The Religious Republican

H/T to my friend Mary who avoided all the evil from Yoga to send me this take on the Republican debate. This blogger has names for all of them. Romney is the "Ceo Republican" hell bent on making America better for other millionaires. Giuliani is the "Crime Boss Republican" which, quite frankly, is starting to sound redundant. But the part on the Huck is the best:

"Huckabee: The Religious Republican. The perfect embodiment of true Republican religion; sings to the majesty of a Jesus that has been painstakingly repainted in the Republicans' own image, scrubbed of inconvenient tendencies towards compassion. Huckabee does not know if Jesus would support the death penalty. He does not know if torture is anti-Christian enough to really make a big fuss over. He considers himself the most Christian candidate, but mere self-proclaimed knowledge of the Holy Will of God is not sufficient enough to go against the Republican edicts against the poor and sick that define his party. Republicanism is a stronger religion, on that stage, than Christianity will ever be, and Reagan a more heralded messiah: when it comes to Huckabee facing the phalanx of fervently 'religious' Republican voters that will oppose him if he steps too carelessly on their own agendas, Jesus will have to make do as usual with a bit of vapid praise and little else." [emphasis mine]

When you factor in the Republican focus group we mentioned yesterday the picture of the GOP is coming into focus. The Huck represents the best hope to put a fake compassion corsage on this hog and send him to the prom. Just as with Bush, the compassion won't be real, and it certainly won't be aimed at the people we don't like, and it will be dropped or shunted aside. If the Huck is our President, we can look forward to a gutting of science (er, I mean, a continued gutting of science) the further politicization of fertility and sexuality, and worst of all, the unending use of church hymns in speeches and press conferences. The Huck will be (if elected) smarter than Bush (come on!) but not better.