It’s becoming clearer and clearer what the Federal Marriage Amendment is really about: the purging of gay Republicans and any Republicans who do not follow the dictates of the religious right. Listen to the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins in the New York Times today: “Social conservatives are looking at this issue so we know who needs to be educated on this issue or removed if that is possible.” (My italics). I love that idea of “educating” politicians and, if they fail to be “educated,” removing them. You know that a party has become a sect when that kind of language is used. Then there’s the always charming Paul Weyrich. When asked whether he was concerned that stripping gay couples of any legal protections might alienate gay Republicans, he replied, “Good riddance.” That, of course, is the president’s message as well: get out of the party. Right now, the fundamentalists are organizing an unprecedented campaign, fusing religious dogma with political organizing, to write gays out of the Constitutional protections of this country. It’s a seminal moment. Soon we’ll see who has the courage to stand up to them.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “I myself am a heterosexual Christian who falls into C.S. Lewis’ camp. And I particularly appreciated your post-C.S. Lewis quote comment. I don’t begrudge anyone his politics. But when he chooses to slap the name of Christ into the title of his political organization (i.e. The Christian Coalition), well now, THAT becomes a more serious issue. I won’t go so far as to say that Christianity itself risks being “corrupted” by a mere political movement of Man, but the manner in which the Christian Coalition carries itself DOES impact the way the secular public perceives Christians as a whole. While Christians such as myself try to answer Christ’s call to spread His Gospel, it seems to me that organizations like the Christian Coalition are busy erecting barriers of communication between the Church I love and the World.” – More feedback on the Letters Page.
The Dish 