There's good news today. The conservative evangelical aspect of Bachmann's career is finally on the map.
Sure it's been discussed before, referenced in the press, gone over in the still-arcane world of blogs. But an issue like this isn't really "on the map" until a leading conservative takes on that issue and tries to spin it with a bunch of lies and distortions to minimize political damage.
And that's what former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson did today. According to Gerson, it's a lie or distortion to say that candidates like Bachmann and Perry support an extreme, theocratic view of government. That's just bullshit, says Gerson, merrily misquoting or misstating the various positions of any informed people who may disagree.
(CONTINUED)
Bachmann is prone to tea party overstatement and religious right cliches. She opened herself to criticism by recommending a book that features southern Civil War revisionism. But there is no evidence from the careers of Bachmann or Perry that they wish to turn America into a theocratic prison camp.
No, there isn't. But there is plenty of evidence that Bachmann and some of her supporters would like to turn America into a theocratic something. It doesn't have to be a "prison camp" to be objectionable to the majority of Americans, Mr. Gerson. A "theocratic America"--even if it's more like a theme park than a prison camp--is what's objectionable. And Bachmann, at least, does support a theocratic America: whether she lies about that or not. It's all over her career, the lies and the support for a theocratic America.
Gerson does not quote what Bachmann has said or claimed. She claimed a lot about God, her personal instructions from Him--and the role of the Bible and its evangelical interpreters should play in determining the laws and policy of the United States of America. All those claims are of record and available to Gerson, but acknowledging those truths would undermine his basic point: that Michele Bachmann's brand of Christian belief is no more of a threat to the American way of life than Jimmy Carter's. And according to Gerson: anyone who disagrees with that--is just a hater or a wacky conspiracy theorist. ("Hello, fans!" says Bill, at this point.)
By the way, author Gerson is also a former member of the Bush administration's White House Iraq Group. That was the White House task force charged with convincing America that an invasion of Iraq really was necessary. So you know you can trust Gerson on issues like this; his history of integrity is probably why Townhall.com signed him up as a pundit.
Here's your link to Michael Gerson's: "Tea Party Holy War!" (Yes, that's the title. Yes, Gerson knows that the Tea Party is shot through with "Biblical worldview theocrat" types he defends here. But most American journalists still don't know that, so thanks to Mike for trying to drop that "bombshell" on them.)
http://townhall.com/...