‘Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies’

September 15, 2006

I attended the Christian Coalition’s national conference in 2002 and saw then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) receive their heretofore unknown “Lifetime Champion of Family Values” award. In a short speech, Armey thanked the religious right movement for its support of him and the Republican Party, and then began crying while describing the sacrifice Armey said Jesus Christ made for humanity.

Apparently, as Andrew Sullivan noted, Armey isn’t quite as impressed with the theocratic wing of his party anymore. Here’s what Armey told RealClearPolitics’ Ryan Sager:

“Where in the hell did this Terri Schiavo thing come from? There’s not a conservative, Constitution-loving, separation-of-powers guy alive in the world that could have wanted that bill on the floor. That was pure, blatant pandering to [Focus on the Family President] James Dobson. That’s all that was. It was silly, stupid, and irresponsible. Nobody serious about the Constitution would do that. But the question was will this energize our Christian conservative base for the next election. […]

“Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies. I pray devoutly every day, but being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid. There’s a high demagoguery coefficient to issues like prayer in schools. Demagoguery doesn’t work unless it’s dumb, shallow as water on a plate. These issues are easy for the intellectually lazy and can appeal to a large demographic. These issues become bigger than life, largely because they’re easy. There ain’t no thinking.”

I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but Armey seems to be saying the religious right’s agenda is both narrow and foolish, those who cater to the movement are engaging in obvious pandering, and the religious right’s activists are ignorant and lazy rubes.

Two quick thoughts: One, I can’t help but take some pleasure in seeing the moralist and libertarian wings of the GOP reach this level of intra-party animosity.

And two, “Lifetime Champion of Family Values” indeed.

First you get the crack in the dam, then it breaks, then it is smashed aside and the flood ensues.

I really do think we are seeing the dam (the Republican Party) at stage 2 (stage 1 being the DeLay/Abramoff stuff earlier), with stage 3 to come on November 7 and the final event thereafter.

  • Dick Armey is a jerk and it’s great to see him duke it out with the other jerks (who still plague us, unlike Dick Armey).

    I liked this line:

    “Denny [Hastert]’s pretty much a parochial politician who believes it’s not only your right but probably your duty to bring home the bacon. And Tom [Delay] is an appropriator.”

    this analogy is sadly emblematic of all Republicans’ thinking:

    “If you take me out in the back street with Muhammad Ali and give me a gun, I’ll shoot him, right, and nobody will notice, but if you let me get in the ring with him, he’s gonna kick the tar outta me.”

    IOW, let me cheat, and I can win.

    Go to hell, Dick.

  • And two, “Lifetime Champion of Family Values” indeed.

    Dobson and his thugs are probably thinking, “Hmm, if we’d killed him in 2002, he really would have deserved the award.” 🙂

  • They are indeed the dick army. They fuckus on family. And they made Jesus’ sacrifice both necessary and regrettable.

  • Power = Desire for more power = Fighting for more power. The radical “Christians” have been in power for so long and convinced themselves there can be no real threat to their position (‘cos Godalmighty will blast any one who disagrees). The only ones they have left to fight are themselves. I’m not a fan of boxing but if these guys want to duke it out, I’ll watch.

  • “…but being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid”

    Hey, my new response to my Christianist mother-in-law!

  • Armey thanked the religious right movement for its support of him and the Republican Party, and then began crying while describing the sacrifice Armey said Jesus Christ made for humanity.

    Wow.

    Now that’s what I call being pie-eyed drunk on koolaid.

    An apocryphal book full of apocryphal fantasies about an apocryphal man who lived roughly 2000 years ago… can bring tears to a modern man in a swank business suit.

    Wow…

    Scotty… beam me up to Serenity… this planet is obviously diseased…

  • “Being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid.”

    Pure genius. I smell a bumper sticker with his line.

    Armey, though, is like a guy with a sandbag arriving a week after Katrina. The sentiment’s nice but the damage has been done. Armey is still trolling around the nation working for the TABOR crowd. His lies about “tax reform” are as brazen a load of b.s. as anything Dobson says.

  • Given how well coordinated the Republican party is when it comes to selling its message, does it seem odd to anyone that we’ve had several people come forward to condemn the parties alliance with the Christian Preservatives? First I hear about Danforth and now Armey. I realize that the two men are cut from different cloth but for me, it’s a bit too coincidental. Has someone(read Rove) decided that it means a net gain in votes if the Republicans throw jesus under the bus? I have to say that I think they’d scruple at nothing.

  • “Being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid.”

    I must live in an alternate universe.
    In other words: Yes it is.

    As is… being Jewish, being Islamic… being Hare Krishna… being Wiccan… being…. being… being… drugged dumb with any and all forms of AUTHORITATIVE God WHO WILL ABIDE YOUR PRAYERS.

    Amen!

  • I attended the Christian Coalition’s national conference in 2002 — CB

    I read “national” as “rational”, then sat and wondered: WTF?

    I really have to make more of an effort to read the postings earlier in the day, before my eyes are too tired to do anything other than roll

  • The fault I find with the GOP is that they are insincere about their commitment to social conservatism. Social conservatives have become the bedrock of the GOP, but it’s only because their issues get lots of lip service, but no solutions.

    As long as abortion, school prayer, vouchers, etc. are out there as active issues, it will generate money and volunteer for the GOP. They know this, and they really DON’T want the issues resolved. Victory would mean the end of the volunteers and the money.

    What’s ironic is that neither Armey NOR Dobson have reason to be happy with the GOP. The GOP has failed to advance the social conservative agenda, but it’s also ran away from it’s smaller government posture that made Reagan so attractive. It’s a big government party that wants to scold its enemies for not being Godly enough while they protect Mark Foley and while GOP judges (as well as Democratic judges) uphold abortion, etc.

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