Friday, June 17, 2011
Bill Maher: "Republicanism has become a religion." I have to say that makes perfect sense to me.
Courtesy of Raw Story:
HBO’s Bill Maher told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday that “as a sane person,” it was tough to watch the Republican presidential candidates debate.
“Republicanism has — it’s really become a religion,” he noted. “And when I say religion, I mean they just have a series of baseless assertions that they cleave to, you know, and it’s like, if there was just one sane person in that room to give perspective, but there wasn’t.”
You know thinking about the Republican party in this way suddenly makes every crazy thing they do make sense.
This is why the Republicans are constantly talking about faith and values. They are not talking about Christian faith and values, they are talking about the Church of Republicanism's faith and values.
Which apparently simply refers to an ability to suspend intellectual thought, ignore the suffering of the less fortunate, put the needs of the unborn before the needs of the living, and embrace a level of hypocrisy that would make Jesus weep.
I would imagine that the deity they worship is no longer the God of the Old Testament, but rather a mythologized version of Ronald Reagan.
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Your summary is excellent.
ReplyDeleteIt also explains the cult (an extreme form of religion) that surrounds SP.
BUT, I've been seeing an increase on her FB of Comments like "Don't leave us hanging....RUN!!!!!" etc.
How long till they realize she's using the Presidential Election (or "contest) as FOX News calls it) as if she's on a stripper pole, teasing the poor saps until they explode?
Maher is on the money when he says the bar has been tremendously lowered for this band of slack jawed pandering idiots.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to mindlessly soundbite destroying social programs that literally save lives and screeching about lowering rich people's taxes has reached such a whining high pitched level in the GOP I expect dogs to start circling candidates, howling and pissing on them.
They try to insinuate that the democratic party is devoid of "faith and values", while there are so many hypocrites on the repub. side. They worship MONEY and the wealthy people. Any middle class citizen is useless in their eyes, except for their votes and possibly small donations. Weiner was like a gift to them, since they can point out how immoral the dems. are.
ReplyDeleteI used to respect Republicans. However, now, not so much. They were supposed to be the intelligentia party of leaders who restrained the Democrats' unbound empathy. This was a checks and balance system that worked well.
ReplyDeleteNow, that the Republicans have been hijacked by the lunatic fringe and failed to maintain their own standards, they have effectively broken the system.
My father is a T-bagger and has voted the Republican ticket his whole life. It is useless to try and explain to him why America can't "go back to what it used to be" ie: the decade after WWII.
ReplyDeleteHe was an officer in the Air Force when he was a young man, in the 1950's and a youth during the 1940's..
Do I even need to say that he was a tall, good-looking white man, an officer who believed in discipline and "the chain of command" ie: authoritarian hierarchy.
Of course the world was good to him. He was one of the "guys in charge".
He believes every negative thing about America is because of hippies/fem-nazi's/new york jews/illegal immigrants.
He looks around at the world in bewilderment. "Equality" is a dirty word to him. There is a bi-racial man in the White House; America is no longer the only world power.
He is waiting impatiently for Jesus to come back and "put things back the way they are supposed to be".
Republicanism is more of a cult than a religion. Their most important icon is the dollar sign and their saints are the billionaires who fund them.
ReplyDeleteActually they do believe in the Bible, just the OT. Forget that Jesus guy, he was a Socialist They prefer the "eye for an eye" God.
ReplyDeletewell said! they are a scary and creepy bunch, seeking the koolaid drinkers.
ReplyDelete@anon 5:23am- thank you for describing your father who is a "teabagger"...My Asian mom married an African American soldier after the war. A beautiful man inside, whom I loved and now miss dearly as he passed away ten years ago. When I was in groups where anyone started speaking derogatory racist remarks, I would always look the person in the eye, and say, my father is black. That made them shut-up. - My seven grandkids all look Caucausian, some have blue eyes (all of 'em good-looking!) - their heritage has Asian from me, and they have the African American "soul" from a dear great-grandfather. I think more "American" households are evolving like mine, so eventually, we will outnumber the "teabag types".
ReplyDeleteHe is right on the mark! They are such hypocrites. They are so immoral and just plain greedy. don't care about helping anyone but those that that can enrich their pockets. If you read the bible a hypocrite is one of the worse things a person can be. It amazes me how they always say forgives them for what ever they do, how does anyone know god forgives you? They always talk about family values and abortion and hate gay people. Those are not the important things. Jobs good jobs, with benefits vacation time these were things that were important when my family was started. Now your a horrible if you want this, and you are just scum if think mecicare social security, mecicaide, are needed. The Florida Gov took millions in bogas medicare claims, through his healtcare co. People in should wake up these reb won;t rest until ever road, building, bridge ultily are owned by corp and every town city and they will strangle us to do their will, and have no say.
ReplyDeleteA cult is exactly what they have become. They accuse anyone not on board of all kinds of insanity, while their leaders dismantle the democracy forever. The worshippers of sp are terrifying. They call people names, question their looks (we're all jealous of the beautiful Sarah) and swear as easily as she does in Bailey's book. They cannot see the evil in front of their faces, and just keep sending money and their souls. Stupefying!
ReplyDeleteNice ending line.
ReplyDelete@5:23
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that people who advocate an "ordered society" always assume that they will not be part of the group at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Yet they wonder why everybody else does not get on board with the concept.
Wonderful post! Republicanism is like a religion and the worship services are held on Fox network daily. I think they worship the almighty dollar but ironically the teabaggers are giving it to the wealthy who are I guess the priests/elders. I remember reading "Protestantism and the Spirit of Capitalism" and suddenly understanding my Presbyterian upbringing. Wealth is an indication of God's approval for all the world to see. I guess the wealthy see the Republican religion as justifying their greed as virtue and the middle class/blue collar teabaggers, who worship the idea that someday they might get wealthy, swallow whatever nonsense the Republican PR machine puts out there. The PR has focused on making up a scary/disgusting devil out of "Libruls" so that any behavior towards such evil is acceptable.
ReplyDeleteHe is right on with that observation.
ReplyDeleteAlso - you did a good commentary on it.
Pat Padrnos
Exactly. They are worshiping Reagan, the founding fathers, and profit. The scary thing is, most of these people are blind enough to believe they are actually worshiping Christ, and most of the Republican party faithful would agree. Yes, Jesus would weep. It's a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I've been saying really. Many from the fundie churches have exchanged one for another. They might not even realize how blinded they are. Jesus didn't get involved in the politics of His day. They just don't seem to realize that. They just really don't get the self sacrificing religion that Christianity is and instead go the opposite and want to keep everything for themselves. Its sad really. They have abandoned Christ's teachings for the teachings of right wing politocos.
ReplyDeleteFunny how they want the world to be like the 1950's, but without the huge corporate taxes of the 1950's.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they don't want America to be focused on education like it was in the 1950's.
ReplyDeleteMaher's assessment is spot on. The GOP spouts these mythical bullshit phrases which have zero basis in reality.
ReplyDeletePhrases like "tax and spend," "socialism," "big government" have no real meaning other than there value as hyperbolic ad hominem. They recklessly hurl these phrases at Dems without regard to accepted definitions. They are merely vituperative insults, just so much political trash talk.
The problem with the religion analogy, however, is that nobody in the GOP actually believes any of the shit that they say. It is simply reflexive affect that they are expected to produce. Kind of like the fundagelicals speaking in tongues on cue. They are merely performing as as the dutiful sheep they are.
Maybe less than a religion, the Republicans are rather a sports team whose devotees blindly follow regardless of their results. They kind of remind me of Chicago Cubs fans.
The one big difference is that Chicago Cubs fans is that they realize their team are hapless bums, while the GOP won't openly admit this rather obvious fact.
Maybe if the GOP suffers another ignominious defeat, they will be forced to either go away or reform.
Let's hope.
I grew up going to church three times a week and started asking questions in my teenage years (common). The answers I received were very "because that's the way we believe" and I stopped going.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are like that now. Did you read Andrew Sullivan's column yesterday? The Republican Party is no longer even "conservative". It is simply secular and religious dogma.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/06/conservatism-is-true.html
I'm not a Republican but I see his point.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteRepublicanism is more of a cult than a religion.
Spot on.
Anon at 5:23AM, your dad sounds like mine. Every day I am glad mine is gone. If he were still alive I would have to disown him. As it is, I have his inheritance and use it to donate to left wing causes. I sold his huge coin and art collection, donated the cash to planned parenthood and put my own kid through college. Every single day he has been gone has been a blessing. I know it is sad to state this, but something are beyond blood. You cannot pick your relatives, but you CAN choose not to hurt yourself by associating with them.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican Party like the Soviet Communist Party. There is a central committee/Politburo which ensures that ideological purity is enforced. The Politburo consists of Grover Norquist, the Koch brothers, and Rush Limbaugh.
ReplyDeleteI have thought this for years. And furthermore, their toxic religion (which is like a twisted/fun-house mirror version of Christianity) is like an opportunistic virus that spreads easily to the under-educated, fearful, and vulnerable "susceptibles."
ReplyDeleteThey are a bunch of Jesus haters who call themselves Christian all the while ignoring what Jesus preached.
ReplyDeleteYou should see what's going on in my county. The Republicans swept all the county races in 2010, and since then, more local shops have been boarded up, more jobs are disappearing, and they keep chopping and chopping the county budget relentlessly - even though our county is perfectly solvent and has an excellent credit rating.
ReplyDeleteThe citizens here are now calling for recalls and impeachments of the people they elected just a year and half ago. I predict a progressive comeback in the next election cycle IF progressives work their asses off and hit the streets, the phones, and bodily drag as many people to the polls as they can. It is clear that when today's Republicans are in charge, things go downhill fast. The scary thing is, this new brand of conservative seem to get off on putting the screws to their constituents. A truly frightening movement.
Just to give you an idea of how truly indecent these people are, Republicans in the North Carolina assembly have sponsored legislation that would require the unemployed to take random drug tests if they want to collect their unemployment benefits.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.salisburypost.com/News/040811-Warren-drug-unemployment-qcd
Excellent commentary, very insightful. If the Republicans truly had faith and values, they'd realize there are real lives impacted by their draconian ideas. They're a bunch of selfish millionaires who are clueless what the middle class is sacrificing just to survive.
ReplyDeleteOff Topic, The City of Philadelphia is strapped for cash since a republican governor slashed funding for education and is trying to bust unions in a clandestine fashion, recently had the democratic mayor put some options on the table.
Raise people's taxes ten percent for one year
Place a tax on sugar laden drinks.
The city was bombarded by the soda and corn syrup lobby, effectively blocking the soda tax option. Don't they realize that by taxing sodas, the state will save millions on health care costs as well as fund public schools, thus solveing two problems in the long run? No, they raised parking fees, and property taxes to appease these "Govmint's taking away my constipational rites as stated in the Statute of Liberty" morons.
We're facing a mass exodus of good teachers next if they bust the unions.