For once the title of an Alabama Liberal post isn’t a rhetorical question, because it’s honestly a stumper for me. How is it possible that the “Kris-chins” that make up the Republican party’s largest block of voters (social conservatives) and who they couldn’t win many races without have become so blood thirsty? For the better part of four decades, this loose coalition of Bible beaters that made their bones raving about legalized abortion has coined the phrase “pro-life” to describe them. The term “pro-life” could also be used as a blanket statement to describe all of Christianity with its deep roots of forgiveness and message of peace. So then why are the most supposedly religious people in the country only a half step more evolved than an angry mob?
For those that don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll narrow my thesis down to only two recent examples of rightwing Christianity’s recent embracing of the “pro-death” principles. The first came at a recent Republican debate, the first that new frontrunner Rick Perry participated in, where the loudest applause of the night came not from anything the candidates said but when Brian Williams, the moderator, merely stated the number of Texas death row inmates that Rick Perry had executed. The number was a modern record of 234–he’s since executed someone else bringing it up to 235 and it would be 236 but the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution for one prisoner last week–and what sounded like the entire audience loudly applauded. Williams was so taken aback that he even asked Perry about it, then Perry–arguably the most religious candidate in the race and the man that thinks prayer is the way to solve drought, not climate crisis policies curbing pollution–displayed a shockingly cavalier attitude about ending over 200 lives. [Yes, they’re criminals but at least one of them was most likely innocent, and celebrating death should never happen with Christians no matter who’s on the receiving end of it.]
Then the second moment came when Ron Paul was asked about healthcare at a separate Republican debate. First, he was completely dismissive about the entire idea of affordable healthcare (which drew large applause) and then shook his head like a mystified old man, mocking “this idea that you have to take care of everyone” uhhhh, yeah Ron Paul who is supposed to be uber-Christian, it’s called being a Christian nation. See, Jesus did advocate taking care of the sick and poor, not letting them die. Still, the most shocking moment came when the moderator asked him if someone in a coma that doesn’t have health insurance should be left to die and several people in the crowd hollered out “Yeah!” The next day we were told that these people were just joking by a Republican strategist eager for the whole thing to blow over, but it sure as shit didn’t sound like they were joking.
All of which brings us back to my question: How is it possible for the supposedly “Kris-chin,” pro-life party to have devolved into a non-compassionate, blood thirsty mob. The kind of crowd that denying people healthcare will draw big applause (Texas has the least number of uninsured Americans and Perry is proud of it, Massachusetts has the most number of insured and Romney has been made to feel ashamed of it). The sort of folks that loudly cheer when talking about executing a record number of prisoners (thus shucking a core tenant of Christianity: forgiveness). And an angry mob that will only turn on Rick Perry when it’s revealed that he mandated an HPV vaccine in Texas that likely stopped young girls from getting cervical cancer.
It’s all pretty strange behavior for a group that has supposedly devoted itself to the peace, forgiveness, and love message of Jesus Christ. [In some ironic ways, evangelical Christians have a bit in common with the mullahs in Afghanistan, both devoted to a book they might not have the intellectual prowess to understand, which is another way of saying they’re really devout only to themselves.] I look at this current group and I don’t think Jesus would see himself in many of them. I realize it’s played out to say Jesus would be part of one party or the other and that he would most likely be in neither one. Still, if he were really watching that same crowd cheering on executions and booing saving the sick and the poor, it’s awfully hard not to imagine he would take a serious look at Obama in 2012.