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July 22, 2012 11:14 PM UTC

It's Never Too Soon To Stay Classy

  • 31 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

We feel like at this point we can offer a few words on the inevitable and premature attempts, on both sides of the aisle, to make Friday morning’s tragic shootings at an Aurora movie theater comport with pre-existing political agendas. By now you’ve no doubt heard about the unfortunately-timed Tweets by the National Rifle Association and online shopping site called Celebrity Boutique–the latter particularly offensive as it appeared to commercialize the tragedy directly. As crass as those appear at a glance, in both cases they seem to be inadvertent.

We would like to apologize on behalf of the American fourth estate in its entirety and ABC News in particular, for their mistake of reporting on unverified references to a person of the same name as the alleged killer on a Tea Party website. Because the “liberal media” is never going to hear the end of it anyway, that’s as much oxygen as we care to expend. They screwed up. Also, we, meaning bloggers, commenters, and everyone else, should not have been so presumptuous about the lunatic who shot Gabrielle Giffords. Again, we are just saving readers the trouble.

With all of that laid out as candidly as we may, Right Wing Watch has the response to the Aurora shootings from the influential conservative American Family Association.

Fred Jackson, the American Family Association’s news director, while discussing the Colorado movie theater shooting today said that liberal Christian churches and liberal media helped contribute to violent incidents by supposedly deemphasizing the fear of God and the Bible. During AFA Today, Jackson had on as his guest Jerry Newcombe of Truth in Action Ministries to discuss his column on the AFA’s OneNewsNow blaming the shooting on a waning fear of God and Hell, and blamed the American Civil Liberties Union for destroying the public school system by supposedly forbidding students from reading the Bible. “You wonder why all these terrible things are happening to us when there is no fear of God,” Newcombe said.

Jackson maintained that unlike in the communities of forty years ago, liberals in the media and churches, along with movies and the internet, have “have come together to give us these kinds of incidents.”

…Later in the program, Jackson and co-host Teddy James of AFA Journal said the shooting is a sign of God’s judgment for the failings of the public education system and liberal, mainline Protestant churches that affirm gays and lesbians.

Jackson: I think the sources of this is [sic] multifaceted but you can put it all I think under the heading of rebellion to God, a rejection of the God of the Bible. I think along with an education system that has produced our lawyers, our politicians, more teachers, more professors, all of that sort of thing, is our churches, mainline churches. We’ve been dealing Teddy and I know the AFA Journal has been dealing with denominations that no longer believe in the God of the Bible, they no longer believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation, they teach that God is OK with homosexuality, this is just increasing more and more. It is mankind shaking its fist at the authority of God.

James: And God will not be silent when he’s mocked, and we need to remember that.

Jackson: We are seeing his judgment… [Pols emphasis]

It would be easy to lump this in the Westboro Baptist Church category of nonsensical hate-filled inbred blather, but the AFA spent over $20 million in 2011 as one of the principal ‘culture war’ groups on the Christian right–billing itself as “one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country” with an email list of millions and almost 200,000 donors.

Since a mere “leading pro-family advocacy organization” may not be enough for some, the Washington Post quotes one Rep. Louie Gohmert, Republican congressman from Texas, from his Friday interview with the Heritage Foundation (perhaps you’ve heard of them).

We have been at war with the very pillars, the very foundation of this country … and when … you know … what really gets me as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs and then a senseless, crazy act of terror like this takes place.

You know, when people say, where was God in all of this? Well, you know, we don’t let … in fact we’ve threatened high school graduation participants that if they use God’s name that they’re going to be jailed, we had a principal of a school, and a superintendent or a coach down in Florida that were threatened with jail because they said the blessing at a voluntary off-campus dinner. I mean, that kind of stuff … where is God? Where, where? What have we done with God? We told him that we don’t want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present.

That’s just cherry-picking the most far-out examples we can find, right? After all, who the heck is Rep. Louie Gohmert, anyway? It may interest you to know that Rep. Gohmert is vice chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

So no, it’s not really fair to call this “cherry-picking.”

In the aftermath of any high-profile act of violence, with which the great state of Colorado has become sadly well acquainted in recent years, there is always a period when it is inappropriate to invoke the tragedy as retribution, divine or otherwise–hopefully you never do that, but one should at least wait until the mourning is complete. The farther away one is geographically from the event, not to mention from the ideological mainstream, the shorter that period seems to be. The hole in our theory is the question of whether this is really “out of the mainstream” anymore. If the above can be regarded as “mainstream” on the right today, what does that mean?

We will obviously revisit this subject. Today, it’s enough to call Gohmert grossly misguided, and at least some “American Families” to tell the AFA where they can cram their “Association.”

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31 thoughts on “It’s Never Too Soon To Stay Classy”

  2. who are equally convinced that decades of vociferous obstruction by the right regarding reasonable gun control and slashing of funding for mental health care share in the blame.

    Guilty and double guilty with no remorse.

  4. Really, now its a mere ecumenical disagreement that is leading to Armageddon?  I mean, that’s a bit of a let down from the Four Horsemen.  

    Obviously that a coach in Florida could not give a blessing at some meal is directly related to this event in Auroa, Colorado.  I am reassured knowing that thousands of people listen to this fool as if his words have some sort of merit.  

    Actually, its sad really, what the right wing has become.  At one time I remember well conservatives that made sense, even as I disagreed.  Where have they gone?  Why are they hiding?  Now the GOP ‘mainstream’ Speakers, and Minority Leaders, and Majority Leaders and the like hide and cower dare they suggest that perhaps President Obama is not a Kenyan Muslim.  

    1. They began leaving as early as the 1980’s when Presient Reagan brought the “religious right” into the Republican fold. The right wing took over the party fair and square by out organizing what in the 1950’s through the 1970’s represented the core of the party.

      Since then, the erosion has continued, and I would argue has actually increased in speed over the last decade because extremist right-wing ideology represents the core beliefs of the Republcian activists. It all sounds so regular now but just look at Colorado as an example. Within the last ten years St. Sen. John Andrews (R), President of the Colorado Senate, called for the defunding of public educaiton K through university and signed a pledge to that effect. Congressman Bob Schafer put on his campaign website that he believes Republicans are for a clean environment but Democrats set big forest fires in New Mexico and then there was the governors race in 2010 with Maes as the Tea Party candidate and the Republicans received only 11% of the vote. Thirty years ago anyone who made such statements would have been run out of the party for being an extremist and crazy but not any more. These kind of silly positions are common fare now among Republcan activists.

      And what has sustained this hard right turn? Money and organization. Organizaiton that requires absolute adherence to Republican ideology and vast sums of campaign money that has nationalized elections for U.S. House and U.S. Senate around right wing ideology for Republican candidates. In the past, Republican candidates, as well as Democratic candidates were expected to campaign on local as well as national issues and some local issues remain important but on the Republican side the national PAC’s now demand adherence to absolute ideology and as a consequence local issues fade.

      Citizens United has fed these tendencies even more. With the advent of the national PAC’s with milions and millions of dollars to throw into a race for the House or Senate, Republican candidates in particular are forced to debate only national issues and only from a hardline ideological perspective. If elected, the new Republican members of the House or Senate are under the gun to stick to their hardline positions or face unrelenting attacks during their term in office or during their next primary election. The result is policy innovation is stifled and the freedom to explore other policy alternatives is made almost impossible. Of course, the right wing ideologues then use the policy gridlock they helped create as an excuse to say: “We told you so, the government doeswn’t work and is ineffective, so we need to cut it back even more.”

      Until the Republican Party dissolves or is resurrected by people with a different mindset, the United States is in for very difficult times because the Republican Party has substituted hardline ideology for thought.  

    2. through the eighth grade. All but two of the families in the school attended the same church. (As far as I know, those two families did not attend any church.) This was a very religious, conservative Nebraska community.

      We never prayed at school. Religion, prayer and faith were for church and family. The devout people of this community would have thought it quite strange to pray at school. It was up to the family to teach religious beliefs, not the public school.

      In high school, there was an invocation at an event like graduation, but I don’t recall any other religious connections. And somehow that community has remained conservative and religious despite the lack of prayer in school.

  7. I play violent video games.

    I occaisonally listen to heavy metal.

    I’ve practiced witchcraft.

    I enjoy movies with violence.

    I like guns.

    I am an American.

    I am a Marine Corps Veteran.

    I am a 911 Dispatcher and I spend EVERY DAY helping people who need it whether they believe in me or my beliefs.

    I treat everyone I meet as if they’re a friend unless they give me a reason to act otherwise.

    The only times I’ve injured someone else has been in self defense and during contact sports.

    According to Gohmert and Jackson, these 2 groups of attributes cannot possibly belong to the same person. Their closed-minds and big mouths make me sad for any Christian or American who share their beliefs.

  8.  It would be easy to speculate what the result in the media would have been if there had been a real Tea Party connection with the shooter.  It’s doubtful that the story would have been handled with such consideration or tempered with examples of transgressions from both sides of the isle.

    However, the one reality that rises is there are enough nut cases to go around and that the majority of people both on the left and on the right do not adhere to radical agendas.  Could it be that out of tragedy comes opportunity for a better understanding of why we need to work together; because humanity and decency are non-partisan and so is hope.  

    1. has mainstreamed radical extremist thought as the core ideology of the activists and presented it as an absolute litmus test for anyone who desires to run on the Republican ticket.

      1. It’s always the other guys fault.  Now I’m no big fan of the Republican Party and I like the Democrats almost as well but I don’t order extra partisanship on my burgers.  You really should try them without the special partisan sauce, maybe with just a grain of salt.  It’s an acquired taste but it guarantees half the heartburn.  

          1. what you’re missing is that the Republicans didn’t vote for Maes. They voted for Tancredo and it had nothing to do with ideology.  It had much more to do with the fact that Maes wouldn’t go along with the party bosses.  If you have the opportunity, you might read “Running Without Cowboy Boots” authored by Dan Maes.  But in Mesa County, we didn’t need to read the book.  We lived it.  And we know the same Republicans and their shill groups who supported Tancredo also supported Scott Tipton.  One a right wing conservative and the other a milquetoast moderate at best.  That circumstance cannot be explained by ideology.  Rather it is a prime example of elitist ring kissing requirements.  

            The Republican Part is not moving to the right.  They are and have been moving to the left since before McCain, a conscious if futile decision on their part to broaden their base of support.  But everything they gained on the left they lost on the right.  It’s all about control which is the ultimate manifestation of power.  

            And if you’re wondering why the Tea Party’s stayed with Maes, it is because he won the primary in a vote of the people and our Tea Party is not in the business of disrespecting a vote of the people.  We support candidates based on preservation of choice and then we trust in the American people to make the right choice.  

            No doubt you know more about Republicans than I do but I think I’ve got the edge on you when it comes to our Tea Party.  

            1. shows beyond a doubt the Republican Party began moving to the right, first in 1964 with the Goldwater campaign, and then decisively during Ronald Reagan’s 1980 winning campaign for president. Since then the party has been taken over by the radical extremists who have a very difficult time winning elections, at least in Colorado.

              1. that the Republicans have been taken over by radical extremists with an agenda that goes to money and power. I do however disagree that the Republican agenda is anywhere near Conservative.  

                And the difficulty they are experiencing in winning elections comes in splitting the Repub/Conservative vote.   40% of the voting demographic are self described conservatives while only 18% of the voting demographic are registered Repubs. 34% are registered Democrats while 22% are self described liberals.

                Conservatives should be winning every election; but they’re not because the Republican Party is not selling conservative, they’re selling Republican which puts them at a 16 point disadvantage in every election.  And it also indicates that they would rather lose elections than to field conservative candidates.  It’s all about the party and not the people.  

                1. How do you define conservative? What, in your opinion, would a Republican candidate have to do to be both conservative (appeal ot that 40%)and win?

                  1. it’s in the eye of the beholder but basically, it would be the opposite of Tipton.  It might be someone who cares more about liberty than money; someone who puts the “our” back in government.  Maybe has grandchildren that he cares about, doesn’t spend more than he earns and earns what he spends.  From there we can digress into micromanagement of the definition.  Some conservatives would use the name Reagan while others might not.  The point is; there is a point of agreement as far as winning is concerned, everyone has their own model but I believe it is foolish to ignore 40% of the voting demographic in favor of 18% of the voting demographic.  

                    The progressives ran Obama and the Democrats voted for him and Independents voted for him.  The question is whether you could run “dewey needone” against him as the lesser of two evils and attract just as many votes from Conservatives and Independents as you could with Romney?  And the answer is probably yes.  

                    But all of that is hypothetical because the Republican Party is not about to field a real conservative candidate for fear of winning and the precedent that would set for the future of the party.  As we speak, the new owners of the GOP in Mesa County are in the process of purging the old guard; or what’s left of it.  And this is the same group who backed Tipton and Tancredo in the last election.  And who lobbied for HR12-1280 (the gambling bill).  Their interests go to the special interest money and the short term acquisition of it.  When the string plays out, they will exit stage left and no doubt the old guard will climb out of the woodwork to inherit a minority party in the state which almost happened in the last election.

                    What is happening right now in Mesa County has nothing to do with conservatives and everything to do with two different factions in the GOP going at each other like they were killing snakes with a hoe.

                    http://www.coloradopols.com/di…  What you need to realize when you go to the link is that the Tea Party mentioned is not the Tea Party.   It is a GOP shill group which comprises one faction and calls themselves ‘Western Slope Conservative Alliance’.  They are a self appointed board whose bylaws do not allow participation by their rank and file membership in board elections etc.  They do in fact represent only themselves, but they have their own in pocket reporter and the trappings of authority.  

                    And they have only one speed bump to their climb to power and that is that conservatives are beginning to catch on and that’s why we have a Democrat Gov and Dem Senators and CD3 has a progressive congressman.  For more info on some of their players go to http://www.wscateaparty.com  (which is not related in any way to Western Slope Conservative Alliance) and read the Pinocchio Files and some of the other info posted there.  If you happen to meet a GOP voter from Mesa County and they look dazed and confused, now you’ll have an introduction as to why they appear that way.  

                    1. I certainly don’t have the in-depth knowledge you have about Mesa County politics. I live and work on the other side of the divide.

                      I think one of the primary reasons Mr. Romney will be the nominee is because the “conservatives” split their forces between Santorum, Paul and some other candidates. If the conservative elements had united behind one candidate, Romney would have never won. Within the Republican Party activist circles, the conservatives have the majority if they can unite but I don’t think that kind of candidate would really appeal to a majority of voters.  

                    2. when a conservative tries to prove to a Republican that they’re electable.  They modify their position while dreaming the impossible dream.  Now Ron Paul, he knew better.  And the Cain train, was it a dead girl or a live boy?  And Gingrich, well he just took too much luggage for the trip.  But of course, the Romney porridge was just right with a little help from his friend; the imperative; and why not, we have to beat the Dems has been selling for a long time and oh btw so has we have to beat the Repubs.  

                      But experience teaches us one thing; the power may change brand names but it stays in the same hands,which begs the question that has plagued mankind from the beginning; how will we ever know if the people can rule themselves when there are so many working so hard to make sure they never have the opportunity.  Call it fear of the unknown or perhaps the quest for world domination or just a game of charades reborn with each generation.  

                      The miracle is that the system survives in spite of itself because occasionally (on rare occasions) it gets tweaked.  The Magna Carte was a tweak, the Constitution was a tweak and as certain as a 300 year drought each tweak is preceded by the harbinger of a government grown too powerful, too out of control, too unresponsive to the needs of the people.  

                      One of the first signs of a tweak in progress is when government becomes unaffordable.  Are we there yet?    

                    3. Don’t I recall you saying that recently?

                      You write, in so many ways, like a college grad.  A college grad before everything got dumbed down.  Well organized thoughts, lots of evidence for your position, willing to give a nod to an adversarial point, sometimes witty.   Always engaging.

                      Speaking as a certified FDR Democrat, I’m glad you are here.  

                    4. most grateful for the opportunity to explain (to the best of my ability) why I am a conservative and a Tea Party member.  I would hope for a more able man to take up that torch because I believe in my heart of hearts that the answers to the problems that plague our nation require understanding and a mutual agreement.  And the only way I know how to achieve mutual understanding it to talk to people who don’t feel the same way I do, to listen to their side without pretending to know what their side is and I’ve learned more than I ever hoped for.  

                      I tried the other way, which amounts to no more than preaching to the choir.  I attended all the political meetings where the same faces show up along with the same ambitions and closed minds and I assume that it’s the same way with the inner circle on both sides of the isle.  And the truth is if you listen to that stuff long enough you start to believe it and you start trying to fit in.  It’s surprising how warm and comfortable it is under the wings of the dragon.  But the truth is not in it and sooner or later you come face to face with that reality.  

                      And then you have a choice which is really no choice at all.  You can become part of the solution or you can join the problem.  I want to understand where this thing comes from that divides our people.  I’ve heard all the talking points but that’s superficial and most often agenda driven.  I want to understand why people on both sides of the street get a lump in their throat when our flag passes by in a parade.

                       I need to understand what makes people angry and why?   And I know that lesson isn’t free but it’s a small price to pay for the opportunity to let our grandchildren grow in a land that is free.  I’m a conservative but I don’t think I could ever be a Republican again and I don’t want to be a Democrat.  I suspect in the end that is not the answer.

                      I don’t care much about winning, (at least the kind of winning as political parties see it).  I don’t want to control anyone else’s life; hell I can barely manage my own.  I’ve discovered that as individuals all we really want are choices.  It’s the groups that want power over other people.  And I just flatly refuse to believe that different means evil and I pray that can become a universal belief, if we all just give an inch and don’t try to take a mile.  

                      And believe it or not, I’ve found a lot of that on this site.  Oh btw, I hope you have too.  And thank you for your kind words; I appreciate the inch because I recognize the inch as a milestone and I know how hard those inches can be in the journey toward common ground.  

    2. I respond imperfectly.

      He never called me to be violent, though.  Such impulses would come from my own corrupt nature, or from Satan.  

  9. SO… I’ll be the one.

    Where were these guys when Colorado Springs was on fire? What would they have said if Boulder was the city that had burned?

    This Sodom n Gomorrah bullshit is nothing new. Robertson and Falwell said something similar back when New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina, but were nowhere to be seen back when Hurricane Andrew devastated south Florida. I’d hope that the average follower would see through this crap, but it keeps happening so they must not.

  10. They forgot to mention the homosectshuhl uhgenduh. What?! We don’t get blame for all this?

    What part of “senseless” violence don’t they get? Some things just doesn’t make sense. Nor, of course, do they.

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