My time at RedState

The way to beat the right wingers is to expose them for what they really are.  I have spent the last month posting on RedState.  I was able to post a total of 323 comments before I was banned.  (I am not sure whether I should be proud of that or embarrassed it took them so long to ban me.)   My sojourn at RedState was very interesting as they admitted to some truly disturbing things.  The patina of intellectualism and fairness that RedState likes to project was stripped bare, revealing their true selves, as shown in the quotes below.  

All one has to do at RedState is scratch the surface just a little and out pops the most atavistic, vile, reactionary hatred imaginable.  And what is most scary is that these theological warriors have those more moderate Republicans in thrall.   That is the right wing's great secret:  they lull into sleep or intimidate the moderate forces in their own party, so that their minority status is magnified beyond their true numbers.  This phenomenon is no mere theoretical threat as shown by the Schiavo fiasco.  That embarrassment was made possible by Congress's transformation into servile putty in the hands of DeLay et. al., even though the vast majority of the American public opposed that extraordinary effort at governmental intervention into the personal decisions that we all face.  What happened to the moderates in that instance?   They were cowed into submission by religious grandstanding.  That is how a minority can take power.  

Let me show you a few quotes from RedState.

First, Thomas here laments the Enlightenment and prefers the Middle Ages to the last 50 years (the comments in italics are mine, as quoted by Thomas, and the other comments are Thomas's):

So, it is okay to legislate behavior to expressly conform to religious norms?

We had no problem with it for the better part of two hundred years; I see no reason why fifty years of error should guide us.

It is as if the Enlightenment never occured...

We have the right to dream such dreams.
There were plenty of good things about the Middle Ages, not least being a greater sense of liberalism than the Modern Left even dreams of possessing.

So there you have it.  These guys have an admittedly Medieval mindset.
Here Thomas states that adultery should be made illegal:

Are you saying that adultery should be illegal?     By: MKS

Please respond clearly.

Let me see if I can say this     By: Thomas

So you'll understand:
Yes.
Don't see it happening, though.

If this is mastery, then I'm a donut. - Mike Krempasky

Thank you for responding n/t     By: MKS

Not only is this contrary to our Constitutional rights, it is a breathtakingly un-Christian and extraordinary example of trying to cast the first stone.

Here we have streiff saying that Texas should be allowed to put gays in jail:

Lawrence is easy     By: MKS

It is called liberty and is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment--which guess what guys applies to the states.
In Lawrence two adult men were jailed for engaging in consensual sex in private.  It was not some ivory tower parlor game...The bottom line is do you believe it was okay for the State of Texas to put those two men in jail?

Yes     By: streiff

there is no right to buggery in the Constitution.
A lot of things consenting adults do in their own homes, like smoking crack, are illegal. Why is this different, I mean, other than you might approve of this and be against crack.

Thank you for your candor n/t     By: MKS

So, can we just chalk up these posts as anomalies by outliers who do not represent the "mainstream" at RedState?  I do not believe so.  Thomas and streiff are stalwarts who have been given the right to ban participants.  Make no mistake, they are the norm at RedState.  Here is a RedState Diary discussing what the social agenda for them looks like; and it includes the elimination of ALL abortion, the abolition of no-fault divorce, the de-funding of Planned Parenthood, the repeal of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, and the prohibition of gay couples from adopting--this last item being an admission garnered during an exchange with the ever-brilliant MSOC.

I believe that social conservatives have perverted Christianity and must be fought theologically as well as politically. I find absolutely abhorrent what the "Religious Right" has done to Christianity, mangling the teachings of Jesus beyond all recognition.  Any good atheist or non-Christian at this point may find my Diary quite boring or irrelevant (if they, or anyone else, has made it this far.)  Yet, I take personally what nitwits and wingnuts such as Santorum and DeLay have done to something that I value.

In order to defeat those who would be our Inquisitors, we must reclaim our churches and houses of worship from some very reactionary forces.  To win this fight we must out the extremists and discredit them at the source.