Social Darwinism Has Its Advantages ... For Bishop Eddie Long And
His Colleagues
The
choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential running mate is creating
a stir on both sides of the political spectrum: the Right is salivating in the
possibility of unfettered free enterprise and the Left is screaming
"Social Darwinism." At its most extreme, it could be said that not
since the French Revolution have the differences between the staunchly
conservative rich/upper middle class and the poor/disenfranchised been more obvious.
At its most moderate, it could be said that America's corporate class will
decide what's good for the poor and the elderly. A Romney-Ryan administration
could usher in an age of new robber-barons.
It's The
Ideology, Stupid!
Paul Ryan
is considered an ideologue, a man so fixed in the philosophy of fiscal
conservatism, that he can't see the forest from the trees: the forest being the
millions of people effected by a slash-and-burn budget. He and Romney have come
out with a joint statement that they will not eliminate Medicare or Social
Security, Ryan stating that his mother is a Medicare recipient. But the
ideology of no entitlements is still there, lurking under more
"moderate" statements. Entitlements go against the grain of intense capitalists.
[On
Ryan's budget plan] Huffington Post :
Other elements of the budget plan would cut projected spending for
Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, as well as food stamps,
student loans and other social programs that Obama and Democrats have pledged
to defend.
Donna Brazile, CNN Contributor :
"First, Romney has fully and unequivocally embraced the extreme
Ryan budget plan. Earlier this year, he
called it "marvelous" --
now he's made it his own. The Romney-Ryan plan would throw seniors under the bus and
undermine their health security by ending Medicare as we know it. It would
increase health
care costs for seniors, including those on fixed income, by thousands of
dollars a year."
Ryan's ideology overshadows everything, including gay rights: when asked a
question about gay rights during a particular interview, he said "I don't
know why we're talking about this." In 2007, Ryan half-heartedly voted for
ENDA, a move which would cost him immense criticism from the Christian Right.
Since then, he has toed the line on all issues related to gay rights:
"no" on gay adoption, "yes" on a proposed Marriage
Amendment, "no" on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Human Rights
Campaign, the gay-rights lobby has consistently given Ryan a "zero"
rating. Social issues are of no concern, only fiscal issues. Money, it seems
rules all.
So What Of Religion In All Of This?
"Ryan
and House Speaker John Boehner, after all, famously sought
the approval of Cardinal
Timothy Dolan, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and
one-time Archbishop of Milwaukee, for Ryan's budget plan that a liberal budget
expert said 'would produce the largest redistribution of income from the bottom
to the top in modern U.S. history, while increasing poverty and inequality more
than any measure in recent times and possibly in the nation's history.'"
Romney and Ryan's fiscal ideology has been at the core of
America's Christian Right for years: it was Glenn Beck who brought the
animosity of the CR for "social justice" to the fore, but early in
the last century, the Southern Baptist Convention's involvement in Jim Crow
laws and the Ku Klux Klan definitely had a monetary bent. White congregations
were more affluent, more controllable ... and more diametrically opposed to
civil rights. Pat Robertson's 700 Club ushered in a new age for televangelists
and prosperity gospel preachers*, the evolution of which has featured scandal
and bling, but has never been halted.**
Romney, Ryan and their ideology are, in fact, tailor-made for
today's Right Wing religionists, because let's face it: today's prosperity
gospel preachers and megachurches are merely savvy entrepreneurs out to make as
much money as possible selling hope. And while they can achieve product sales
out of poor people by selling in bulk (via televangelism), they have to
concentrate on their base composed of middle and lower-middle class: the
prosperity gospel depends on desperation - but not too much desperation.***
Whither Compassion And Social Justice?
The Romney-Ryan campaign has already started to soft pedal its
stance on entitlements, saying that what they REALLY mean to do is to overhaul
and not eliminate. They are studiously avoiding gay issues as much as possible
in order to placate the Right and not seem too bigoted. They will, however, be
fighting the bottom line: their previous stances on social issues have made
them enemies of compassion and social justice.
Their campaign managers must be masters of spin to make them look
anything else.
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