Post by Moose on Feb 27, 2009 15:07:09 GMT -5
Written March 25, 2008
If you think these take too long to read, keep in mind that this took me two hours to write.
If you've been following the news, I'm sure you know Eliot Spitzer's story. Yeah, moral crusader indeed.
Every time one of these guys tells you about how many "moral values" he has, you automatically know he's lying. The whole morality thing is just a way of getting your vote. All the different portrayals of their morality--like ads, for example--are carefully constructed to convey the exact message that the campaign staff wants you to get. The campaign staff will do anything to make you win, so of course they'll try to do so in any way, shape, or form. To them, the end justifies the means.
Don't expect this kind of dirty campaigning to end anytime soon, because almost every lawmaker in office right now has engaged in this kind of behavior at some point in his or her life. Let's say that they did enact legislation against deceptive campaigning, and then...
When you preach the exact opposite of what you practice, what happens when you get caught? The devout Christians, the moral crusaders in the government working hard day and night to maintain God's Kingdom of America, where do they end up? Let's see...
Nixon said on national television, "I'm not a crook."
Clinton got a blowjob from a fat intern and then lied about it under oath.
I'm not wasting my time talking about Larry Craig...
...or Jim McGreevey.
Newt Gingrich gave up his seat in the House of Representatives because while he was busy impeaching Clinton, he had a mistress who was getting busy with him.
The guy who took Newt's place was having the same problems.
Strom Thurmond passionately believed in the inferiority of Blacks. In that case, why did he have an illegitimate daughter with a Black woman?
The Bush family and friends are supposed to all be these great Christians. Yeah, right. The whole Texas farm boy thing was carefully constructed to portray a false image of him so that YOU would like him and vote for him. He's not a humble farmboy. His father's a New England oilman. So is he, but he didn't have much luck in the industry. Instead, he went into politics as a puppet for the oil industry. Jeb's daughter is a drug addict. Dick shot a guy in the face while he was drunk, and then tried to cover it up when the police came after him. I can give you more examples, but you get the idea.
Even though Democrats and Republicans deserve equal blame for this kind of bullshit, the Republicans get away with it in an especially disheartening fashion. It all started with the "Moral Majority" in the Reagan years. Evangelist ministers got together and wanted to rid the world of pagans, Catholics, homos, etc. and they formed an alliance with the Reaganites. That's where the alliance with the church and the Republican Party started.
Republicans aren't that Christian. Look at all the things condemned in the Bible that the Republican party so graciously supports. Usury. Taking bribes. Giving lavish rewards to the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Yeah, those are very Christian values.
The Christian values that get people elected are usually limited to abortion and gay marriage. Entire elections are decided on those two issues. If you think the politicians share your views on those two issues, you will be disappointed just by listening to them in candid conversations.
Remember Dan Quale, the last "Christian" vice-president? He was a pretty strong opponent of abortion and wanted it outlawed in most cases. Then Larry King asked him on his show what he would do if his own daughter wanted an abortion. Quale said that he would support his daughter in whatever decision she wanted to make.
Our current "Christian" vice-president is Dick Cheney. Our president is strongly against same-sex civil unions but the vice-president's daughter is openly gay.
The Church leaders go along with this nonsense for their own benefit. In doing so, they affect the outcomes of major elections. The Catholic Church condemned John Kerry saying that it would be a sin to vote for him. Why? Because he has "un-Christian" views about abortion and gay marriage.
Jerry Falwell is the guy who started the Moral Majority. Here's what he had to say about 9/11:
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
You know why I think 9/11 happened? Because the rest of the world is sick of people like Jerry Falwell.
As you can see, the Republicans aren't any more Christian than the Democrats are. However, right wing pundits like Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly blindly believe the notion that all Liberals and Democrats are Godless savages secretly plotting with Satan to rid the world of God.
Family values is another idea that's getting on my nerves. Sure, the politicians have family values. They care about their own families. They just don't care about yours. Actually, I'm not sure how much they care about their own families. I'm sure you know how kids of rich and famous people often turn out.
The only politicians with any sense of decency are the ones who don't claim to be these champions of morality. They're all imperfect human beings. Rather than admitting that, they present themselves as perfect individuals. Then they chide their political opponents for not being perfect.
Whatever. If a politician tells you he has moral values, then it's almost always a way of covering up some dark aspect of his life that if you knew about, it would cost him your vote.
Moral values are overrrated.
If you think these take too long to read, keep in mind that this took me two hours to write.
If you've been following the news, I'm sure you know Eliot Spitzer's story. Yeah, moral crusader indeed.
Every time one of these guys tells you about how many "moral values" he has, you automatically know he's lying. The whole morality thing is just a way of getting your vote. All the different portrayals of their morality--like ads, for example--are carefully constructed to convey the exact message that the campaign staff wants you to get. The campaign staff will do anything to make you win, so of course they'll try to do so in any way, shape, or form. To them, the end justifies the means.
Don't expect this kind of dirty campaigning to end anytime soon, because almost every lawmaker in office right now has engaged in this kind of behavior at some point in his or her life. Let's say that they did enact legislation against deceptive campaigning, and then...
When you preach the exact opposite of what you practice, what happens when you get caught? The devout Christians, the moral crusaders in the government working hard day and night to maintain God's Kingdom of America, where do they end up? Let's see...
Nixon said on national television, "I'm not a crook."
Clinton got a blowjob from a fat intern and then lied about it under oath.
I'm not wasting my time talking about Larry Craig...
...or Jim McGreevey.
Newt Gingrich gave up his seat in the House of Representatives because while he was busy impeaching Clinton, he had a mistress who was getting busy with him.
The guy who took Newt's place was having the same problems.
Strom Thurmond passionately believed in the inferiority of Blacks. In that case, why did he have an illegitimate daughter with a Black woman?
The Bush family and friends are supposed to all be these great Christians. Yeah, right. The whole Texas farm boy thing was carefully constructed to portray a false image of him so that YOU would like him and vote for him. He's not a humble farmboy. His father's a New England oilman. So is he, but he didn't have much luck in the industry. Instead, he went into politics as a puppet for the oil industry. Jeb's daughter is a drug addict. Dick shot a guy in the face while he was drunk, and then tried to cover it up when the police came after him. I can give you more examples, but you get the idea.
Even though Democrats and Republicans deserve equal blame for this kind of bullshit, the Republicans get away with it in an especially disheartening fashion. It all started with the "Moral Majority" in the Reagan years. Evangelist ministers got together and wanted to rid the world of pagans, Catholics, homos, etc. and they formed an alliance with the Reaganites. That's where the alliance with the church and the Republican Party started.
Republicans aren't that Christian. Look at all the things condemned in the Bible that the Republican party so graciously supports. Usury. Taking bribes. Giving lavish rewards to the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Yeah, those are very Christian values.
The Christian values that get people elected are usually limited to abortion and gay marriage. Entire elections are decided on those two issues. If you think the politicians share your views on those two issues, you will be disappointed just by listening to them in candid conversations.
Remember Dan Quale, the last "Christian" vice-president? He was a pretty strong opponent of abortion and wanted it outlawed in most cases. Then Larry King asked him on his show what he would do if his own daughter wanted an abortion. Quale said that he would support his daughter in whatever decision she wanted to make.
Our current "Christian" vice-president is Dick Cheney. Our president is strongly against same-sex civil unions but the vice-president's daughter is openly gay.
The Church leaders go along with this nonsense for their own benefit. In doing so, they affect the outcomes of major elections. The Catholic Church condemned John Kerry saying that it would be a sin to vote for him. Why? Because he has "un-Christian" views about abortion and gay marriage.
Jerry Falwell is the guy who started the Moral Majority. Here's what he had to say about 9/11:
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
You know why I think 9/11 happened? Because the rest of the world is sick of people like Jerry Falwell.
As you can see, the Republicans aren't any more Christian than the Democrats are. However, right wing pundits like Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly blindly believe the notion that all Liberals and Democrats are Godless savages secretly plotting with Satan to rid the world of God.
Family values is another idea that's getting on my nerves. Sure, the politicians have family values. They care about their own families. They just don't care about yours. Actually, I'm not sure how much they care about their own families. I'm sure you know how kids of rich and famous people often turn out.
The only politicians with any sense of decency are the ones who don't claim to be these champions of morality. They're all imperfect human beings. Rather than admitting that, they present themselves as perfect individuals. Then they chide their political opponents for not being perfect.
Whatever. If a politician tells you he has moral values, then it's almost always a way of covering up some dark aspect of his life that if you knew about, it would cost him your vote.
Moral values are overrrated.