ELECTION 2012 – The God Effect

Driving to Sunday School one cool March morn, Hank and Mary Lou discuss the current primary contest between Romney, Santorum, Gingrich and Paul. “I don’t give a flip about  Mitt’s Mormonism just so long as he can beat the shit outa Obama,” comments Hank. “ ‘Drather have a guy wearin’ magic boxers than a damn Kenyan Muslim wearin’ the country down. Hell, I’d vote for Darth Vader over that nigger,” he crudely remarks.

“Oh, hush, Hank! You know better than to use the N-word around the kids,” chides Mary Lou as if any other setting would be okay.  Billy (11) and Lou Ellen (8) are in the backseat intently soaking it all in.

But Hank and Mary Lou both agree: Barack Obama is a socialist liberal – an imposter whose birth certificate was forged so he could be placed in office – then conspired with ACORN to illegally register a bunch of aliens and ethnics so he could seal the deal and steal the election. How do they know? Because FOX and chain emails from friends across the country told them so. Plus their pastor confirmed by sermonizing from the pulpit, “Any vote for a Democrat is a sin against Almighty God.” What more evidence does a true born-again Christian need? Jesus hath spoken.

Ever since Obama won in ’08, the rightwing machine had been busy pounding the airwaves, “Obama is a Machiavellian candidate whose presidency is illegitimate for too many reasons to list.”  Their efforts in spreading falsehoods fall on fertile ground: evangelicals that constitute the base of modern Republicanism.

Hank voices appreciation to Ted Nugent, Rush Limbaugh, and Toby Keith for their contributions blasting Obama. The family feels the anger (“righteous indignation”) gushing from Hank. Where’s Jesus in all this?

Little do Hank and his family know they’re victims of a massive con job. The unindicted Karl Rove and fellow rightwing operatives target evangelicals for several reasons, not the least of which are gullibility and proportion of the population. Those disposed and willing to embrace absurdities will soon commit atrocities due to their unsubstantiated anger and fear manufactured by professional operatives behind-the-curtains who employ focus groups for highest impact.

Rove should be serving an extensive sentence for treason since he is the alleged principal conspirator in stealing elections, lying the nation to war, WMD, and planning the Iraq invasion as exclusive political fodder long before seizing office in 2000. But because the incoming Obama Justice Department was too timid to investigate, much less prosecute, the man is still at liberty to further damage American democracy. Ironically, Obama’s second term is at risk of being sabotaged by the most high-profile person they failed to bring to justice.

Rove’s #1 weapon, on the other hand, is the evangelical movement, ahead of Koch connections, American Crossroads, and Citizens United. For without their blind loyalty, there’d be no chance of Republican resurgence. Rove is famous for his ability to sell refrigerators to Eskimos, so to speak. Thus, marketing a Mormon to fundies (who brand LDS a cult) is effortless. Besides, it’s a no-brainer, the choice between a Black Christian and White Mormon; WHITE wins every time. (“Give us Barabbas!”)

Hank pulls into the parking lot of Muskogee’s Victory Family Worship Center, a non-denominational Pentecostal church which is experiencing astonishing growth. Although he’d been speaking trash the whole drive, he puts on a smiley face to greet seemingly-sweet church folk.

But his Christian life wasn’t always so conflicted. Neither was the evangelical, Pentecostal movement from back in the day. Hank had accepted Christ at 13 – undergoing a genuine born-again experience where his life was transformed from one of hate and fear to love and peace. It was a miraculous paradigm, ostensibly unforgettable. As with Hank, the evangelical movement in general was based on the same Agape, unconditional love that saw all races and peoples equal – as God sees the whole of humanity. The biblical principles were reinforced by supernatural encounters that couldn’t be explained away by purely rational thought. Jesus’ life was the model to live by, and the Holy Spirit empowered them to follow.

But that was before Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson and other religious charlatans politicized the movement. No longer were evangelicals leading by example, they became front-line “warriors” against evil secularism that supposedly threatened American tradition and family values. Anti-abortion, anti-gay-rights, anti-liberalism, anti-government , and pro-gun became the sole mantras. Discarded in the process were mercy and grace. Certainly, God’s love was supplanted by fear and hate, because a soldier on the spiritual battlefield could no longer be governed by love, could he or she? Because love shows weakness and non-masculine traits.

Carrying a concealed weapon to church substituted putting on the armor of God. Peter cutting off the ear of the centurion became the example rather than disgrace.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  – Ephesians 6:10-17

Neither could they any longer trust God to fulfill prophecy by His unassisted sovereignty, but injected themselves as “partners with God” in influencing world events to speed the Second Coming and Advent of Apocalypse. They proudly championed themselves as “Christian Zionists” with hateful rhetoric against Muslims, Palestinians and liberals that attempted in any fashion to generate Middle-East negotiations instead of combat. By this stand, they assumed to be on “God’s side.”

They were primarily looking for the Antichrist rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. And by doing so, they lost their first love and became what they feared most – an antichrist cult being manipulated by wealthy outside political opportunists. Simply put, they became Mammon’s merchandise, no longer guided by the love of God. The spirit of fear drove them further into deceit and anger, which they piously brushed off as “righteous indignation.”

Absolutism and polarization set in as the movement degenerated into something other than what Christ taught. Anyone not adhering to the straight-and-narrow dogma was of Satan, a legitimate target sanctioned for scorn. The movement more resembled Phariseeism than Apostolic Christianity.

Hank is caught up into this web. He no longer sees his “first-love” Christian experience as exemplary but superseded by the new militant spirit fighting for a return of “American moral values” and an apocalyptic Christ to butcher unbelievers. Democrats, liberals, unionists, feminists, the NAACP, and environmentalists are all thrown into the pile of evildoers allied with Satan. Furthermore, anyone associated with “them” are ungodly.

Hank and Mary Lou vote against their own interests because they view the ruling class as empowered by “the sovereign will of God” established to make order out of chaos. The wealthy are respected while the poor are demeaned as free-loaders. “Why should I give my hard-earned money to welfare queens?” asks Hank. (Meanwhile his family relies partially on public assistance and medicine since they live in Oklahoma, a right-to-work state that detests unions.)

Republicanism is Robin Hood in reverse while the religious right is Jesus Christ in reverse. The like-movements are married, resulting into a national “Handmaid’s Tale.”

Hank is blind to his own judgmental religious McCarthyism – as are the majority of the religious right. The lies about Obama are readily accepted so that truth is not allowed access to any thought pattern.

America’s political climate is, thus, made ripe for turmoil. Nearer to November, as polls reveal Obama’s narrow lead expanding, “God’s soldiers” on the right sense they must take matters into their own hands rather than relying on Providence. They call for “Second Amendment remedies” as the FINAL SOLUTION to Obama winning a second term. FOX and friends don’t hesitate capitalizing on this fallacy.

The majority of Americans must resist and reject this religious and political heresy if we are to survive as a great power and land of liberty. 

PEOPLE PROPERTY

The rightward swing in America does not stem from an ill-defined ideology which is increasingly seizing dominance over policy by some peculiar coincidence or natural pendulum fluctuation. Unlike the Democratic Party, it has clear objective and, thus, has an attraction for Americans desiring strong, decisive leadership (which constitutes the majority).

The right aims to take us back to the day when white males were exclusive members of the ownership society and all others (women, African-Americans, Latinos, non-Christians, etc.) were but property at their disposal.

The medieval white males-only club views blacks, such as Trayvon Martin, the same as farm animals to be butchered or terminated at the owner’s pleasure. (Already there is rightwing talk that since Trayvon’s parents are on welfare, the killing was justified homicide. Of course, the parents are not on welfare, but why should facts get in the way of good rightwing narrative?)

Not only African-Americans are sub-human in their eyes, but females and all dark-skinned races. There’s a definite connection between events, such as Sanford, voter suppression, and attacks on women’s rights – which are emerging strongly in this election cycle. Social conservatives are on the march. The “club” views women as silent child-bearers and servants to the man. It views the elderly poor and the lower class as less than capable in knowing “how” to vote, consequently they should be taken off the rolls and forbidden from voting. Corporate’s tool to accomplish this is ALEC, which introduced voter-suppression laws in 33 states during 2011 alone.

The aim is to take America back… back to 1850 – “their” good ol’ days. They want to make it impossible for any Democrat to win the White House, especially Barack Obama, and voter suppression is their instrument. Obama could poll a comfortable majority before the election but lose by double digits if ALEC succeeds. Over 10 million Democrats will have been silently thrown off the rolls, Karl Rove’s signature achievement. Voters won’t know what hit them until attempting to cast ballots this fall. (Where is Obama’s Justice Department in all this? Asleep at the wheel, as usual.)

Naturally, the religious right reinforces such political heresy. The beast would not have risen to power had it not been for the corpulent whore, the compromised church, that saw opportunity to take dominion by serving as the adulterous bride of the evil emperor. The end justifies the means; so joining forces with Christ’s enemies is a reasonable trade-off if gaining power over the populace is the reward. Situational ethics is okay just as long as intent is pure, the whore reasons.

This is the picture of the rising Republican America. Their unspoken core doctrine is private ownership of everything – where government is subservient to the will of the select “owners.” Extreme libertarianism leads to the dismantling of the commons, the public sector – where schools, roads, bridges, and the post office are privatized and even the military evolves into nothing but a mercenary force. Nothing could be more destructive to a society.

The only ones making a living wage are the white-male-owners in this future vision where surveillanced castles (gated communities) are surrounded by tin shanties occupied by the impoverished vast majority. Megachurches rise over city landscapes reminiscent of prominent cathedrals of antiquity towering over paupers’ huts. The New Dark Ages has arrived.

Yet, the owners proceed. We, the people, are nothing but property in their hands – commodities to be traded on the “open” market. “Free trade” is not free for the increasingly enslaved.

International trade agreements are observed in many eyes as a feather in the cap of whatever politician came up with the mechanisms that, in truth, further force the U.S. into decline. For, they’re actually instruments of destruction – encouraging companies to outsource whole industries overseas in order to exploit slave labor. The question is: Why would a Democratic President, put in office by labor, concede to such anti-worker treaties – not only signing his name to our death certificate, but celebrating its passage as a trophy to be exhibited for political gamesmanship?

Twenty years ago a teenage boy got caught shoplifting a pack of gum at a convenience store on the southside of town. He was placed in juvenile detention. The same day, another young man in his 20s, the son of a judge, got caught selling drugs to university students. His father, naturally, bailed him out, hired the best attorneys, and (the short of it) – sonny got off-the-hook – his charges expunged. Which crime was more offensive – stealing bubble gum or selling drugs? Which boy received more punishment? (The poor boy was ruined for life while the rich boy got off scott-free.)

This is a true story. But more, it is a picture in contrast of America’s disparity with its obscene double standards, where justice is bought by the “owners” and all others are at their mercy. Not only do they buy elections, they buy justice, tax codes and law-making.

The 20-year old story reminds me of the Trayvon case – where George Zimmerman could possibly get off-the-hook for murder because of who his father is, and the only ones punished will be the demonstrators who react to such crass injustice. The boy carrying a bag of skittles from a convenience store is no match for the bully whose daddy is a retired judge with strong Republican links to the State Attorney General. It’s not just a white-black case, but rich-poor.

People are property in the emerging Republican world. There is no commons, no public sector, no fair tax structure. This vision can only be defeated by a vigilant Democratic leadership. We have yet seen nothing but spineless cowardice.

TRAYVON’S TRAGEDY – ANOTHER TRUE STORY FROM FLORIDA

Parishioners pack the little Pentecostal church in Palatka, Florida. It's Mid-week Bible Study. The usual greetings – hugs, handshakes, backslaps, and laughter mixed with occasional tears welcome members at the door. Never ashamed in embracing brothers and sisters in Christ, Pentecostals are known for emotional expression [unlike their “frigid” mainstream Protestant counterparts].

Rural and small-town Florida Pentecostals are correctly characterized in the movie "THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE." The state’s interior residents stand in stark contrast to their wealthier coastal transplants. The catchy music, expressions, hand-raising praise, liturgy pitched to an emotional high, the strong fundamentalist doctrine, rants against satanic conspiracy, hand-clapping and loud preaching are accurately portrayed in the 1997 flick starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, and Judith Ivey (Keanu’s holy-roller mother).

The pastor begins by introducing a newcomer to the congregation, the former Dean of the Manhattan Theological Seminary in NYC. A doctor of theology, Winthrop Braun, along with his lovely wife, Carla, are now retired to Palm Crest, a retirement community on the Atlantic a few miles east of Palatka. The pastor is proud that a brother with such a distinguished career would choose his church.

After a few weeks in attendance, Dr. Braun is announced as the guest teacher for the Bible lesson that evening. Winthrop takes the podium and gives an interesting lecture on the definition of faith. It's a very moving lesson with supporting Bible references. Yet the congregation remains silent, uncharacteristically so. Given the fact this is a flaming Pentecostal congregation known for emotional outbursts, amens and hallelujahs, the silence is deafening. Something is apparently wrong.

Could it be that church members are rejecting the speaker's skin color? "Oh, no, it couldn't be," reasons the pastor. "These people all love Jesus, so race would never be a factor."

Yet, Dr. Winthrop Braun is Jamaican by birth, American by choice, and Pentecostal Christian by conversion. Unaware of reasons for feeling ostracized, his charming family sits beside others in a sanctuary charged with hate. It’s chilly down in Florida. Not one member shakes their hand at the vestibule or greets them in traditional fashion.

At the close, the chairman of the Deacon Board takes the pastor aside to announce an "emergency board meeting."

The pastor asks, "What would this be concerning?"

Chairman of the Board, Brother Springer, begins the meeting without preliminary niceties, “Pastor, we don't want no niggers in our church."

Shocked, the preacher responds, "What? How much did the church donate to missions to Africa last year? $2,000 – if I recall. You mean you can't accept a brother in Christ because his skin happens to be dark?"

Deacon Langley replies, "Well, that's differnt. Saving sinners over there in Africa is differnt than hauling them into our church. We just can't have anything to do with them here. I won't let my kids sit next to niggers in school and riding the bus, and I sure as hell ain't gonna make them sit next to 'em in my own church."

The pastor rebuts "Well, Brother Braun is a doctor of theology and headed up a seminary...."

Deacon Albright interrupts, "That was way up North in Yankeeland, pastor. That's not the way we do down here. He's Yankee besides bein’ a nigger. We just can't have that here."

The pastor reminds the board of Christ's teachings that there is no race in the Kingdom of God – no Jew, no Gentile, nor any other nationality – all are equal in God's eyes. His little sermon falls on deaf ears. It’s futile. The deacons have already made up their minds.

Finally the preacher gives them an ultimatum: Either they accept Brother Braun and his family into the church or he will resign.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Board accepts the pastor's resignation. The preacher packs up his young family and is gone within two weeks. He is one of the few evangelical pastors willing to commit to principle rather than conform to prejudice.

This true story is a picture of the Republican base, the religious faction that dominates the party while threatening America. Most so-called fundamentalists indeed claim to care for Africans in Africa but have definite issues with Africans in America.

How many times have Republicans focused on Barack Obama’s Kenyan ancestry – and lied about his birth? They claim to be devout Christians while justifying hate for others different by color, belief, or affiliation.

The murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, a few miles from Palatka, is a snapshot of rightwing prejudice. Furthermore, it is a picture of the religious element at the right, the core of the Republican Party. They claim to love Jesus but defend hate for those outside the realm. While holding a cup of tea and box of Skittles, Trayvon was profiled for his skin and shot dead. Rightwingers called it justifiable homicide or “Stand Your Ground.” And now we must endure hearing the right rant against this defenseless child, dead – so he can’t speak for himself.

For this remarkable centennial – the sinking of the Titanic (April 15, 1912), I was going to write about the threat of shipwreck for the U.S. due to its dangerous divisions of race, religion, and politics. But somehow the Trayvon Martin case captured my imagination, so I felt compelled to write about first-hand Florida experiences related to Trayvon.

There is an obvious fault-line in the nation that could rupture – even in the 21st Century – a party that uses the chasm to energize the faithful. They gleefully drive a wedge deep in the heart of America and approve judges only aligned with a subtle racist agenda while blocking all other Obama appointees.

The nation’s weakness was present before Republican machinations; now, thanks to them, it has developed into a metastasized tumor threatening our survival.

For more information about this true story from Florida, email me at LAdams727@aol.com. (The names of individuals and places were changed to protect the innocent. However, the story is true without embellishment.) 

SUCKED INTO THE ABYSS

In 2002 many of us knew Bush would pull the trigger on Iraq – plunging the U.S. into needless, counterfeit war for domestic consumption purposes, both political and material. (Karl Rove calculated political dominance despite being handicapped with a below-par president if major war could be generated.) Others less attuned argued Bush was simply bluffing to get Saddam to step down. But indicators pointed otherwise – well before Bush’s theft of the presidency. We happened upon PNAC’s (Project for a New American Century’s) 1990s blueprint for conquest of Iraq and noticed the signatories on its website: Rumsfeld, Cheney, Jeb, Wolfowitz, Quayle, Kristol, and other war-whores who came to be known as “neocons” – landing in the White House as guests of GW, the clown-like figurehead.

We realized Iraq would spell disaster; others dismissed our concerns by predicting a cake-walk costing around $1.7 billion (possibly financing itself en toto via seized oil) and wrapping up in a month or two. Ten years later, a million lives lost, $3 trillion and a collapsed world economy – the Bushmen still refuse to recant. Republicans continue their rabid war-lust in full pursuit.

The same feel grips us of recent. Is war with Iran inevitable? Now we realize Israel is sucking America into the abyss to serve Jerusalem’s own interests.

This certainly feels like a similar slippery slope, not mere premonition, but a repeat from recent history.

Prodded by the Israeli lobby and cajoled by election-year opposition, Barack Obama is most likely to cave. The military option will probably be executed before November, not to play the “October Surprise,” but to appease the right – both at home and Israel. Obama’s pattern dictates it, Netanyahu demands it, and Republicans make it a moral imperative.

Prodded by the Israeli lobby and cajoled by election-year opposition, Barack Obama is most likely to cave and execute the military option, probably before November – his past practice serving as the credible predictor.

As in Bush’s phantom WMD, there’ll be no proof of nuclear arms development posthumously, although America will have committed national suicide, and the final proof will be a world lost in a cloud of poverty.

Objective intelligence realizes Iran is years away (if at all) from developing a nuclear weapon. Must the right again “fix the intelligence around the policy” to justify another military adventure?

Unfortunately, Iran is committed, at least through religious fervor, to annihilating the State of Israel. That’s the problem. Saddam Hussein’s mouth sealed Iraq’s fate through false boasts; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s mouth could be Iran’s ruin as he threatens Israel’s destruction.

What Benjamin Netanyahu neglects to calculate is Russia’s reaction to an attack on Iran. The returning President Vladimir Putin may be inclined to escalate the conflict into full-fledged war to prove his strength internationally and galvanize his power domestically. Putin’s questionable election will thus fade. Has the CIA role-played this contention?

The sensible option is clandestine political ops empowering Iranian youth to revolt against hardline theocrats – as was done in 2008-09. But is it too late? When given the chance, did the US blow it? Bunker-busters, the Pentagon concedes, cannot do the job; neither can the Israeli Air Force. So, what’s the purpose in threatening military action other than to appease war-hungry rightwingers?

And the mission to destroy any underground Iranian nuclear arms facility (real or imagined) would require more than the Seals swooping down for a heroic midnight raid. It’ll demand full-scale war resulting in a blockaded Strait of Hormuz and astronomical energy prices. (Can Obama win with $8 gas?)

That’s not the worst scenario. What if Putin pushes the button? What if the US and Russia finally exchange nukes? What if the world faces nuclear winter like it feared decades ago?

These nightmares are made possible by an ill-thought Iranian venture, an unnecessary concession to please hard-right Netanyahu and the rightwing GOP threatening to evict the present president if resisting compliance. Will Obama yield to temptation?

Wars are rooted in male dominance – testosterone tests to see who’ll mate with the flowering female. This metaphor is certainly true for the impending Iranian War. Obama must show strength by committing America to war for Israel, thereby trying to placate the right which is itching to replace him and at the same time is dominated by the religious, Zionist right. Putin must show strength by retaliating, thereby legitimizing his dubious election. And Netanyahu must show strength by dragging America into war, thereby relieving fears from the Israeli right that Iran could destroy them sometime in the unknown future. Israel cares not what happens to America after it’s done with her.

America hasn’t faced such dilemma since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The nation seems asleep at this time, unaware of the lethal dynamics and the characters on stage. Will Obama act wisely like JFK or will he cave to the right as he’s done so many other times before?

 In 2002 many of us knew Bush would pull the trigger on Iraq – plunging the U.S. into needless, counterfeit war for domestic consumption purposes, both political and material. (Karl Rove calculated political dominance despite being handicapped with a below-par president if major war could be generated.) Others less attuned argued Bush was simply bluffing to get Saddam to step down. But indicators pointed otherwise – well before Bush’s theft of the presidency. We happened upon PNAC’s (Project for a New American Century’s) 1990s blueprint for conquest of Iraq and noticed the signatories on its website: Romney, Cheney, Jeb, Wolfowitz, Quayle, Kristol, and other war-whores who came to be known as “neocons” – landing in the White House as guests of GW, the clown-like figurehead.

http://www.newamericancentury.org/index.html

We realized Iraq would be disaster; others dismissed our concerns by predicting a cake-walk costing less than $1.7 billion (possibly financing itself en toto via seized oil) and wrapping up in a month or two. Ten years later, a million lives lost, $3 trillion and a collapsed world economy – the Bushmen still refuse to recant. Republicans continue their rabid war-lust in full pursuit.

http://thinkprogress.org/report/the-architects-where-are-they-now/?mobile=nc

The same feel grips us of recent. Is war with Iran inevitable? Now we realize Israel is sucking America into the abyss to serve Jerusalem’s own interests. This certainly feels like a similar slippery slope.

Prodded by the Israeli lobby and cajoled by election-year opposition, Barack Obama is most likely to cave and execute the military option, probably before November. His pattern

CLINGING TO THEIR GUNS AND RELIGION

Mom gave me some wise words of advice back in the day: “Son, when you hitch up, you not only marry the gal but her whole family.”

America could marry the new guy in the fall due to its disillusionment with the 44th. Romney might seem a reasonable alternative to Barack Obama to some. But they’re not looking at the big picture: his asshole GOP family that goes along with the deal. Is the baggage of kookiness and religiosity worth it? The appropriate bumper sticker should read: “Elect Mitt, get shit.”

When GW came to office, the incoming White House was packed with gun-lovers and religious zealots – a recipe for bad government and fabricated wars (not to mention the contribution of the village idiot himself with his psychopath partner leading the insane). We’re still suffering from that disastrous mistake.

Imagine a Secretary of State John Bolton, a Secretary of Defense Stanley McChrystal, a Treasury Secretary Darrell Issa, and a new faith-based cabinet post with Rick Santorum as its first czar – “Handmaid’s Tale” comes to mind. Imagine a Press Secretary Sarah Palin struggling to respond to the simplest of questions. (Did she finally discover Russia?) Now, imagine a Vice-President Bob McDonnell or cute-boy Marco Rubio.

Supreme Court nominees would be required to pass an anti-abortion litmus test – advanced to anti-contraception in recent days due to the party’s swing further right – anti-masturbation laws next? Imagine new justices to the right of Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Imagine further Citizens United cases where all control is delivered to the most powerful plutocrats and corporations.

The Kochs would be inaugurated hand-in-hand with the kooks. America would enter the realm of a mix between plutocracy and theocracy. One would dictate our finances – keeping us in abject poverty – while the other would dictate our religion – keeping us in abject subjugation to ignorant, ancient myth. The Dominionists will have won.

Obsession with guns and religion is why Americans vote against their own best interests – as Obama correctly stated in ‘08. But one other ingredient influences them in addition to this fixation: PROPAGANDA. They cling to the false because they’re fed the false. Not only is FOX broadcasting lies, but so are right radio and thousands of so-called “Christian” pastors and televangelists. It’s truly a national cult. And it’s a steady drumbeat – especially down South. The religious right and contemporary conservatives accept lies not only because they’re served, but because they’re predispositioned. Propaganda is only popular among those inclined to receive such. Inert bias leads to the embrace of falsehoods.

“They shall believe a lie and be damned.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Naturally, gas prices and the economy may determine our destiny. Why? Because many Americans can’t see beyond the price at the pump. They can’t see the excess baggage coming with the alternative. Bush and the Republicans wrecked our economy and sent us into needless wars costing $3 trillion. Romney and the Republicans want finish the job. Oh, how much does the GOP baggage love their fake wars and fake religion! Oh, that the world was flat!

Afghanistan is exploding. Troops were uneducated how to handle Muslin holy books, and now we see unquestionably how useless and shallow Bush’s #1 war was. (Of course, Obama conceded by continuing the war for political advantage.) Israel probably will pull its big ally into a quagmire that could lead Obama to defeat – both in the election and abroad. And Syria could affect energy prices to a measure due to its proximity.

These are the factors driving America. Either we re-elect Obama despite his flaws and weaknesses or we allow the other guy to replace him who’ll do much worse due to whom and what he brings with him. Voters should have recognized the baggage onstage for 20 freaking “debates.” How dumbed-down are we?

How comfortable is America letting the demolition crew back in the White House?

IT ALL REDUCES TO LABOR-MANAGEMENT

The following two sentences capsulize politics universal, why the world was nearly plunged into a nuclear nightmare vis-à-vis the Cold War, and why American political seasons are so polarized in recent years. (1) To earn a living wage, labor must constantly struggle with management to attain sustainability. (2) To make profit in competitive markets, management must constantly struggle with labor to tamp down wages and benefits – whereby “human resources” are placed on the same table with raw materials.

On surface, both objectives seem benignly principled. However, the tactics and clandestine methods selected to weaponize the two competing forces make for a toxic atmosphere and destructive politics. Americans not well-informed politically hate the system for that reason. The devices used (i.e., negative ads, fabricated rhetoric, denigrating sparring) turn off the voter.

Labor (the 99%) recruits the Democratic Party as its representative.

Management (the 1%) recruits the Republican Party as its representative.

Several decades ago the Republican Party decided to use dirty tricks to fight: Hence, Watergate, Southern Strategy, election fraud, hacking, voter suppression, Katherine Harris, Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, FOX, right radio, union-busting, undisclosed corporate contributions, etc. At the same time, key Democratic leaders arbitrarily decided to counter by taking the political “high road” – small campaign contributions, “truth-telling,” and “civil” rhetoric. (Which side wins: The cheater or the intellectual nerd?)

The Number One political story for our time is not the labor-management struggle that’s been going on for centuries. It’s the tactics employed by one of the contenders, the Republican Party. Anecdotal to RNC tricks is Democratic capitulation. Mr. “High-Road” decides to fight fair just after the other guy kicks him in the nuts.

The word “compromise” is a virtue to Democrats, but a vice to Republicans.

Most pundits have a tendency to make a false equivalency of the two warring parties. However, there is one equivalency that rings true: A simple disconnect. Both factions cannot see. While one uses despicable tricks, the other is oblivious to the fact below-the-belt tactics work if not countered with equal energy. When Kerry was swiftboated in 2004, he argued the attack didn’t dignify a response – that it was merely an act of desperation. He lost.

Like Anthony Weiner elaborated, “Democrats shouldn’t bring library books to a knife fight.” Unilateral disarmament in an arms race is insane. Thus, Democrats are as nuts as Republicans – but in a far different fashion. One side is blasting the shit out of the other, while the “other” tries to negotiate politely with the shit-thrower. The over-used Hitler-Chamberlain analogy comes to mind.

Because of this situation, unions, although discrete in downplaying discontent during election season for obvious reasons, are quite annoyed with their representative: the Democratic Party in general and Barack Obama in particular. Workers realize the floor has been knocked out from under them as a “bargaining chip” to appease the other side. And for what benefit? Nothing gained, much lost. Labor is completely perplexed why Obama gives away so much while getting nothing in return. He’s union’s chief negotiator that seemingly sold them out by relying on the false theory the other side would reciprocate.

Now that the 2012 election cycle has arrived, Obama again courts labor in hope they’ll forget the past three-years’ concessions. Sure, there’ve been crumbs and morsels along the way, much better than had McCain-Palin won. But labor’s expectations have been dashed. Now the only hope is that a second term will bring out the “progressive Obama” that campaigned 2007-08. It’s infinitely harder to be energized by hope once it’s been broken.

Blindness on the Republican side stems from the embrace of unbridled capitalism. It’s proven throughout history: A pure profit-motive leads to financial ruin. No rules for the rich; many for the poor. The double standard not only crashes economies but seeds revolutions. History is obviously not their forte.

Rightwing extremism, as manifested today, has led to polarization. But not much can be done about it if the left continues its passive ways. There may be outbreaks of “Occupiers,” etc., but the struggle still favors the right if the left’s nature remains stubbornly inert.