Is there more to this attack on Science from the Christian Right?

[The Backlash Cometh]

We know that Ralph Reed has used his Christian Right for various political reasons:

(1) For $25,000 Reed offered to use his pull with the Christian Right to initiate a letter writing campaign to Senators to request them to deregulate the energy industry and allow for privatization. This was reported in a Time Magazine sometime ago. Either February 2000 or 2001.

(2) We also know through one of the Abramoff e-mails, that Abramoff asked him to use his "wacko" Christian Right followers to protest against a casino which was competing with a client of Abramoff's.

And, of course,

(3) We know that Reed used the prejudices of his Christian Right to derail McCain's run for the presidency in the 2000 primaries, which gave Bush a clear shot for a run against Gore.

So, why isn't it feasible to assume that there are machinations going on among pro-corporate Republicans, to use the Christian Right to launch an attack on Science? It's the scientist who have been trying to tell us that global warming was coming, that teflon & asbestos were dangerous, that clear cutting our forest would cause environmental problems for us or that improper water-use would make our drought situations worse.

In essence: Science studies and research often conflict with the interests of greedy corporatist; therefore, why wouldn't corporatist do what they can to silence the scientists?

[marmar]

1. Under all that phoney morality bullshit...

Ralph Reed is nothing but a corporate shill, whose main goal is to get paid in full.

:freak:

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Why should we assume that Ralph Reed is the only one?

Does Pat Robertson have any connection to any organization that is pro-business?

[marmar]

3. I would bet he is too...

May they all rot!

:nopity:

[Auntie Bush]

4. You might have something there ...but I think it is a combination of

the first two choices....though I voted for #2.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. The Christian Right and fascism go hand in hand

Especially when it comes to things environmental.

That's the problem with religious fuckwads who think sexual morality (for other people) is most important while believing strongly that the rapture is coming soon, which makes them believe that whatever we do to the planet doesn't matter, and besides, God gave us the earth to dominate and use. And yet, at the same time that the leaders of the Christian right are saying that the rapture is coming soon, they are also rping the shit out of everything purely for profit as though - hmmm... - they don't actually believe it. Much like Osama and the Taliban leaders telling others that dying for the cause is the greatest act of faith, and yet... none of them are performing that supposedly greatest act of faith.

It's a truly awful combination of dangerously apostate theology, complete misreadings of Scripture, and an utter rejection of Jesus that makes the Christian right so phenomenally dangerous, as dangerous as the Taliban or any other fundamentalist, hate-based form of thinking.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Believing the Rapture is coming, and ripping people off sound

like two opposing activities because all the wealth they accumulate, they can't take with them.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Which is why I wish more than 0.02% of people had the intelligence

to look at their leaders and ask the question, "Why don't your actions fit your words?" whether it be muslim fucks or christian fucks or whatever kind of fucks.

[jwirr]

10. The idiots believe that Jesus is just coming back to set

up His 1000 year reign and they will be there to help him. SOOOOOOOOOOO they get to keep their ill gotten goods!

[heidler1]

11. IMO they sell the Rapture to twits so they can reap the money.

Much like organized religion sells a church profiting spin to bilk the faithful.

[xchrom]

6. none other than leo strauss advocated using the

''virtuous'' citizen for the benefit of the corporate aristocracy.

it is a sophisticated tactic of the new fascism.

that doesn't mean that the religous right doesn't have it's own goals -- but i do believe they are manipulated and used by our corporate lords and masters.

[jwirr]

8. It is very possible that this is happening - especially if you

combine this idea with multinational corporations and globalization. In order for corp. to rule the world they need to destroy other forms of power. Read "The Untied States of America: Polarization, Fracturing, and Our Future" by Juan Enriquez published by Crown. He links the power of a nation with it's success in the field of science. Good read.

[drm604]

12. The interesting thing

is that creationist attacks seem to occur mostly at the local level, on school boards, while the attacks on climatology (global warming) are obviously well organized and financed by corporations.

There are lots of creationist websites but I've seen no indication that they're in any way supported by corporate funds. Global warming is different. An example is the "Cooler Heads Coalition" which runs globalwarming.org, a bullshit anti-science website, and which is affiliated with the "Competitive Enterprise Institute" which receives funding from Exxon Mobil (some Googling will get you the facts).

It's interesting that the creationism and anti marriage-rights movements are both backed by fundamentalist religious groups whereas global warming is something they've hardly mentioned until recently. And now that they've brought it up, they're divided on it.

I think that the reasons for this are relatively simple. Business has a direct stake in the global warming issue but not nearly as much a stake in the other two. The main interest that big business might have in the other two issues is that they are useful in maintaining and enhancing power for the right. In the case of creationism, the biotech companies' stake is the opposite, ignorance of biology and poor science education is not in their best interest.

All of this may be why we see constant repeated (and sometimes successful) attempts at the state and federal level to outlaw gay marriage. It doesn't have much of an affect on corporations either way so it's a useful political tool.

The reason creationism seems to succeed, albeit temporarily, at the local level but never beyond that, may be because it's somewhat of a threat to the biotech industry and therefore has little backing other than from true believers.

[happydreams]

13. It's about establishing a theocracy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=389802&mesg_id=389802