The Roving Reporter

September 4, 2003 6:07 AM

Behold the subtle hand of Karl Rove at work on the still distant 2004 election... Its 14 mos before the 2nd term elections and the numbers are falling fast (unless you're talking to this guy) What to do? Draw the ace up your sleeve, and start firing up the 70 million Christian fundies. BIGTIME.(note what state it happened in. Ain't that a coincedence?) Doesn't it seem a bit odd to be foregoing the more traditional strategy of reelection on the merits and opting instead to simply rely on the Karl Rove approach, at least this early in the campaign?
Note also, how it appears that someone is trying to again stack the deck in states holding larger shares of electoral votes.
(Coordinated events or is my tin foil hat just in need of a good polishing?)
posted by Fupped Duck (25 comments total)

Uh...

Sounds like "B" to me. What does Karl Rove have to do with a pro-life terrorist who committed his crime in 1994? Look, I despise the man. But unless you've got some kind of evidence, this is no better than O'Reilly's froth.
posted by Irontom at 6:43 AM on September 4, 2003

LOL... 70 Million Christian Fundamentals?

Hardly. Not all Christians are fundamentalists. In fact, the majority of them are not.

Sounds like you are grouping ALL Christians together under one blanket.

I am a Christian, but what Paul Hill did was wrong. Plain and simple. I hope they heated up the floor of the execution chamber in anticipation of where he may be going.

What is it about conspiracies and the Left? (let me paint with a broad brush of my own)

And no, am not a Right-Winger either. I am Centrist. I am in the middle. And Bush is NOT getting my vote next year. But neither are any of the Democrats until they can offer up something better then: "I am not Bush."

Sorry, but I want to hear more then that.
posted by da5id at 7:02 AM on September 4, 2003

Metafilter: No Better Than O'Reilly Froth

Affirmative.

Thanks for the post, Fupped Duck. I've always said that what MeFi needs more of is haphazardly arranged political linkage from sources as obscure as Google News and even-handed & agendaless as Counterpunch. It's especially satisfying when the poster has clearly done so to illustrate a personal conspiracy theory. Nicely done.
posted by dhoyt at 7:05 AM on September 4, 2003

Listen, I live in fundie-land, and let me tell you these folks are perpetually fired up. They legitimately feel their way of life is under attack, they absolutely feel they have been backed into a corner, and like anyone backed into a corner, they are lashing out.

There is no reasoning with them, because if the Bible says it then that is the end of the argument, and cogent though your points may be, if you are arguing against something right there in the Bible, you are wrong, and that is the end of the story.

That may seem like painting with a broad brush if you happen to live in some metropolis and consider yourself a reasoned Christian. But I'm telling you: Go live in a place that fancies itself the buckle on the Bible belt for a while, and you will hear so much hatred and bile spewing forth from mouths that profess to be Christian that it will make you want to convert to something, anything else.
posted by kgasmart at 7:07 AM on September 4, 2003

In addition to the rising suspicions regarding the war in Iraq, I'd argue that appealing to Christian fundamentalists has actively harmed the Bush administration.

While Rove is undoubtedly working frantically to improve approval ratings, I doubt he'd go after the Christian right to get it done. Recall Bush's state of the union promises (as yet undelivered) to invest in alternative energy sources and help out with the AIDS crisis in Africa - hardly the words of a dyed in the wool conservative.
posted by aladfar at 7:11 AM on September 4, 2003

I have no idea what's going on here, unless you mean the execution of the Christian extremist murderer was a set up.

Waaaait a minute... If you go up and connect the links, it almost looks like an arrow...and it's pointing RIGHT AT THIS WEBSITE!
posted by planetkyoto at 7:15 AM on September 4, 2003

How would executing a man in a state with a Republican governor help the Republicans?
posted by PenDevil at 7:19 AM on September 4, 2003

How would executing a man in a state with a Republican governor help the Republicans?

It hasn't hurt in the past.
posted by Space Coyote at 7:45 AM on September 4, 2003

the fundamentalists are disappointed in Bush...but it's not like they're going anywhere--i can't see them voting for a democrat in 04 (in fact, they've had far more lip service paid to them, jesus-wise, than at any other time in my memory--and don't get me started on Ashcroft...)

they're in the same boat many of us democrats are...we know where our bread is buttered but are often disappointed by our guys.

(maybe they need to run an independent candidate, siphoning off votes from Bush for us Dems) : >
posted by amberglow at 7:48 AM on September 4, 2003

That's brilliant amberglow!! Now, how to make it happen?
posted by Irontom at 7:57 AM on September 4, 2003

Sounds like you are grouping ALL Christians together under one blanket.
posted by magullo at 8:00 AM on September 4, 2003

i dunno, irontom--maybe someone can go whisper in that alabama judge's ear (he certainly seems to have the ego for it), or start a draftwhoever website?
posted by amberglow at 8:16 AM on September 4, 2003

maqullo -

what's the point of your link?

Are you grouping as well? Falwell does not represent the majority view of most Christians. (The guy is an idiot)

If anything, he represents the Fundamentalist view.
posted by da5id at 8:20 AM on September 4, 2003

It sounds like you, as a Christian, are being manipulated left *and* right. That's my point, da5id.
posted by magullo at 8:26 AM on September 4, 2003

amberglow, that might be a really good idea. :)
posted by callmejay at 8:31 AM on September 4, 2003

They [fundies] legitimately feel their way of life is under attack

Legitimately? Explain, please. Who is preventing Christian fundamentalists from living their lives the way they see fit? Or do you think that oppressing their neighbors with their religious rules is a part of that life?
posted by Slothrup at 8:36 AM on September 4, 2003

Nah... not being manipulated... I won't buy into Falwell's vision, nor will I buy into the "New Age" vision.

I like it right where I am... in the middle.
posted by da5id at 8:59 AM on September 4, 2003

Mmmkay - used by both sides for their own purposes?

Regarding Paul Hill's death
posted by magullo at 9:16 AM on September 4, 2003

Legitimately? Explain, please. Who is preventing Christian fundamentalists from living their lives the way they see fit? Or do you think that oppressing their neighbors with their religious rules is a part of that life?

Let's use gay marriage as an example. Many cultural conservatives teach their children that homosexuality is wrong, forbidden by the Bible, that those who "come out" and embrace their sexuality are choosing to embrace sin rather than reject it, that God has made it very clear that this is not acceptible behavior.

To back up their reasoning, they pick and choose Bible verses such as Leviticus 18:22 - which does indeed condemn homosexuality (though the question is, how many of these folks are observing the ENTIRITY of Mosaic Law, and you know as well as I that the answer is, "absolutely none.")

Anyway. Right or wrong, this is what they fervently believe. And then a segment of society turns around and tries to gain societal - governmental - acceptance for something that runs absolutely counter to this view. In their world, were the government to permit same-sex unions, it undermines not only all that they believe, but all that they teach their children.

There are some - and I'm one of them - who would respond to this by saying, "Good." But the point is, this what they mean when they say that gay marriage "threatens" the family.
posted by kgasmart at 9:26 AM on September 4, 2003

Once again content forfeits to noise by simply failing to appear.
posted by putzface_dickman at 9:32 AM on September 4, 2003

And Bush is NOT getting my vote next year. But neither are any of the Democrats until they can offer up something better then: "I am not Bush."

Check out Dean. I saw him speak in NYC and I was surprised by the strength of his platform. Sure, he's negative on Bush, but he has an actual agenda for the country that is more than just "tax cuts for me and my buddies that your kids get to pay for".
posted by bshort at 10:08 AM on September 4, 2003

Thanks for the post, Fupped Duck. I've always said that what MeFi needs more of is haphazardly arranged political linkage from sources as obscure as Google News and even-handed & agendaless as Counterpunch. It's especially satisfying when the poster has clearly done so to illustrate a personal conspiracy theory. Nicely done.
posted by dhoyt at 7:05 AM PST on September 4


Dhoyt is the undisputed master of "attack the messenger" and the official righty tighty policeman of MetaFilter.
Wanna know what is NOT acceptable to post or discuss?
No need to ask dhoyt, he'll let you know if you have transgressed into the forbidden territory of dissing the Dear Leader or his minions.
Guess I'm gonna have to drag out my "O' Defenders of All Things Duhbya" meme on his ass again!
posted by nofundy at 11:04 AM on September 4, 2003

No one could support the Bush Administration after reading Franken's new book, Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them.

The book isn't as funny as I hoped it would be. Instead, its what we should have been getting from journalists in this country since September 11. Its depressing, which is probably one of the reasons we haven't been getting it.

The bottom line is that I am now ready to paint supporters of the Bush Administration with a broad brush... they are hapless fools who can't read or think analytically and are destroying this country.

Go ahead. Read it. I dare you. There are plenty of silly cracks to wade through, but you'll see that we are in way more trouble then any conspiracy could land us in.
posted by ewkpates at 11:17 AM on September 4, 2003

I have to agree. Until you live among these morons none of this makes sense.
posted by filchyboy at 1:17 PM on September 4, 2003

ed- Anal nitpick: the sample in "Weapon of Choice" is from Black Sheep's "The Choice is Yours" and is "get with this" (assuming memory and the above lyric site are correct).
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 1:24 PM on September 4, 2003