THE MOST HIGH REPUBLICAN CHURCH OF THE RIGHT

Religion and Politics.  Politics and Religion.   While state and church may be officially separate in America, the fact remains that religion and politics are inextricably interwoven.  All religion is intrinsically political.  Religion has provided the foundation for establishing and dismantling empires throughout history.   Religion has inspired pride and self hatred, liberation and enslavement.  I could (and at some time in the future I probably will) go on and on about the politics of religion.  But what about the religion of politics?

What happens when a political idea (or ideal) becomes so completely ingrained that it becomes an article of faith?  I’m speaking of the Republican Religion that states that if lower taxes for the wealthy and more deregulation create a mess, don’t back down- go for even lower taxes and more deregulation! I’m reminded of a story about a man who thought he was dead.  His family and friends tried valiantly, but in vain, to convince him otherwise.  Finally, having exhausted all other avenues, they took him to a doctor.  The doctor asked him if he thought dead people could bleed.  He laughed, and assured the doctor that a dead person bleeding was a preposterous notion.  “Then I’ll prove to you that you are alive,” the good doctor said, as he made a small incision in the man’s arm.   The man’s eyes widened as he watched the blood drip down his arm.  “I have to apologize to you all.  All this time I’ve been wrong.”  The doctor and the man’s family that had gathered for this moment all smiled congratulations at one another for this fateful moment.  “Dead people do bleed after all!” 

This story keeps coming back to me as I observe the Republican primaries and the strict adherence to Republican dogma by the faithful.  The news reported on a South Carolina Republican woman who recited the Republican line on taxing the wealthy by heart.  She reportedly said that increasing taxes on the wealthy takes away money they would otherwise invest; and those investments create jobs.  There was, however, one minor flaw in her logic:  The wealthy are already enjoying the lowest tax rates in history and there are no jobs now! 

Adherence to the Republican dogma must be absolute and firm.   The Republican Right does not trust Mitt Romney because his heart does not appear to be pure in its Rightness.  He suffers from having passed health care legislation as the governor of Massachusetts that, while extremely successful, flies in the face of Republican Church dogma. 

Even the surging Newt Gingrich (whose baggage/track record in a sane world would preclude him from running for hall monitor if it were an elected post) had to be brought before the Church Elders for a transgression against the Official Position of The Most High Right. The party of Karl Rove, mastermind of the unethical, has its limits on what is acceptable and unacceptable political fighting. Newt was officially chastised for a most egregious offense: he criticized the vulture capitalism that made Romney wealthy.   Newt’s attack sounded curiously Leftist and could not be tolerated. 

They came forth from on High, those demigods of the Most High Right.  There was Racist Rush Limbaugh, himself, thunderbolt in hand, castigating Newt for his heresy.  He was followed by Hydra that is Fox News- its many heads streaming from one body with one message of recrimination.  Big guns like Charles Krauthammer jumped into the fray. 

Newt faced what would have been a dilemma for any but the truest of true believers:  appear contrite and be seen as weak, or come out swinging and risk excommunication from the Church Elders.  For True Believer Newt, it was a no-brainer.  In the finest tradition of the patron saints John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, Newt stuck to his guns.  The First Commandment for True Believers is to never back down and never appear weak.  Even if your ex-wife accuses you of requesting an open marriage, don’t back down, attack the moderator.   Coming out swinging is communion for the Church of The Right.  We’ll have to see how things play out between prodigal Newt and the Church Elders. 

The Church of the Most High Right is a powerful tool the Masters of The Right use to maintain and assert their hegemony over their fiefdoms.  Their motivation is clear.  They   do it because they can.  In their game, the one who dies with the most toys, wins.  It is the motivation of their followers- the ones who vote against their own best interests - that is far more intriguing in that it may offer insights into the foibles that constitute the human condition.  What is required to make one voluntarily drink the Kool Aid?