‘Values voters’ are a cheap date

July 25, 2006

Desperate congressional [tag]Republicans[/tag] have been working overtime to impress the party’s far-right base. An article in the Washington Times today suggests the effort is working.

The Republican base is being rejuvenated, some conservative [tag]activists[/tag] say, by a flurry of congressional action on “[tag]values[/tag]” issues such as marriage safeguards, flag protection and abortion restrictions, as well as President Bush’s veto last week of stem-cell legislation. […]

In the past few months, Mr. [tag]Bush[/tag] signed legislation against broadcast indecency, both chambers of Congress voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and woman, and the House voted to retain the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Conservative leaders are encouraged. They say their key issues were sidelined after conservatives helped President Bush win re-election and the Republican Party keep control of Congress in 2004.

“Prior to this, there wasn’t much to show for a lot of hard work,” said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America.

But that’s just it — there still isn’t much to show for their work. Jim Backlin, vice president of legislative affairs at the flailing Christian Coalition, said the spate of “values” votes “really, really helps rejuvenate our base — especially Bush vetoing the stem-cell bill.”

In other words, right-wing activists, who believed after the 2004 election that [tag]GOP[/tag] lawmakers would finally advance a religious right-style agenda, are now “rejuvenated” despite Republicans failing to actually accomplish anything.

What is there for the far-right to be so excited about? After ignoring the Dobson crowd for the better part of two years, Republicans have recently:

* held unsuccessful votes on [tag]gay marriage[/tag], flag burning, and the estate tax;

* ignored the base’s demands and passed a popular stem-cell research bill that sparked a presidential veto;

* passed a court-stripping measure in the House that almost certainly won’t even come up for a vote in the Senate;

* and successfully increased fines on broadcast indecency.

That’s it. Stiffer FCC penalties and a bunch of failed measures are enough to “rejuvenate” the [tag]base[/tag]?

Talk about your soft bigotry of low expectations….

So the media, Democratic politicians, and the “independent” congressional Republicans aren’t the only ones with the psychology of an abused spouse. In the case of the religious right, the abuse takes the form of being ignored rather than battered, but it’s the same idea. Perhaps we should buy Bush a “wifebeater” T-shirt.

  • Republicans are doing something: They’re being embattled losers That’s how their base likes to see themselves.

  • They’re kind of like those stupid dogs we all have known. No matter how many times you pretend to throw the stick, they never learn. They’ll go bounding across the yard after the imaginary stick every time.

  • Mr. Carpetbagger,

    held unsuccessful votes on gay marriage, flag burning, and the estate tax;…

    While I agree that they should want more success from their legislative “leaders”, doesn’t this just play right into the GOPs gamebook?

    GOP: “Yes, we were unsuccessful. Why? Because of those nasty godless communist demoncrats. That’s why. So, far right base, get out there and vote more of us in. Then we can finally pass this society and soul saving legislation.

    Ugh…

  • I think what’s going on here is a version of something learned during the Hawthorne Experiments. It doesn’t matter what really happens (in terms of accomplishing goals). What matters is that you’re paid attention to. As an example, the company first improved lighting conditions and got an increase in productivity. Then they made lighting worse and got an increase in productivity. It didn’t matter what they did to the employees; it only mattered that they did something, that they paid attention.

    This elementary lesson from 1920s Sociology should be studied by Democrats. When’s the last time you got the impression that our Party gives a damn about the Labor movement? Has any Democrat (other than John Edwards) made the point that college education is becoming unbearably costly? Do hard-working agricultural and construction workers, the clerical workforce, domestics, and the unemployed (through outsourcing, e.g.) have any reason to believe that any Democratic candidate gives a damn about them? I want to emphasize: it would be nice if we had some plans for actually helping improve the lives of these people, but at least we ought to appear as if we wanted to help.

    Keeping God in the Pledge isn’t going to do a damn thing, really, to alter the lot of the Bible thumpers and snake-handlers, but it sure helps to activate the base. I don’t know that removing it will activate any more than a handful of Democrats outside our conventions and think tanks.

  • All the Republicant’s have to do is convince these idiots that they’re “trying”, but that the liberal media and the evil Democratics are blocking their efforts, and the idiots will believe them.

    Why? Because they’re idiots.

    Raise the average IQ in the country by 5 points, and the Republicans would be out of business.

    Please God, if you’re up there, make your children smarter.

  • I guess they are the Best. Base. Ever.

    No need for results. No need for good government. No need for actually relieving suffering or such things. No need for upholding all those other “commandments” (thou shall not lie, steal, kill, covet, idolatry/false gods). No need for true accountability.

  • I guess they are the Best. Base. Ever.

    No need for results. No need for good government. No need for actually relieving suffering or such things. No need for upholding all those other “commandments” (thou shall not lie, steal, kill, covet, idolatry/false gods). No need for true accountability. \

    “Why buy the cow when the milk is free” could be the GOP motto.

  • I guess they are the Best. Base. Ever.

    No need for results. No need for good government. No need for actually relieving suffering or such things. No need for upholding all those other “commandments” (thou shall not lie, steal, kill, covet, idolatry/false gods).

  • DAmn. Sorry about the triple posting above. My computer is acting really funny today.

  • Oh and don’t forget how the Republicans are hastening the Rapture due to their sit-on-their-hands policy concerning the Isreal – Lebanon conflict. That’s gotta score some points with the religious right. I think I hear those four horsemen now …

  • Those “values” voters — aka the American Taliban — won’t settle forever for a few crumbs thrown them occasionally by pandering Republicans.

    Someday the Republican Party will rue the day it climbed into bed with the American Taliban — assuming, that is, America survives the looming theocracy. (And it’s not like Democrats have the nerve to do anything that would make the AT unhappy!)

  • How many millions of tax dollars were spent on “faith-based” programs this year? 6 years ago this was controversial – now it doesn’t even merit mention as a “win” by the religious right.

    And isn’t the school voucher issue suddenly back on the table?

  • CB.
    This is the group that believes the Earth is 5000 years old, that we all came from Adam and Eve, that an Ark carried two of every species of life on the planet, and that the Flintstones is a fact based cartoon.
    These are followers. Reason is a Swish chocolate and Logic makes keyboards in their minds.

  • “that an Ark carried two of every species of life on the planet, ” – ScottW

    Wouldn’t you like to challenge some of these idiots to build a wooden boat capable of actually carrying animals, then start parading different species to it and let them quickly realize that there is no way in the world, even using the Chinese Treasure Fleet junk building methods, to build a wooden ship capable of handling that many animals.

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