Anderson as an independent many years ago. I voted for Chuck Percy years ago for Senate and some Republicans on the state and local level. However, the National Republicans of this era are not like the Rockefeller Republicans. Moderation and cooperation is not in their language.
Blousie,
Thank you for your forthrightness. It’s nice to be able to say of a person that in such a one there is no guile.
I somehow missed the post you were referencing (in truth, I usually only read the posts of trusted sources). My apologies.
But, am I a bigot — a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs?
By this definition, probably. I won’t listen to country music if I can help it and I don’t really trust folks who claim its their favorite type. Stupid of me? How about if I say the same of Rush Limbaugh and ditto heads?
The subject of our prejudices matter. The basis of our prejudices matter. And whether those prejudices affect how we treat people matters the most.
Prejudices and unfounded opinions, if kept in check, are useful and maybe even irreplaceable; on a daily basis we deal with way too many subjects which impact our lives to have an informed and reasoned opinion on each. But more important than prejudices are principles.
This may not be perfect, but for me it may be workable, if I can treat another despite my prejudices the way I would want to be treated.
But I do save my loathsome best for those who are not necessarily bigots but rather encourage and use such bigotry for their own gain. How is that not the current Republican party?
I may not be happy with some of the Dems in office, but look at who have they have to deal with.
SwM,
Are you fear-mongering again? 😉
anon nurse,
I’m a fool for HenMan … 🙂
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/romney-says-obama-doesnt-think-america-unique-in-foreign-policy-address.php?ref=fpc Romney is the front runner in the republican polls and in the general so why not look at him and what he is saying?
Elaine,
I voted for our republican mayor and even served in his administration. He’s a fiscal conservative and a compassionate conservative. He cut some non-essential services but no one lost their job and the poor and elderly were not penalized. Our city weathered the economic downturn and even managed to build a new complex by simply keeping the contractors to their word with no cost overruns. The union negotiations went through without a hitch with small increases to the members’ contributions to healthcare. Nonunion employees including Department Heads also accepted the same small increase in contributions to their healthcare. No one got a raise but no one was let go or laid off.
I support his re-election.
Oh, and quickly…. Blouise, You’re nobody’s fool…
We are turning on our own … as all addicts eventually do. -Blouise
Yes, we are…
(Guests coming… will respond later… I should have been clearer in my comment — no confusion… )
anon nurse,
I thought it was very humorous. (email)
I posted Obama’s remarks because I think he’s right. Please don’t confuse my thinking he is right about his chances for re- election with the belief that he is right for the office.
Although we find the horrors begun by Bush and continued by Obama abhorrent, the fact of the matter is that many citizens do not. Obama has robbed the republicans of the “democrats are soft on dealing with and or killing the enemy”.
On another thread gbk remarked on our addiction to war and until that addiction was handled, the atrocities would continue. I agree with that. This addiction to war is deep within our citizenry and I have no idea how to heal it. We are turning on our own … as all addicts eventually do.
Jill,
Jill,
“I feel both sadness and fear when I read so many articles on this blog about evil Republican candidates. I’m willing to guess that only a few readers of this blog would consider voting for a Republican presidential candidate with the possible exception of Ron Paul.”
*****
I would consider voting for a Republican presidential candidate–but never Ron Paul. I had hoped that Jon Huntsman might be an option for me. He had seemed more reasonable than the other Republican candidates. Romney was much more moderate when he was elected governor of Massachusetts. He changed positions on many issues once he got presidential aspirations. I couldn’t vote for him now.
In the past, I have voted occasionally for Republicans–although never in a presidential election. The Republican presidential candidates are too far to the right for me. I don’t like the anti-gay rhetoric I’ve heard from a number of them. I don’t like their positions on taxes and the top 1% and on financial regulations for banks and Wall Street.
I would hate to see the Republicans gain control of the White House and and Senate while maintaining control of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court. I look at the state of Wisconsin as an example of the terrible things that can happen when radical Republicans take full control of a state government. That DOES scare me!
I have not been happy with many of the actions and positions taken by President Obama. I wish there were a Republican that I could vote for in 2012.
*****
“I truly believe the constant focus on Republican candidates is a soothing psychological defense mechanism for Democrats, one that Democrats must stop engaging in.”
I believe we’ve had a number of discussions about our Obama concerns on this blog. There has been plenty of criticism of the president, his administration, the DOJ.
Perry was the Republican front runner for a short period of time. He is not a man that I’d like to see as president of this country. I think criticism of all candidates–whether Democratic or Republican–is in order if they deserve it.