Hypocrites on the Town Square

There has been an open question on the progressive side of the blogosphere since the last election: when will the social conservatives in the Republican party figure out they've been duped by the corporate-bound hierarchy of the party? The recent events surrounding the right to die for Terri Schiavo have exposed the hypocrisy of the national Republican leadership and the tenuous relationship between the two groups that have solidified the Republican party since Ronald Reagan was president. It looks like the jig is up.

The Hypocrites are Exposed

Tom Delay said with great emotion, and a tear in his eye, that removing Schiavo's feeding tube was "an act of medical terrorism". Yet he had to go through the same wrenching decisions involving his father and allowed him to pass peacefully when his physical body was ruined by an accident. (Notice how those who want Terri to end her normal life are now "terrorists" according to Tom.) Oh, and Terri was God's gift to Mr. Delay to show how the same people that are out to kill Terri are also out to get the majority leader.

Senator Bill Frist, in his rush to throw gasoline on the fire save Terri's life, made an unethical diagnosis of Mrs. Schiavo via videotape and proclaimed his expertise on the floor of the Senate. The hypocrisy? Dr. Frist wrote a book arguing for the same right to die for brain dead people, and proposed expanding the definition to anencephalic babies - is he a baby killer? Probably not, but if you think he should have his license removed, go here (scroll down a bit).

President George Bush, though, has been the most craven, and has the most history, in disregarding his principles and blatantly pandering to his base in this horrible family tragedy. He said "in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is wise to always err on the side of life" (Applause) at one of the Social Security misinformation discussions. The lack of body armor for our troops, cuts to Medicare, the murders of Iraqis while in Unisted States custody and lack of accountability, the execution rate while he was governor of Texas, and the mocking of a born-again Christian as he sent her to the electric chair all belie his statement. It's much easier to err on the side of life when all you have to do is pick up a pen.

These are the hypocrites on the town square, megaphones in hand, their lies resonating down the city streets.

The Fault Lines are Exposed

The fault lines in the Republican party are now exposed, and the fundamentalist religious faction can no longer deny that they are being played for votes. They will not accept this situation quietly or without a fight. But the limits of their attempts to force their God on society as a whole are now evident, as shown by poll after poll of Americans rejecting this intervention into family life. And the quick attempt by the President to back away from the bill, along with the feeble response by Jeb Bush of the calls to take custody of Terri, show that even the publicly pious politician will only take so much heat for their fire and brimstone toting constituents.

That an organization like Focus on the Family is more concerned with homosexuality and abortion than homelessness or joblessness means they will inevitably break from the more progressive churches, who have far more members, that are willing to address all of society's ills. The break between corporate and religious Republicans has now been forced into the open, and the light of day will have its usual illuminating affect on a forced truce, taken advantage of by the powers that be in the Republican party, broken apart by cynical politicians and the dogmatic beliefs of its most vocal minority.

As they also say in the blogosphere, pass the popcorn............