Kevin Phillips: must read commentary

Kevin Phillips, former Republican strategist for the Nixon administration, has written an outstanding piece of required reading, How the GOP Became God's Own Party.  In it he describes the toxic combination of alliances that have formed the modern Republican Party and how fearful Democratic leaders have done absolutely nothing to challenge this dangerous threat to the health of American democracy.  The focus of his commentary points to the rise of religious fundamentalism in GOP politics and why it is the most toxic ingredient in the party's axis of interests, which include:

...the oil-national security complex, with its pervasive interests; the religious right, with its doctrinal imperatives and massive electorate; and the debt-driven financial sector, which extends far beyond the old symbolism of Wall Street.
(a.k.a. oil, fundamentalism and debt)

According to Phillips, America's debt and oil dependency are bad enough in and of themselves, but add religious fundamentalism to the mixture and we're in for a world of hurt:

...more danger lurks in the responsiveness of the new GOP coalition to Christian evangelicals, fundamentalists and Pentecostals, who muster some 40 percent of the party electorate. Many millions believe that the Armageddon described in the Bible is coming soon. Chaos in the explosive Middle East, far from being a threat, actually heralds the second coming of Jesus Christ. Oil price spikes, murderous hurricanes, deadly tsunamis and melting polar ice caps lend further credence.

The potential interaction between the end-times electorate, inept pursuit of Persian Gulf oil, Washington's multiple deceptions and the financial crisis that could follow a substantial liquidation by foreign holders of U.S. bonds is the stuff of nightmares.

And to make matters worse, with fundamentalism playing such a vital role in the Republican Party, the party is successfully discrediting science, the very field of study that propelled America forward in the last century.  When science is discredited the reality of today's crucial challenges are not only ignored but dismissed as quackery:

These include Bible-based disbelief in Darwinian theories of evolution, dismissal of global warming, disagreement with geological explanations of fossil-fuel depletion, religious rejection of global population planning, derogation of women's rights and opposition to stem cell research.

...No leading world power in modern memory has become a captive of the sort of biblical inerrancy that dismisses modern knowledge and science.

Although Phillips briefly addresses the fact that this axis of danger has gone unchallenged by Democratic leaders, it's important to note that at the grass/netroots level there is a powerful opposition movement that is growing every month.  Without this in mind, it would be easy to fall into a serious depression about where this country is headed.  The new progressives leading this movement don't simply act as opposition they are also developing innovative ideas on how to get off the destructive path the modern GOP has put us on.

There are several events coming up that address these issues and compliment each other nicely, particularly in the order they are scheduled:  Kevin Phillips will be speaking at Powells this Friday the 7th at 7pm, and on Monday the founders of the progressive uber-blogs Daily Kos and MyDD will be promoting their book Crashing the Gate at Lucky Lab Brew Pub from 3:30 to 7pm.  They'll head over to Powell's for a book signing event at 7:30 and then top it off with an appearance at Rob Brading's (progressive Dem challenger to Oregon House Speaker Karen Minnis) campaign event at the McMenamin's Kennedy School.  You can be Kos Heads and follow them around to each event or just show up at one, preferably the Brading event where your support will be the most effective.

So at Phillips' event we can learn about the destructive GOP alliances and what they are doing to America, and at the Crashing the Gate events we can learn about what to do to put a stop to this craziness.

Comments

[ron ledbury]

This area of inquiry is certainly good.

But, the progressives are far too dismissive of individual rights. Two wrongs don't make a right, as a justification for many progressive ideas. That is, do not look to the other as a measure of one's own ideals.

[Sid]

Are you talking about property rights? Or reproductive rights? Or sexual identity rights?

What kind of individual rights are you talking about here?

[ron ledbury]

credit-industrial complex

and

Individual rights are under assault on nearly all fronts. Take your pick.