The politics of God
Good God, people! Get a grip on yourselves! For the love of Mike, you'd think we'd just reelected Cotton Mather the way some of you are carrying on. My e-mail box is gagging, gagging, I say, with overwrought, hysterical hand wringing over the Puritanical mullocracy this right-wing president will establish in the wake of his re-election.
Calm down, breathe deeply, and take a good, stiff drink. Yes, I know it's early. Do it anyway. Right now.
Now look, I don't support the religious right's agenda any more than you do, but let's not get carried away, okay? I want to offer you several reasons why you should not panic.
- The polls. There has been much angst over the fact that many voters this year cited "moral values" as a primary factor in their voting. But according the the New England Journal of Medicine, morality issues were much, much less important to Americans this year than in prior years, as national security took center stage. Please, follow the link and look at the stats. It will make you feel better.
- The Supreme Court. Lots of people are freaking out about this one as well, but unnecessarily so, in my opinion. I think there is an excellent chance that Bush will leave office with a more liberal SCOTUS than the one we currently have. I know that sounds nuts, but hear me out. I hate to be ghoulish, but the first justice to depart will almost certainly be William Rehnquist, arguably the most conservative voice on the bench. It is unimaginable, in today's climate, that Bush would be able to replace him with someone more conservative, even if that were his goal. The first change in SCOTUS's composition will almost certainly move it somewhat to the left. Beyond Rehnquist, bear in mind that seven of the nine justices are Republican appointees, and their average age is higher than that of the Democratic appointees, both named recently by Clinton. The numbers are not very encouraging to those who would push the high court further to the right.
- Anti-gay marriage amendment to the constitution. This one doesn't stand a ghost of a chance. So why would Bush, a man who broke ranks with his own party platform by supporting civil unions, back such a grand, sweeping gesture that was destined to go down in flames? Precisely because it's a grand, sweeping gesture that's destined to go down in flames. Look, we all know what this is. It's a crass, political payoff to the social conservatives who came out to support Bush at the ballot box. It's an opportunity for him to curry favor with this important part of his base by saying, "We tried," without doing any lasting damage. Yes, that's cynical, and yes, it's lamentable, but such is the nature of politics.
What is it about Bush's faith that terrifies people so? Presidents and presidential candidates have always prattled on and on about "God this" and "God that." Kerry did it no less than Bush during this campaign. I guess the difference is, everyone knows that Kerry was doing it with a wink and a nod -- that he was, essentially, pandering. By contrast, they are mortally afraid that Bush actually believes this stuff, more so than any president in recent memory.
Granted, most people would allow that Jimmy Carter was sincere in his faith, but he was more a source of amusement than terror to the elites, both because he tempered his faith with social progressivism, and because evangelical Christianity had not yet risen to political prominence. By comparison to Carter, Bush emerges as some crazed, Appalachian snake handler to these people.
For my part, I don't doubt the genuineness of Bush's faith, but I do not believe that faith-based issues are central to his administration's policies. I believe he wants to kill terrorists, keep taxes low, and everything else ranks a distant third.
Also, I have to mention the fact that social progressives and libertarians abandoned the president in hysterical droves. Sometimes I feel like Dennis Miller and I were the only ones who actually voted for the guy, and I think that's too bad. Stronger support for Bush among the liberal hawks would have sent the following message: "Mister President, we are behind you 100% in the War on Terror, but we do not support your social agenda, and all eyes will be on you." But no, this voting block almost completely abandoned Bush, leaving social/religious conservatives to fill in the gap. And now, the libs are complaining that Bush is too indebted to the Amen Corner. Well, whose fault is that?
And just to reiterate, I oppose much of the agenda of religious conservatives, and I will continue to do so. To that extent, I'm on your side. But please, please, can we just drop this arrant nonsense about "theocracy" and "American Taliban?"
<Billy Crystal voice> Ya look ridiculous! </Billy Crystal voice>