Religious Right Hopes to Board the Tea Party Express and Ride Back Into Power, Says Americans United

[Adsos Letter]

SOURCE: AU
September 16, 2010
‘Values Voter Summit’ May Lead To Marriage Of Convenience
Religious Right leaders will be busy this weekend trying to line up a merger with the increasingly powerful Tea Party movement, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

With hundreds of Religious Right activists gathering in Washington, D.C., for the annual “Values Voter Summit,” analysts are examining the relationship between these two powerful political forces -- and the role of religion and politics in the 2010 election season.

“Religious Right activists and the Tea Partiers are both angry and determined to radically transform the government,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “I believe there is already significant overlap between the two movements, and this weekend we may see them get a lot cozier.

"Tea Party enthusiasts focus on smaller government, lower taxes and less regulation,” continued Lynn, “while the Religious Right wants to impose a fundamentalist vision through government intervention in our personal lives. You’d think there would be a conflict between these viewpoints, but increasingly I am hearing Tea Party rhetoric blasting forth from the pulpits of the Religious Right.”

LINK: http://www.au.org/homepage/religious-right-hopes-to.html

This isn't exactly surprising news, but still worth repeating.

[TheMightyFavog]

1. Could be some real popcorn-worthy moments here....

The libertarian wing of the teabaggers will be pissed.

[Adsos Letter]

2. I know a couple of people who adhere pretty closely to the teabagger line

although they might not claim the name. Part of their consistent rhetoric seems to be that the country needs to get back to its "Christian roots."

Trying to discuss with them about the validity of that point is like talking to a brick wall; part of what is really frightening about it is their tendency, when faced with a mainstream historical interpretation of the nation's legal foundation, to respond along the lines of "Oh, you're just repeating what the left-winger professors want you to believe." Appeal to well researched histories does no good, as they don't seem to want to put in the time to actually read anything in-depth about it.

Actually, there is one friend of mine who I sent the book "The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America" to; he actually read through it, and thanked me later. A rarity, in my experience.

[Tesha]

3. NPR was busily selling this idea this morning. (NT)

[arbusto_baboso]

4. There was a lot of overlap of the 2 groups to start with.

Of all the teabaggers I know, most of them are also fundie fucknuts.

[Buns_of_Fire]

5. (Sounds like the name of an R. Crumb character.) :-) nt

[arbusto_baboso]

6. Fundie Fucknuts? Maybe it IS an R Crumb character and we just forgot...

[Bitwit1234]

7. The tea bags and the religious right complain about the

Muslim extremist trying to foster their brand of religion on the world. What in the hell are these people trying to do. As of now they are not as violent as the extremist in the Middle East. But with all the urging and pressing from fox, Rush and Beck they will soon be and how can they complain about one religion when these nuts are just as bad.

[applegrove]

8. The GOP has to recapture the teabaggers, who escaped from their religious masters over

the last two years, or face a split right. That would mean Democratic government for the foreseeable future. LOL!

[opihimoimoi]

9. Hapless n Hopeless...merge/no merge.. don't matter...THEY are the PARTY OF NO...no to reason, no to

Country, No to our Vets, FFs, Rescue People, etc, and NO to Common Sense.

They are the Social Bullies in our Society and need to be minimized...they are DRAINERs.....not Gainers