Theocrats Ecstatic Over Alito
Revolution #022, November 13, 2005, posted at revcom.us
On October 31, Bush nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. You can tell a lot about what this means by looking at the response of the prominent Christian Fascists to his nomination. Remember, these are the same ones who demanded that Bush drop Harriet Miers because she was not a sufficiently hard core for their cause.
The Christian fascists got early "heads up" phone calls from the White House--before any public announcment was made. Karl Rove personally called Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, while White House aide Tim Goeglein called Paul Weyrich, a gruesome founding father of the whole Christian Fascist movement.
The Christian fascist columnist Cal Thomas announced these circles are "ecstatic over Alito. Thomas said they see ahead "the ideological fight they have been seeking," concentrated on abortion and the power of religion in government. Televangelist theocrat and certifiable lunatic Pat Robertson was joined on his CBN-TV show by Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, a frothing-at-the-mouth enemy of a woman's right to choose. Sekulow gushed that the Alito nomination was a "grand slam"--adding that Alito "had clearly ruled in our favor" on abortion and that that he ruled "our way" on school prayer issues. Robertson nodded as Sekulow said, "This is the strongest nomination the President could have put forward."
Catholic League president William Donohue went into full attack mode against anyone who raised questions about how a conservative Catholic like Alito would rule on abortion and birth control. After Alito's mother said, "He's a nice Catholic boy and he doesn't believe in abortions," Donohue charged it was anti-Catholic bigotry to explore the impact such religious dogmas might have on the lives of millions of women. Donohue added, "Unlike those who would erect an impenetrable wall between church and state, Alito is not hostile to every religious symbol that sits on government property. Nor does he share the enthusiasm that church-state fanatics have for censoring the rights of Christian students in the public schools." In other words, Alito will open the public schools system for religious indoctrination and allow the use of Christian religious dogma as state standards for morality and law.
In a special broadcast of his show "Focus on the Family," James Dobson was joined by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Chuck Colson to promote the Alito nomination. Perkins argued that this is "a moment in American history that has been decades in the making"; and that "As Christian citizens of this country we should be involved in this historic moment and our voices should be heard." James Dobson himself said his support for Miers had stopped because he "wasn't absolutely sure what she stood for." Dobson added, "I don't feel that way about Judge Samuel Alito."
The founder of the "Center for Reclaiming America," D. James Kennedy hailed Alito as "very much a known quantity." Operation Rescue agreed, saying, "We believe that this nomination may fulfill Bush's promise to appoint Justices in the mold of Scalia and Thomas We are trusting that we are now on the fast-track to derailing Roe v. Wade as the law of the land."
Priests for Life thanked President Bush for his announcement of Alito's nomination and added, "The nation is in a culture war, and there's no need to hide that fact."
These Christian ayatollahs--like Perkins, Dobson, Donahue and Colson--were all key figures in "Justice Sunday"--a gathering of Christian fascists last April in Louisville where they pressed their campaign for a Supreme Court in their image. It was a time when leading politicians like Senate leader Bill Frist made a show of unity.
And now Tony Perkins has announced a new "Justice Sunday" for December 4 to marshal their forces behind installing Alito.