Those Herod-Like Republicans
11 Oct 2006
Do you remember the Magi, the religious leaders from the East that King Herod attempted to use to eliminate a perceived threat to his throne (Matthew 2:1-23)? Fortunately, the Magi, having been divinely warned in a dream of King Herod’s disingenuousness, escaped the fate of being used as pawns in a game of political intrigue. It’s too bad that today’s religious leaders and rank and file Christians have not caught on to the disingenuousness of so many modern-day politicians. If we had, we would have ceased long ago from being snookered by candidates who quickly discard us once they’re sworn into office.
For some time now Christian conservatives, a major block of the so-called “Values Voters,” have walked lockstep with the Republican Party. Granted, we are obviously uncomfortable in the big tent of the Democratic Party, which we believe resembles a big top more than a big tent. To us, the Democratic Party is a three ring circus in which: (1) Our heads are stuck in the mouths of lions (2) National security walks the tightrope (3) Gay knife throwers fling razor-sharp daggers at traditional marriage (4) Radical feminists and stem cell researchers carelessly juggle the sanctity of human life (5) Our Constitution is shot out of a canon by despotic judges, and (6) Candidates are clowns whose principles evaporate like cotton candy with every new public opinion poll. Still, in spite of our understandable unwillingness to fill the seats under the Democratic big top, I don’t find the blind allegiance of today’s Christian conservatives to the Republican Party equally understandable, especially in light of the fact that the Republican Party has repeatedly shown itself Herod-like in its treatment of us.
Although we’re all disturbed by the recent revelation that a Republican congressman, Mark Foley, was sending sexually explicit emails to underage male congressional pages, what is most disturbing to me is the additional revelation that Foley’s abhorrent behavior has been known on Capital Hill for years. While Congressman Foley’s homosexuality may be a newsflash to his former constituents, it has been common knowledge among congressional Republicans for a long time. Furthermore, it was at least six years ago when the House of Representatives’ Republican leadership was first informed of Foley’s inappropriate emails to minors working on Capital Hill. In spite of this, Republicans elevated Foley to the powerful position of House Deputy Majority Whip and awarded him the co-chairmanship of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.
Unbeknownst to most Americans, a sizable and ever-expanding number of homosexuals work on Capital Hill, both in elected office and key staff positions. According to the New York Times, “The presence of homosexuals, particularly gay men, in key staff positions has been an enduring if largely hidden staple of Republican life for decades.” The Times goes on to assert that gay Republicans “have played decisive roles in passing legislation, running campaigns and advancing careers.” This tolerance of gay and lesbian influence in the Republican Party has even been saluted by Democrats, which speaks volumes to me in light of the Democrats’ disinclination to praise present-day Republicans for anything.
Many people are familiar with the “K Street Project,” the Republican Party’s campaign to build influence along Washington’s lobbying corridor. Few have ever heard of the “P Street Project,” however. The “P Street Project,” named after a street cutting through a local gay enclave, is a campaign by gay Republican staff members to gain more influence in the Grand Old Party. Another obscurity outside of the Washington Beltway is “The List,” a roster of gay congressional staff members and their Republican bosses circulated on Capital Hill by gay activists.
Though many gay Republicans choose to stay closeted away from the Capital Rotunda, more and more are coming out of the Capital closet. Take Congressman Jim Kolbe for example. Kolbe, an “openly gay” Republican congressman, was honored at this year’s annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican organization dedicated to standing “up against those who preach intolerance and hate.” In other words, Log Cabin Republicans are dedicated to opposing Biblical preaching. The event honoring Kolbe at this year’s Log Cabin Convention featured a video tribute to the “openly gay” congressman by Vice President Dick Cheney, who opposes a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage due to the fact that his own daughter is a lesbian.
Now, I’m not writing any of this to smear anyone, whether they are United States Congressmen, Capital Hill staffers, Log Cabin Republicans, or daughters of Vice Presidents. Nor am I denying homosexuals their right to be involved in politics and to serve in government; though I might add that homosexuals have no qualms about denying the same rights to Christians. All I’m attempting to point out in this piece is that the Republican Party talks the talk of “Values Voters,” especially around election time, but never walks the walk once elected. Before elections, Republicans fill church pews; afterward, they’re off to attend the annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans.
Hearing Democratic “outrage” over the Republicans’ Foley scandal is like hearing wallowing hogs protest the mire. Pardon me if I ignore such hypocritical tripe coming from a political party that protects Planned Parenthood’s shielding of statutory rapists, promotes the distribution of condoms to junior high students, boos the Boy Scouts of America for their refusal to allow homosexual scoutmasters to take little boys into the woods on weekend campouts, circles the wagons around a womanizing president, and works to reelect their own homosexual congressmen—Gerry Studds and Barney Frank—despite the fact that one had an affair with an underage congressional page and the other had a male prostitution service operating out of his own home. In the face of such things, as well as a host of others, Democrats have forfeited any right they ever had to cry “scandal” over anything. After all, how can anything be scandalous to a political party that no longer believes in the “old-fashioned” notion of right and wrong?
Almost as sickening as Democrats feigned outrage over a sexual scandal involving a homosexual congressman is Republicans’ attempt to blame the scandal on a Democratic plot linked to George Soros. Rather than owning up to the fact that they were more concerned with protecting their political party than with protecting congressional pages, Republicans are trying to divert attention from themselves to Democrats by suggesting that a Democratic plot is behind the ouster of Foley and that some Democrats have done worse things than Foley did. Is this really the best that modern-day politics has to offer? Are we now down to choosing between the least of two evils? Are Christians stuck with voting for a political party that merely maintains the pretense of morality and sales itself as a little less scandalous than its counterpart?
If you doubt the dire straits to which we have sunk as a nation, consider a new poll released this past weekend by Newsweek that shows a majority of Americans now view the Democratic Party as the party of values. At the same time, the New York Times editorialized that the double standard applied to the two parties and the harsher judgment of Republicans over sexual scandals like Foley’s is justified because Republicans claim to have values. In other words, no one expects virtuous behavior from Democrats, since they don’t pretend to possess any values in the first place. Yet, the political party that is admittedly devoid of values is now considered most virtuous. Perhaps, the only explanation for this absurdity is found in the Democrats’ one redeeming quality. Unlike Republicans who merely feign values, Democrats are upfront about their decadence and determination to force-feed it to the rest of us. They may be lechers, but at least they’re not liars, with the exception of course of Bill Clinton, who did prove to be both.
It goes without saying that today’s Democratic Party could not have fielded a successful candidate for dogcatcher fifty years ago. Today, however, Democrats are looking to regain control of the House and Senate in November and of the presidency in 2008. Thanks to the fact that behavior once closeted and thought shameful is now proudly paraded down Main Street U.S.A., Democrats believe that they can march back into power at the head of Gay Pride and Mardi Gras parades. Believe it or not, such a strategy no longer appears farfetched, especially when you figure in Christian conservatives’ growing disenchantment with the Republican Party.
The same way that Democrats take the support of the African American community for granted, Republicans take the support of conservative Christians for granted. Believing that we have no where else to go and that they are our only political alternative, Republicans smugly toss us a few well-rehearsed talking points and well-worn sound bites and expect us to line up at the polls and punch our ballots for their candidates, even if their candidates happen to be closeted homosexuals preying on congressional pages and working to rid the Republican Party of conservative Christian influence. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of being patronized by politicians. Consequently, I’m not about to prostitute myself to any political party. While other Christians may vote for Republicans simply because they are a little less scandalous than Democrats, my conscience and Christian convictions prevent me from casting a ballot for any scoundrel, regardless of his or her political moniker.
Don Walton
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