Kyle City Limits
by BRENDA STEWART
It is with absolutely no pleasure that I watch as the Republican primary process implodes. What once was the party of relative moderation and autonomy has been allowed to morph into a bevy of pot banging caricatures, hooting about Jesus and wrapping themselves in a mutant version of the Constitution – the one that gives equal rights to every American except for those who fall outside the narrow scope of Christian evangelicals.
I’m not sure how religion got so embedded in this political process in the first place. Sure, I’ve been gnashing my teeth for coming on a decade about our misfortune of having Gov. Rick Perry’s snout directly up the religious rights’ alley.
He has never represented me on any issue from civil rights to ecology for the simple reason that I’m not a millionaire nor a member of the fundamentalist herd which follows its preachers blindly and claps ecstatically as Perry dances like a marionette for their votes.
On a national level though, the odd avoidance of reality in favor of religiosity has really taken hold and I’m surprised that these rotating front runners have the gall to hold themselves up as some pillar of Christianity. I’m pretty sure that divorce, infidelity, hatred, intolerance and thievery diverge from that big black book they’re hell-bent on thumping.
It seems that it would be prudent for them to avoid the moralizing and actually address the country’s pressing issues. One would think. But since they seem totally uncomfortable with talking actual politics, I suppose they could always just give parables from their own lives.
Newt could enthrall us with the intriguing adventures of his courtship of his third wife, Calista, and his firm grasp on family values. Michele could give a riveting report about the number of high school students in her district, nine in her alma mater alone, who have committed suicide in the past two years under her tacit “no homo-promo” edict... He who is without sin.
And with a sick twist on the loaves and fishes, Rick could do a powerpoint exhibiting illicit backdoor deals he’s made to ensure his cronies continue to grow fabulously wealthy while his state’s water and air become ladened with toxins and Texas school children grow hungry and illiterate.
And finally, we all knew that it was just a matter of time before enough women came out of the woodwork for Herman Cain to tuck tail and retreat to wherever all good Baptist ministers go once their adultery has been exposed. And they will know we are Christians by our love.
Be done already. It’s time for the Republican party to reestablish its backbone, send these zealots back to their churches and offer up a candidate whose character speaks for itself through the virtue of their deeds rather than the blathering of their tirades. Oh, and a grasp on foreign policy would be nice.
