Far Right Sells Iraq War to “Values Voters”

[babylonsister]

Far Right Sells Iraq War to “Values Voters”
by Bill Berkowitz

OAKLAND, California - In the late 1960s and early ’70s, then U.S. President Richard Nixon appealed to the country’s “Silent Majority” to oppose growing anti-Vietnam War sentiment in the United States.

A decade later, President Ronald Reagan had the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority” working by his side in support of Reagan’s low-intensity warfare in Central America, and contra movements in Africa.

During the run-up to, and period following the 1994 Republican revolution that gave that conservative party control of Congress for the first time in decades, the high-profile Georgia legislator Newt Gingrich’s band had the Rev. Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed’s Christian Coalition stirring the conservative grassroots into action against the Bill Clinton administration.



Now, in the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, Gary Bauer, a former Reagan administration official and longtime conservative activist, is heading up a new organisation aimed at countering liberal groups like MoveOn.org, and supporting President Bush’s global “war on terror”.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/22/4025/

[Eric J in MN]

1. This seems like the umpteenth group which is supposed to be the conservative answer to MoveOn.

Progress for America being a previous one.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Progress_for_America

[Solly Mack]

2. those people are not conducive to a sane government and a free people

[bluestateguy]

3. To these people it's always been a religious war, rather than a war on terrorism

They seem to want what bin Laden wants: Holy War between Islam and the West.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. Oh, Ms. Bauer.... Truman Capote's evil twin

What a joke these people are. Yet the sheeple STILL buy this s**t.

[Loge23]

5. The "pro-life" crowd

I see it a lot these days. There are the dyed (died?)-in-the-wool anti-free women's choice crowd that self-righteously preach about being pro-life. But it's fine to slaughter the evil-doers - the Iraqi's, Iranians; basically anyone from an Islamic country. Women, babies, you name it - all fair game.
But don't allow women in the U.S. to have access to a legally supported personal choice on being pregnant!
Before the torches show up outside my door, I - like just about everyone I know - dread the idea of an abortion. But I dread out-lawing the safe procedure even more. I also loathe their hypocrisy.
Bottom line: This crowd is largely responsible for foisting one of the most evil, horrendous, mass-murderers of all time upon us in order to support their narrow-minded agenda and in the process they helped destroy our democracy.

[Poiuyt]

6. War just seems so un-Christian to me

Maybe it's just me. I don't know. But if Jesus came walking into my room right now, I don't think he'd be saying that we need to start wars.

[PDenton]

7. It won't work

Unlike other issues, warfare is one which Christianity has a history of either speaking neutrally, or very negatively about. True, you might be able to feed off some anti-Islamic feelings, but I don't think more Americans comming home in body bags and more ethnic cleansing is going to be very savory for conservative Christians. There are also a number of evangelical leaders that either have serious misgivings about the Iraq war, or oppose it altogether.

[Supersedeas]

8. the big push from so-called Christian Conservatives has started