Because the main point of the Republican Party is to throw more money to the super-rich, the poor thing has to find something else to talk about that will take peoples’ minds off this central message, which can’t appeal to more than one percent of the population. It seems to me that this unpalatable campaign message accounts for the party’s propensity to throw up lunatics as its leaders. Since no one would vote for their pockets to be picked by avaricious billionaires, the party gives us bread and circuses and bearded ladies. And witches and exorcisms. Get us talking about anything but the real point, which is to make the rich richer and the rest of us poorer (in which it has largely succeeded). Well, at least if they are going to rob us blind, they are entertaining muggers:
Cenk reacts to Christine O’Donnell’s admission of the youthful indiscretion of Satanism.
And, a trip down memory lane– Sarah Palin’s exorcism, which apparently did not work.
“Well, at least…they are entertaining muggers”. Entertaining Mugger-fuggers, more like it.
Dr Cole:
Exorcism? The second video you post appears to show the invocation of blessings, not the expulsion of demons.
Cenk did not grow up in the 60’s or 70’s–like us Dr. Cole. I don’t know about you, but there was quite a lot of experimentation going on in my teenage years amongst everyone around me. Acid trips, bongs, communes, free love, Carlos Castaneda’s books, Timothy Leary, Ram Das, Hare Krishnas, Moonies, etc., etc.–how long a list can we write? Your teenage years are very susceptible to your peer influence. Some guys would have taken her drug induced rave instead—whatever might work, if your a teenage boy, know what I mean? I emerged out of my teenages not attached to any of the extremes, although I “dabbled” along with most of my peers. Let’s not cast stones here. She didn’t join a coven–that’s a significant statement–and I’m wiser having experienced it, is another significant statement. My god, she’s actually up front and honest about it. Now let’s discuss the dabbling by those on the left–the non-inhalers–their associations and their forthrightness. Same old stories–it’s a three ring circus–right, left, and everyone in between. Some just make better clowns.
O’Donnell didn’t grow up in the ’70s either. Watch the video of her admission to Bill Maher – she’s quite young. So after witchcraft, she became an anti-masturbation crusader and rode that (excuse me) to electoral politics, re-made her appearance into a copy of Sarah Palin and got nominated to be a Senator by the GOP.
Is that the reigning example of meritocracy and hard work and implied superior Caucasian intelligence that the Right says will rebuild America’s globe-sucking empire?
The Palin video is important because of the people giving the blessings – leaders in an outlaw Pentecostal movement called the New Apostolic Reformation who were her key support group until she was nominated as McCain’s running mate.
See more at http://www.talk2action.org, which has links on its main page to part of its coverage of this sprawling network of theocrats, witch-hunters, and Catholic-bashers. Put it this way, Palin has fewer than 6 degrees of separation from the bill to execute gays in Uganda. This network also puts out videos documenting its exorcisms of entire regions against the demon known as the “Queen of Heaven” (the Virgin Mary), taking credit for causing Mother Teresa’s death, and driving witches out of villages and praying for them to have accidents. The NAR believes that everyone who disagrees with it, even other Christians, is under demonic influence, and that one day its members will take over all governments, corporations, and wealth worldwide.
Palin’s personal connection is Mary Glazier, a NAR leader who was a secretary for the Alaska Independence Party – which Todd Palin was a member of. Glazier recruited Palin into both the NAR and politics. She also “prophesized” that McCain would die in office and leave Palin as president. The NAR is obsessed with the idea of Alaska becoming a stronghold in the holy war to come.
Showing such a video may have the opposite of the intended effect. There are people to whom this sort of thing is appealing. But, they probably wouldn’t be reading Informed Comment in the first place.
Actually, there is a big difference between Democrats and Republicans.
Republicans dance to the tune of the big-money boys and do so by “leaders” (or actors) (aka politicians) who appeal to unrealistic and ideological fears (such as fear that families will somehow not remain intact or sacrosanct–hence stress on the importance of “family values” and opposition to birth control, abortion, homosexuality) (fear of military insecurity) (and also appeal to fear of witchcraft, fear of goblins, fear of dark corners) but do not publicly reveal their true purposes (further enrichment of the already unreasonably rich).
Their stated purposes rarely conflict directly with their hidden purposes. Thus, they are unconflicted. They know where they are going, know what they must do to get there, know who pays the freight, and as errand-boys are fearless in doing what must be done.
Democrats, too, dance to the tune of the big-money boys and do so by “leaders” (or actors) (aka politicians) who must disguise this real program. In this the two parties are the same.
Democrats, however, often appeal to the middle class and poor on purely practical grounds of dispelling quite realistic fears (fear of lack of medical care, fear of impoverished old age, fear of being discriminated against, as examples) and in a rather disorganized fashion sometimes tepidly push forward social legislation. But, like Republicans, Democrats do not publicly reveal their true purposes (further enrichment of the already unreasonably rich). Their stated social-program purposes often conflict directly with their hidden purposes. Thus, they are conflicted. And tepid in their public pronouncements.
Democrats don’t really know where they are going, don’t know what they must do to get there, do always know who pays the freight, and are tugged back and forth between the need to avoid scaring the big-money boys and the conflicting need to give a progressive message to the voters. They have no idea what must be done. Lately Democrats have moved “toward the middle” and away from social programs, thereby making themselves less conflicted and less distinguishable from Republicans.
Hooray for American-style democracy (and a special cheer for the Supreme Court for reminding us that it is the corporations, the real seats of wealth, which do and should control America).
Goblins! Scary!