It seems NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman was inspired by the BAT, with a piece entitled "For God's Sake: Invasion of the theocrats". (Hmmm, that title sounds familiar.) Unfortunately, his editors decided to hide it behind "TimesSelect". Sheesh! What a perfect example of why the print press is tanking. Notwithstanding Brian 'I'm competing with a guy in a bathrobe' Williams asinine comments, the majority of the BAT pieces stand up to, or greatly surpass, Krugman's editorial. OTOH, Krugman is a damn good writer. Many of us have warmed our hands by the fire in his belly. Here's some highlights of Krugman's piece:
...The infiltration of the federal government by large number of people seeking to impose a religious agenda--which is very different from simply being people of faith--is one of the most important stories of the last six years...
Well said, Mr. Krugman. Too bad your bosses decided to bury your piece behind a firewall.
...It's also a story that tends to go underreported, perhaps because journalists are afraid of sounding like conspiracy theorists...
Maybe "TimesSelect" subscribers would think it's just wacky theorizing, but not the rest of us. As Paul points out, Pat Robertson's Xtain revisionist Regent University has 150 graduates working inside the Bush admin. If that's not a bona fide conspiracy, I don't know what is. He goes on:
...But this conspiracy is no theory. The official platform of the Texas Republican Party pledges to "dispel the myth of the separation of church and state." And the Texas Republicans now running the country are doing their best to fulfill that pledge...
Good on you, Paul!
...One measure of just how many Bushies were appointed to promote a religious agenda is how often a Christian right connection surfaces when we learn about a Bush administration scandal...
Heh! It's good to be cautious, so I won't quibble over cause & effect. Besides the infamous Monica Goodling (sounds like a character dreamt up by Vonnegut), Paul gives us a handy gallery of Dominionist creeps:
...Kay Cole James...dean of Regent's government school, was the Federal governments chief personnel officer from 2001 to 2005...she then took a job with Mitchell Wade,...who bribed Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham...
...George Deutsch, the presidential appointee at NASA who told a Web site designer to add the word "theory" after every mention of the Big Bang, to leave open the possibility of "intelligent design by creator. He turned out not to have, as he claimed, a degree from Texas A&M...
...Rachel Paulose, the US attorney in Minesota--three of whose deputies...stepped down,...in protest over her management style, is, according to local news report, in the habit of quoting Bible verses in the office...
...Claude Allen... presidential aid and former deputy secretary of health and human services, who stepped down after being investigated for petty theft. Most press reports, though they mentioned Mr. Allen's faith, failed to convey the fact that he built his career as a man of the hard-line Christian right...
Krugman notes that the Bush admin's hemorrhaging represents a setback for the Christian right's strategy of infiltration:
...But it would be wildly premature to declare the danger over. This is a movement that has shown great resilience over the years. It will surely find new champions. Next week Rudy Giuliani will be speaking at Regent's Executive Leadership Series...
How frightening. Echoing Krugman's words, AU has an excellent article asking "Is the Religious Right Dead?".
(image from Kudzu Files)
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