I doubt anyone is keeping score but just in case, you can add three more to the total of needless, senseless, shootings that have taken place on this nation’s school campuses. At the same time kids are shooting kids with easily acquired firearms, the NRA continues to rant about Obama taking our weapons away and the 2nd Amendment being under assault. Also, as Ohioans are burying our dead and wiping our tears the state of Virginia, no stranger to campus violence, in the same week decided to repeal its ban on buying more than one handgun a month. Guns, like fundamental religious ideology, cannot be rationally discussed because so many of those who are gun minded are not open to reason, ration, or compromise. They have plastered their bumpers with carved in stone slogans and display extreme paranoia anytime a held truth is challenged.
Now, before one of you “gun nuts” chimes in let me remind you that regardless of what the NRA claims, President Obama has not, in all the time before his election or his time in office has taken any position opposing or threatening gun ownership. He and the Democrat Party pretty much gave up on the gun issue sever years ago. He even signed into law a bill that permits people to carry firearms on to National Parks property. Additionally, in case you’ve forgotten, the United States Supreme Court has ruled individual gun ownership is protected by the US Constitution. Gun lovers and their mouthpiece, the NRA, need to ease up on the paranoia rhetoric and come to grips that there are far too many guns in America and they are far too easy to acquire.
Eileen Smith, one of my favorite bloggers, has a recent piece titled, Actually, Guns Do Kill People. It focuses on the action taken by Virginia and the irresponsible positions taken by the NRA. I urge you to read and consider her thoughts.
I have had conversations with today’s “mainstream” Republicans and about every time one mentions the name of a yesterday “mainststream” Republican they retort with, “Oh, he’s just a Republican in name only (RINO).” Like you say, you can’t have an independent thought and remain in the club.
Regarding the religious nature of the party, in the past day or so I’ve seen several editorials concerning potential transformation of the GOP into America’s first political party. The writer referred to it by a potential new name, American Faith Party (AFP).
Listening to the war on social equality, against non-Christian religions, secularism, contraception, separation of church-state, women’s rights, immigration, etc. one can but wonder. The growing influence of the dominionist movement just adds fuel to the fire.
Just another bit of evidence, Larry, for what Bill Maher calls the “Republican Bubble”: adhering to beliefs that bear no relationship to factual reality. I’m coming around to the idea that there is a conservative dogma; ideas that must be believed in order to belong to the group. More and more, conservative politics in this country are starting to take on the aura of a religion, rather than a political philosophy.
Consider: In the recent Bush era, supporters of GW would brook no criticism of their leader (fuhrer? savior?) and to question their political position was tantamount to questioning their faith. And it’s only gotten worse. The candidates are less qualified (if that’s possible), the party positions (or at least what they allow to become public – another topic close to my heart) more radical, intolerant, regressive, and basically un-American, and any comment outside what is considered accepted dogma is met with a smug look that says, “Oh, you’re one of THOSE.” We’ve had rough times, we’re having rough times, and, I’m afraid, they’re going to get worse before they get better.