Pat Robertson: "'Activist' Judges More Dangerous Than Osama, Hitler and Tojo"

    OK, I admit it. I've always detested Pat Robertson. After my sister died of AIDS, then-presidential hopeful Pat came to New Hampshire, his campaign rhetoric including the novel ideas that God was using AIDS to punish sinners
and that the disease could be spread through the air. I thought of a lot of things I would have liked to do or say to the reverend, but when I met him in the course of my work as a journalist, I treated him with professional restraint -- and, frankly, with Christian pity for his vicious self-righteousness.
        Well, as you may have noticed by now, the Republican fundamentalist far right has long since stopped excercising any discernible restraint whatsoever. From lying about WMDs to get scores of thousands of Iraqis and more than 1500 Americans killed in a war for strategic control of oil, to "outing" a CIA undercover agent to punish dissent, and from legalizing torture to dancing a political jig with Terry Schiavo's corpse, they've given us plenty of reason to believe there isn't much they wouldn't say or do to achieve their ends.
        And now comes the Rev. Pat to articulate the party line on "activist judges." (That's the current GOP term of art for judges who do not agree with torture; who uphold a spouse's right to make decisions for a terminally ill partner; who support laws restricting corporate rape of the environment; and who aren't impressed with the need to teach fundamentalist "creation science" in our schools.) On Sunday morning, the old Christian Coalition co-founder told TV viewers nationwide that the threat posed by liberal federal judges is "probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."
     Yeah, you read that right.
     And I know it's shocking. But, admit it: You're not really surprised. It was only a matter of time before the far right got around to equating their domestic opposition with Al-Qaeda. Hey, if it worked for the Iraq War, why not try it at home? And by the way, when (on that same show) George Stephanopoulos asked if Robertson really believed that these judges posed "the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years of history, more serious than al Qaeda, more serious than Nazi Germany and Japan, more serious than the Civil War?," the Reverend responded, "George, I really believe that." (Check it out at http://mediamatters.org/items/200505020003.)
     Now, this would be amusing, in a Billy Sunday kind of way, if it weren't a fact that Robertson's Christian Coalition is absolutely in synch with the dark heart of the religious right/megabusiness partnership that is the party of the Bush Administration, the Frist Senate and the DeLay House. What he says is what they want. If the preacher gets away with saying it, the pols will join in. (DeLay has already made statements almost as inflammatory.) It seems a safe bet that the rhetoric of intolerance and incitement may rise to a level we haven't known since the McCarthy Era----- and then get worse.
     And it's all happening, not to suit the people who believe the Earth is flat, but because megabusiness has learned to use the religious right to make its dreams come true. Believe me, Dick Cheney doesn't care whether American kids are taught "creation science," but he and his real, true friends are thrilled at the thought of an end to filibusters, of federal courts packed with judges who abhor environmental protections and workers' rights. The Reverend Pat may or may not sincerely believe this is all about God, but don't be fooled: This "crisis" of the "activist judges" is all about money. It's about laws and rights that get in the way of money being made. It's about ungodly greed.
     So... What are we going to do? Well, obviously, your representatives and the White House need a phone call or an e-mail from you. But I'm pleased to see that moveon.org has a clever strategy that you can aid with just a few clicks. Get on over to http://www.moveonpac.org/robertson/ (paste that address in your browser, or just click on it, if your e-mail program highlights it) and add your name to a petition demanding that Sen Bill Frist and Rep. Tom Delay publicly condem Robertson's comments and stop intimidating judges.
     In other words, force them to act like Americans, like statesmen. Like rational adults.
     As for the Reverend Pat, well, what can you say about a guy who makes Pat Buchanan seem both credible and likable?
     Just pray for him, friends. Thanks for reading. Yours in action and love for this country, Bill

--- HistoryBuff