Its always been ridiculously easy to fool the repub Christian base

[Philosoraptor]

That's part of the Christian Conservative movement I've always found fascinating, the ease with which they trick people into supporting them and sending them money. The t.v. preachers are the model, the politicians have taken it to monstrous proportions. My folks sent money to Jim and Tammy Baker, when they fell, they sent money to Pat Robertson, eventually they stopped sending money, but for years they were suckered, very easily.

A perfect example of this can be seen on the Bill Moyers special on Abramhoff and Delay. When Tom Delay is finally forced to step down, he appears before his adoring fans and says he hopes they see Christ through him and continue to support him, even after being caught stealing from them and lying to them for decades, the Jesus trick always works.

Starting with Reagan, the republican operatives reached out to them directly for their loyal votes and donations, using the buzz words they like to hear, simply mentioning the almighty, or the Lord, or the odd bible passage, they fall into line like soldiers.

But this Foley thing has hit them in the guts, many of them are shocked to their very core to think of rampant homosexuality in the congress, after decades of being told that homosexuals are the same as cannibals and monsters. Their heads are reeling, they feel betrayed, and not just by this.

Many of them are angry to discover they've been hoaxed, no one likes that, and for the first time I can ever remember, they are pissed at those they support the most, and the most unconditionally. The mold has been broken by the Foley scandal.

There are still of course the die hard never give up types who would literally support bush and his masters no matter what depravity they indulge in, hell, they've accepted war and torture and piracy. All you have to do is mention Christ every couple of minutes and you're in. These are the most easy to manipulate, the most loyal, and now the republicans are forced to continue to appeal to them.

Will the trick always work? Its so ridiculously easy, anyone can do it, even you. Find a church, use the magic words, pass the plate, and bada bing, you're rich. Ralph Reed did it, Tom Delay did it, george bush did it, and you can too.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/capitol/index.html
The Bill Moyers report HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

[rawtribe]

1. K&R n/t

[hsher]

2. Not optimistic

>>Will the trick always work?

I wish I knew the answer to that question. At this point I have zero confidence anymore in the Christian community. In my opinion they're as flighty and dangerous as Waco cult members, moments from pulling a Heaven's Gate and diving over the cliff in their sneakers like lemmings to wind up on their spaceship with Jebus. The dif between the Heaven's Gaters and Christians is Christians want to drag the entire world off the cliff behind them. Why, being on Jebus's spaceship is good for everybody - whether they agree or not. And in fact Jebus supposedly tells them to drag the disagreers along by force, because it will eventually "save" them.

I've had it with them. The trick will always work because they're gullible and fanatical. I think it's going to get worse before it gets any better.

[bananas]

4. There's a sucker born every minute, and two to take him.

>>Will the trick always work?

Yes.

[Robbien]

3. I heard that the reason George W. was chosen to run

for President instead of Jeb was because George W. could work the jesus factor better than Jeb.

The GOP knows how to work it. They are masters at it.

[Fridays Child]

5. And there's the fifth recommendation...

:kick:

[Raine]

6. They're so gullible

I could *almost* feel sorry for them except that all of us have to live with what they have brought about because of their stupidity. :mad:

[luckyleftyme2]

7. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE BIBLE BELT?

It was quite an experience for me. I was sta. in killeen texas in the 50's.I had an apt.near a southern baptist church. you can imagine being woke up sunday morning after pulling guard duty all night to a screaming idiot.we're all dammed,unions,sex neighbors wifes -you know the spiel,no blacks allowed,them dam yankees etc.(and the south will rise again)
well my dad was a shop stewart,my great uncle had retired as chief of police of boston.
GUESS what the minister absconded from his church with the parish money and a teen age girl.
He played them like a banjo,and plucked them clean.
some facts you can check out with a computer:
the bible belt has more divorces,more child molestation,and more whore houses per capita than any other part of our country-thats where the organized crime thrives!

[Bad Penny]

8. If Jesus ever does come back

the hordes who fancy themselves in his good graces are in for a shock methinks. It won't be pretty

[NMMNG]

9. The trick will always work

Any time a charlatan stands up and says "I've been called by God to XYZ" the fools will follow and open their wallets.

[izzybeans]

10. they remind me of my boston terrier. If i want her to go away I throw a

biscuit to the other side of the room. Damn thing about boston terriers; they keep coming back for more biscuits. Yet so long as I keep throwing them she'll run away long enough for me to get some work done. But I must throw her some kind of bone or she starts to piss and moan, and sometimes even howl like a crazed animal.

[BoneDaddy]

11. What bothers me most

is that the bible is very very explicit about questioning Christian leaders motivations as, even back then, there were many charlatans and manipulators.

The phrase "you will know them by their fruits" was a term coined by Jesus about how you will know a follower of Christ....by their actions, not by what they say.

Unfortunately, the fundies rarely pay attention to that.

[verdalaven]

17. Most fundies aren't Christians anyway

Most are Paulists. Jesus was a liberal hippy - Paul was his time's Jerry Falwell.

I've met very few fundies who actually practiced anything Jesus preached. I have met a good many actual CHRISTIANS who do, and they are, by and large, fantastic people and total liberals.

[BoneDaddy]

19. Yep

I totally agree.

[glitch]

22. Well said. Gonna quote you. nt

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

12. White Evangelical Support for GOP has fallen from 78% to 57%

Everybody in the Evangelical movement isn't an idiot. There is a kid in my office, in his mid-twenties, who is a bible reading, clean cut Evangelical. He sees right through Bush, is appalled at the direction of the country and the war in Iraq in particular.

Here's the thread:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2329789

[Philosoraptor]

13. glad to finally see it

thanks for the info

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

18. Took long enough, didn't it?

nm

[zbdent]

14. One Jew with a gun enabled an entire country to ignore

a helluva lot of killings ...

[Toots]

15. "But the Liberal Deviseth Liberal things and by Liberal things will he sta

Isaiah 32: 8

[maine_raptor]

16. Two Words:

Elmer Gantry

(by Sinclair Lewis)

If anybody has not read it, get and do so forthwith.

And Mr. P, you are right; The mold has been shattered. The only fly in the ointment I see is if the current Right-Wing Spin of "The Dems did it!" will stick.

The folks of whom you speak have a powerful belief that "Clinton and the Dems" are as capable of what they view as "political evil" as we here on the left have of the GOP.

The saving grace in this is that, no matter what they say, Foley's words were his own and, in spite of what Faux News says, he does have an "R" after his name.

On Edit:

This saving grace could be magnified if more Dems would speak like Harold Ford did recently.

[BlueEyedSon]

20. "Jesus helps me trick people"

[Catherine Vincent]

21. Case in point: Heritage Baptist Church (look who is on their webpage)

http://www.heritagebaptistpsl.com/gpage1.html

[leftofthedial]

23. I hate to say it, but if you'll believe what they claim to believe

you'll believe pretty much anything.

[Initech]

24. American Christianity has truly lost its ways.

The teachings of Jesus... correction, the TRUE teachings of Jesus are buried under greed, power and corruption. Oh and they're also buried under an MTV-marketed image. In other words, just like everything else in this country, it's all about money.