The Republican Convention is turning into a "Holy Roller Event"

[ladjf]

The religious "fundies" have played an increasing role in Republican politics for decades. However, with the selection of Palin, it appears that the Republicans are focusing their major push on the "family values" (a.k.a. right wing religious beliefs) theme. Last nights RNC TV proceedings sounded more like a tent rival show that a political convention.

The outcome of this election will decide whether (1) America will be afflicted by primitive and dangerous religious philosophies for years to come or (2) America will rebuke the the Evangelistic wing in favor of a more mature set of values in which case the right wing zealots will be relegated back to their churches and out of the halls of mainstream American politics.

In order to win, the Democrats are going to have to defeat the screeching and fanatical right wingers, the biased media and a dangerous amount of illegal election processes. The American votes will need to wise up about which political party represents real tangible solutions as opposed to hollow emotional rhetoric.

[Gman]

1. This is their worst convention since Houston in 1992.

[mwb970]

2. I'm sad that America is so saddled with religious nuts in positions of power.

It wasn't like this when I was growing up. Politics was politics, church was church. Now they're the same damn thing.

[codjh9]

23. I couldn't agree more. They brainwashed and stole my only surviving brother,

on top of all of what you said! I hate them with a white-hot heat. They talk about being 'persecuted Christians', when all THEY want to do is tell EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US how/what to marry, what and how to do every single thing in every part of our lives. Now who would be persecuted if they had their way? Hell, they already DO have their way in too many parts of the country, because they've infiltrated school boards, city councils, and textbook committees. And guess what? Until lately, they've been successful at all of that because they were more organized than us! We've got to fight back in every single arena. Join People For the American Way, just for starters.

[WinkyDink]

3. Remember how the "pundits" opined that the Democrats "squandered" their Day #1?

How about the Republicans throwing away Day #3 for some of that Faux-time Religion??

[BumRushDaShow]

17. They actually squandered Days 1 & 2

Day 1 was only 2 1/2 hours long with the Stepford wives urging them to act like "compassionate conservatives" and Day 2 was mostly video tributes of past repukes and snooze-worthy utterances they called "speeches". :rofl:

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

4. They saw some of the evangelicals starting to shift to Obama

Their major push now is to make sure that doesn't happen.

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. Exactly, and Palin was the only candidate who could save the Evangelical base

However, now they are gambling with how many moderate Republicans and indys they'll drive away with the strident, hard right rhetoric. The theory here is that fear of Obama will, in the end, save them from losing too many moderate votes. I'm not sure I'd bank on that.

[barack the house]

5. The evangelicals did say that a least the young ones won't be bought.They are in retreat to the base

[JaneQPublic]

6. It does have the feel of a tent "revival" meeting...

...only without the uplifiting spirit.

Perhaps Caribou Barbie will bring out the snakes tonight and speak in tongues for most of her speech.

[ladjf]

7. She is already "speaking in tongues". (forked)

[Erin Elizabeth]

8. And it looked for all the world like a Klan rally.

All they were missing were the white sheets.

[ladjf]

9. Very good observation.

You made me realize that my original post likening the RNC to a "Holy Roller Event" might have placed tent revival meetings in an unfair comparison. The RNC definitely has more of a KKK flavor and less of the true "old time religion".

They might be playing the race card without ever mentioning the subject of race.

[Erin Elizabeth]

12. They can't help it--look at their demographics.

I saw exactly one African-American man at that convention last night. There might have been a few others, but I'd honestly be shocked if there were more than a handful out of the what? 10,000 people there? (Might have been fewer people than that, LOL.)

I can't even FIND a non-white person around here who is for McCain. Seriously, I've tried. Hell, a lot of WHITE people I talk to are for Obama.

Because their positions on the issues appeal so much to a certain slice of (usually) older white folks, that's what their convention ends up looking like.

And that SURE doesn't look like America.

[yellowdogintexas]

15. hi, ErinElizabeth...are there many McCain signs and bumper stickers over in Big D

not over here in Cowtown. May change after the convention is over but I am seeing Obama everywhere, lots of folks still have their Hillary stuff on their cars and a good bit of RON PAUL..

I run into people in the mall, at the grocery, at the gas pump, wearing Obama T shirt, and it is a cross section.

The funniest thing, at our Senate District convention, we had black women covered in Hillary stuff, white men and women w/Obama stuff and a fairly even mix of Latino distribution between the two. The black men seemed to be more for Obama as a group all other groups were a mix. I loved it.

I knew we weren't going to lose those African American women if Obama won.

[Erin Elizabeth]

24. Girl, no. I haven't seen a single McCain yard sign

and I have only seen one McCain bumper sticker while I was in Frisco. The car on the other side of him had passengers LITERALLY pointing at it and laughing.

I have, however, seen Obama yard signs and stickers, quite a few.

[QC]

10. They did the very same thing in 1992. And lost. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Bear in mind that Ross Perot played a part in that loss. Here's hoping Bob Barr

and Chuck Baldwin will pull off a large chunk of votes this time around. (Baldwin, a former Pastor, may now find some of his voters returning to the McCain ticket with the selection of Palin for Veep. However, Barr may pull of other conservative voters who are not religious and are uncomfortable with the veep choice.)

[BeyondGeography]

11. Great analysis...I think the fundies are going down in a big way

and we can thank McCain's choice of Palin for that. In his it's-a-fucked-up-life-anyway manner, I think he felt the plane was going to crash because he couldn't get his first choice of VP's, so he would pick the looniest, least qualified person from their midst, watch the fundies collpase in ecstatic rapture, and blame them for his defeat in the end, thus cleansing the party and the country of their ilk politically once and for all.

A final act of patriotism by the old soldier. Well done, sir.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Nehemiah Scudder for President! nt

(edited to get the name right)

[bushisanidiot]

16. I thought it was funny that they had the christian singer performing for the crowd

then followed it up with AC/DC over the loud speakers afterward. The people started to dance at first but then they decided they didn't like the music and started sitting down and pouting. It was funny as hell!

hahahaha!!

[AspenRose]

21. Was it "Highway to Hell?"

[invictus]

18. K&R

[Skidmore]

19. Perhaps there should be some effort to school people in

dispensationalism. A discussion of endtimers and how they are trying to shape international policy with the end of the world in mind.

[codjh9]

22. Which is bizarre since McCain isn't one of them. (Fundamentalists)