Republican Campaign Strategy: Don't Vote Atheist!
Aaron Kinney Permalink
4 comments
Texas politics looks to be pushing the religious-secular culture war to new lows:
The Austin-based Republican Party of Texas played the religion card in a Sept. 21 online newsletter. As alleged in the newsletter, Texarkana solo E. Ben Franks, Democratic nominee for a seat on the 6th Court of Appeals, "is reported to be a professed atheist" and apparently believes the Bible is a "collection of myths.'"
I think the worst part about all of this is that when a political group declares their opponent to be an atheist, it is assumed, and accepted by the public, that this (revelation or allegation) is a bad thing!
Someone should tell the people of the nation... err... I mean, state of Texas that its time to put down the pitchforks and torches, and that the witch-hunting days are over.
Jeff Fisher, the state Republican Party's executive director, says there are other sources of the allegation. Fisher says "some people who know Franks" -- people whom Fisher did not identify -- have told him that Franks professes to be an atheist.
Fisher says the GOP sent the newsletter to people who subscribe to the party's e-mail publications to inform them about Franks. "We have a candidate running for the 6th Court who clearly shows he's out of touch with the people," he says.
Maybe so, but "the people" are demonstrably out of touch with reality! I, for one, would rather be out of touch with popular beliefs than be out of touch with reality.
I can't tell which is hurting humanity more: religion, or government! Anyone got an opinion about this?
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4 Comments:
I'd say religion is more dangerous. You can shoot government agents, but you can't shoot 'god'.
We're hurt the most when religion links arm in arm with politics, obviously.
Texas is a funny state- Austin probably has the highest percentage of atheists of any city here, and yet that's where this religious bigotry originates. And Dallas, as you know, is home to the country's largest freethought church.
I think the people here are probably more sympathetic to atheists that you might think, but they're also susceptible to the kind of rhetoric you've mentioned.
Ryan,
So true. As an atheist, I will say it right now:
Fuck Democrats, fuck the Democratic Party, and fuck Democracy!
I belong to the ideology of individual freedom, not the tyranny of the collective will.
Ryan,
You said:
its not uncommon to be called a liberal AND a conservative all in the same day., but thats irrelavent.
How true that is! And how telling it is of the one who accuses you as such. For they clearly cannot conceive of a political spectrum that covers more ideas than the "two party system" crap that Americans have their minds so locked in to.
Its like "um, no sucker, there is much more to socio-political ideologies than the two sides of Americas political wooden nickel."
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