On Wednesday, Troutfishing had this Recommended diary on the appearance of Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at The Heart Of American Power, on The Rachel Maddow Show. I had not seen that appearance, but last night Bill Maher interviewed Mr Sharlet and I was flabbergasted. For those who missed the interview, here it is:
(If this embed does not work, go to the YouTube site. It should play. http://www.youtube.com/... )
This interview was frightening. I've followed the cluckerfuck of self-righteous Republican politicians who live at the tax-exempt C Street townhouse, speak of family values, and then fuck around on their wives. I didn't realize that these same hypocritical bastards actually lived by a Nietzschean philosophy that morals apply to everyone but themselves.
As I was listening to Sharlet, I almost didn't believe him. What he was describing sounded not just scummy but down right evil. Sharlet had gone undercover and lived at the C Street house. It appears he has particular insight and evidence on what goes on behind the walls of the C Street townhouse.
The "Christian" fundamentalists who run C Street refer to themselves as "The Family" in the same way the Mafia refers to itself as "The Family." This is not a coincidence. According to Sharlet, they see themselves as similar to the Mafia, in so far as "the more invisible you can make your organization, the more influence your organization can have." Doug Coe, the leader of this cabal, sees his group as the leaders of something called "Jesus Plus Nothing" or "The Totalitarianism for Christ", which models the way it wields power on the same way the Mafia, Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama Bin Laden, and Lenin wield power. They also call themselves "The New Chosen" because they believe that if you have reached a certain pinnacle of success, whether financially or in terms of power (in their minds Hitler, Pol Pot, and Lenin are considered successful), your success derives from the fact that God has chosen you to be successful. The founder of this group claims he had a revelation from God that said that Christianity had gotten it wrong during its first 2,000 years. Christians are not meant to concern themselves with the poor and downtrodden. Instead, God wants people to serve the powerful, which they refer to as "The Up and Out."
Sharlet recounts one conversation he overheard between Doug Coe and another man. Coe asked the man, "Suppose I hear you rape three little girls. What would I think?" The man said he thought Coe would consider him awful and a monster. Coe said, "No. No I wouldn't because you're Chosen. As a member of The Family, you're Chosen and, when you're Chosen, the normal rules don't apply. Morality is for the little people."
I urge you to watch the whole interview. It's almost hard to believe it true. Nevertheless, it would explain the hypocrisy and degree of disconnect from reality that characterize today's Republican Party..