Centerblue.org

There is a battle royale going on between former Majority Leader Dick Armey and James Dobson of Focus on the Family, a radical right group.

In last Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post, Armey argued that Republicans face an electoral rout because they abandoned the principles of limited government and became the party of huge deficits, Terry Schiavo, flag burning, and same-sex marriage. He pins much of the blame for this on Dobson and other Christian leaders on his FreedomWorks website, and has called them “thugs” and “bullies” in recent interviews.

Dobson and others are predictably shocked and dismayed at Armey’s remarks, saying he is a bitter man who is sore that Dobson supported an opponent of Armey’s for the post of majority leader.

One comment by the radical right was particularly telling as it condemned Armey: “If it weren’t for the [anti same-sex] marriage amendment in Ohio, John Kerry would be president. So shut up, Dick,” said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention and an ally of Dobson’s–which goes to show once again that the GOP’s stooges only care about so-called “family values” insofar as it helps their candidates get elected.

Not that I feel particularly sorry for Dobson and his ilk, but Dick Armey sure didn’t refrain from using social wedge issues when it suited him, such as pushing the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” in 1996 (which uselessly told the states they could ignore same-sex marriages from other states when they could already do so under the Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution), a craven act of GOP politicking intended to force Clinton to choose between his liberal base and the independent vote during his re-election. I think he’s being a tad bit hypocritical.

Sometimes it’s just best to sit back and watch your opponents destroy each other..it sure is a lot of fun!

The Rev. Ted Haggard stepped down as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after revelations surfaced that he has repeatedly paid for gay sex and has used illegal metamphetamines. The burgeoning scandal involving the preacher, a vociferous opponent of gay marriage, comes at a terrible time for the GOP.

The problem can be summarized in two words: Mark Foley. Just as Kerry threatened to reinforce negative views of Democrats through his “botched joke,” Haggard strikes at the heart of some of the problems buffeting the GOP. It is likely to remind voters of GOP hypocrisy on the issue of family values. It will remind Christian conservatives of how badly they’ve been used by the GOP (while Bush and Co. laugh at them behind their backs), and how much the GOP has failed to implement their reactionary agenda. It also generally reinforces the “culture of corruption” theme that Democrats have been using as a hammer against their opponents.

In the end, I think most people have already made up their minds how they’re going to vote. A new poll shows that the “Kerry moment” is a total non-issue in people’s minds–especially among independents–as they prepare to head to the voting booth. If Haggard does any damage it’s likely to be long-term, hopefully causing evangelicals to re-evaluate their involvement in politics given the way they have been mercilessly used and disappointed.

I would love to see GOP candidates skewered in November as part of a Democratic takeover of Congress. However there is one vulnerable GOP candidate, Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee, who I would be saddened to see defeated. He is one of those rare few GOP mavericks that’s often on the right side of the issues. He’s committed to stewardship of the environment, recently meriting an endorsement from the Sierra Club (which drew the outrage of liberals with charges that “centrism is for suckers.”) He opposes opening ANWR to oil drilling. He favors conservation, increased efficiency, and alternative fuels as part of a national energy policy. He supports increased education funding. He opposed the Iraq war and favors a phased troop withdrawal.

The Left’s gunning for Chafee is understandable in an election year where a switch to a Democratic Congress is in reach. Chafee is not just being attacked from the Left, though–the far Right also has it in for him. The conservative so-called “Club for Growth” is endorsing GOP challenger Stephen Laffey in his bid to unseat Chafee in Rhode Island’s GOP primary next month. They are angry he voted against Bush’s tax cuts and refused to vote for Bush’s re-election.

It’s tough to be a moderate these days. I disagree with my more liberal friends who believe that all Republicans must be defeated as the only acceptable condition for victory. Not only is this unrealistic in a relatively conservative nation, it also hampers the chances of succeeding at the important things we need to do. Rare open-minded individuals like Chafee should be valued, not derided.

If I lived in Rhode Island and had to choose between Chafee and Democratic control of Congress I’d reluctantly choose the latter because the national GOP leadership has completely lost its way and is steering the country on a ruinous course. If it weren’t for such pressing issues, though, he’d be the rare Republican who would tempt me to cross party lines (something I have yet to do, ever.)

Virginia Senator George Allen is being buffeted by attacks from both the Left and the radical Right for his ownership of stock in Barr Laboratories, the maker of the Plan B “morning after” pill. The attacks center on the hypocrisy of owning stock in a company providing “abortion pills” at the same time Allen professes to be “pro-life.”

Allen defends his investment, saying he admires Barr as a company–a company with a large plant in southern Virginia, an area crucial for him in the November election. By holding the stock, however, he risks angering his social conservative base both in Virginia and on the national scene as he explores a run for president.

I’m personally relishing the controversy. There are few politicians I despise more than George Allen. While sadly he is more likely than not to win re-election to the Senate, I’m hopeful America is in no mood for his bigoted brand of politics come 2008.

Ralph Reed’s loss in his primary for Georgia’s lieutenant governor proves that the issue of corruption has legs in the minds of voters.

Reed was inextricably tied to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and he was pounded by his opponent and by the voters for it.

There are six Republicans in Congress who are in danger of losing their seats because of their ties to Abramoff, chief among them being Sen. Conrad Burns and Rep. Robert Ney.

Hearing the canary in the coal mine, Republicans are rushing to put together legislation that would limit lobbyists and associated member perks.

The legislation comes too little, too late. While corruption has engulfed members of both parties, Republicans have been much more widely implicated and bear the burden of persuasion given their leadership role. Voters are in a mood to toss the bums out, and the GOP corruption scandals are just giving them one more reason (although other issues like gasoline prices and Iraq seem to weigh more on their minds).

As for Reed, I take a personal pleasure in seeing his little Christian Coalition smirk wiped off his face as he becomes electorally irrelevant.

Religion is taking a left turn. According to that cbsnews.com article, the National Council of Churches represents about 50 million religious people, most of whom are mainline Protestants. Dr. Bob Edgar, the General Secretary of that organization calls his movement the “center-left” (which coincides neatly with the mission of this blog.) He is seeking to gain some of the same political muscle currently wielded by the Religious Right. The movement is focusing on such issues as poverty, the environment, and ending the war in Iraq.

Some of my friends on the Radical Left want to exorcize religion from all discourse in politics and in the Democratic Party. Their position is understandable, given the damage the rigidity of the Religious Right has inflicted on this country for 25 years. Unfortunately, their position also puts idealism over pragmatism.

Whether we like it or not, a majority of Americans are religious in one way or another. Insisting on invalidating their religious beliefs is a ticket to continuing to lose election after election, and is as foolish as any Democratic strategy that gives up on the South.

The Religious Left shows that religion is not incompatible with liberal beliefs, and in fact religion may more easily align itself with the Left than the Right on many issues. Protecting the environment, feeding the poor, and opposing a groundless war are beliefs that are easily reconcilable with Christian tenets. On other social issues, Edgar says:

“Jesus never said one word about homosexuality, never said one word about civil marriage or abortion.”

How true.

It’s time to stop ceding the argument that liberals and Christians are incompatible if we really want to win back the hearts and minds of Americans. The Religious Left sounds like a great start for that.