Last Saturday, supreme being and omnipotent architect of the infinite universe, God, was invited to Raleigh, NC to be stood with by several thousand angry conservatives with Bibles and lawn chairs. It was a VIP affair attended by North Carolina's Lt. Governor Dan Forest (henceforth referred to as Lt. Dan) and God's Emissary To The Corrupt and Wicked People of The US, Mike Huckabee. I've also been told he was the former Governor of Arkansas. Huckabee, that is; not God, but hey wouldn't THAT be something?
Also in attendance were several thousand very concerned conservatives. The rally, put on by the newly formed and insanely right-wing activist group, We Stand With God, was advertised as a pro-family rally. Their goal, laid out on their website, is to provide an "outlet for citizens to express their conscience on matters of morality, Biblical marriage and religious liberties."
They also say things like:
WSWG believes that citizens must stand unified in the spirit of our Founders who chose the Bible as the litmus test for law and personal rights.
and:
WSWG will coordinate with public officials so that the voice of the people may be heard.
In short, it's a batshit insane propaganda machine. But a batshit propaganda machine with the backing of uncomfortably powerful people. Namely, Ted Cruz and Rick Perry, both of whom attended WSWG's first rally in Columbia, SC back in August. Perry, admittedly, having dropped from the presidential race is more of a blowhard caricature at this point than a political driver. But Cruz, being one of the top Republican contenders for the nomination, strikes a much more frightening tone.
Conservative hacks clinging to the Bible in an attempt to win the much sought after vote of the religious right is nothing new and this rally is a sobering reminder that the system is still going strong. Furthermore, it is a reminder of how easily manipulated the religious right really is.
Packaging your rally as "pro-family" is, much like the Patriot Act, a hard thing to say that you're outright against. For people that already believe that the "American family" is under attack by gay men with large leather dildos, a name like "pro-family" is a done deal. It confirms for them every suspicion that Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have shouted into their cars for the past eight years: that there is a liberal agenda to undermine the morality of the United States and that Socialism is just an incomplete anagram for Satan.
To these easily swayed voters, Mike Huckabee and Lt. Dan represent an honest and oppressed minority in the United States, fighting back against Big Atheism and toiling away in the proverbial garden to sow the seeds of religious freedom that have long been withering. The narrative is an easy one to spin and has been spun expertly by conservative pundits and activist groups like WSWG, using isolated incidents of "holiday parades" and taken down nativity scenes to keep up the facade that there is a war going on behind heavy wooden doors. Framed as "the liberal elite," detractors to this faux-Christian charade are discounted as pretentious schemers who are busy trying to enact their twisted, Marxian vision of America.
Applying the unwavering morality of Jesus to conservatism allows for any attack on conservative ideology to be an attack on Christ himself. And who wants to attack the guy who brought a dude back from the dead? The fact that Raleigh's rally (and, subsequently, the WSWG web page) fail to provide much in the way of specific grievances beyond the general assault of their closely-held morals is indicative of the driving power of vague platitudes. As long as you can keep people angry about the manufactured dystopian state of their country, you can count of them voting for you: the moral crusader and solution.
It's particularly disturbing to see our own state's Lieutenant Governor standing with these whackjobs. But, I guess what else can you expect from Lt. Dan, an extreme conservative who had never served political office before now. But that's a scarier story for another time.
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