verging_on_random

The Weirdness of the Religious Right

October 7, 2006 on 4:32 pm | In Uncategorized |

It’s fun watching the whole Foleygate thing play out in America (for those who don’t know, Congressman Foley resigned in a hurry when a blog revealed that he liked to send online messages to high school kids - boys - who were doing work experience at Congress ….. messages suggesting things like “Hey I bet you’d look good if you took those boxers off”, that kind of stuff. Foley’s 53.)

Foley’s a Republican … sort of the American equivalent of the Liberals here. George W Bush is a Republican. The Republicans have appointed God and the Baby Jesus as honorary patrons and love to tell voters about the Godless Democrats (kind of like the Labor Party) who want to sink American values in a flood of depravity. They spend a lot of time whipping up moral panic about the evils of child molesters, the dangers of the internet to children, the decline in morals in the public school system and all that kind of crap. Think Peter Debnam and his hilarious “Sydney’s a war zone and the middle eastern thugs are running the streets” and you’ll get the picture …. Debnam would be right at home in the Republican Party.

It’s always nice to see one of our self-appointed moral guardians get caught out as an outrageous hypocrite. But Foley’s case was especially enjoyable because he was the chairman of some Congress committee that was set up to protect children from online sexual predators and if he gets charged with criminal offences it’s likely to be under laws that he was instrumental in getting passed.

Anyway it’s the biggest news story in the USA atm and there are all sorts of interesting things being written about it. I liked this comment from ‘A Night Light’ (http://nightlight.typepad.com/nightlight/2006/10/a_word_to_the_v.html):
I have profound policy differences with the Republican and conservative leadership, but that aside - these people are creepy.  Just look at them. Gaze upon DeLay, Trent Lott, and the rest and tell me that, in your heart of hearts, you don’t see what I see: a lifetime of greed and depravity etched into their very faces.

Well I’m not sure about the ‘greed and depravity’ when it comes to our local conservatives but the comment reinforces what I’ve thought for a long time …. some of them are just plain creepy. Be honest - would you like to be seated next to one of the following on a long plane flight? Philip Ruddock …. Tony Abbott …. Kevin Andrews …. Bronwyn Bishop? I mean I could go on but you get the idea.

Deeply creepy, but ppl keep electing them. Weird.

Enjoy the weekend