Are they Fracturing?
Via Sullivan, for whom I hold no brief and so I won't link to him, it seems that there is a definite trend in the conservative blogosphere to sound the alarm over the growing influence of fundamentalist Christians in the halls of government:

Example #1. John Cole, of balloon-juice, had this to say about the report that the Air Force Academy had become a center for proselytizing evangelicals to impose their religious views on cadets:

Shocked? You should be, and no, I won't calm down, Jay, because I don't think I am being hysterical or shrill. I simply fail to understand why reasonable people on my side of the aisle continue to run political cover for these folks.

I fully expect to be told I am getting 'worked up over nothing,' that these 'are just a small portion of conservatives,' and that 'everyone has a right to be heard.' Whatever. These aren't your average every day pople who just want to practice their religion freely. We are talking about a coalition of proselytizing zealots who want to control government, codify their religous outlook, and most of all, who want to control you . . .

I am particularly dismayed by the people who want to pooh-pooh these groups, claiming they are just a fringe element that should be ignored. Many want us to believe that all of these groups are individual actors- even people like Jay, who can clearly recognize the political ties between George Soros, Media Matters, America Coming Together, etc., but wants to pretend there is not a coordinated effort to impose a specific brand of Christianity on everyone.

Andrew Sullivan is sometimes over the top in his rhetoric, but he has an excuse- he is homosexual. They are gunning for him, first. You and I are phase two. We ignore these folks and abandon Andrew at our own peril, and if we do not confront these people, you can kiss goodbye the coalition that has swept Republicans into power.

When faced with a choice of this loose-knit coalition of frauds, bigots, hucksters, and letting the 'evil' loony left in charge, well, suddenly MoveOn doesn't seem that damned scary anymore, particularly when you consider how marginalized the Cynthia McKinney crowd is. They may tax the hell out of me and leave us with an impotent foriegn policy, but I can count on them staying out of my bedroom, my science classes, my pharmacy, my science class, and my Doctor's office.

Go ahead- force me to make a choice.

Example #2. Another blogger, who appears to be a right-wing libertarian(?), took a closer look at the bill proposed by Alabama state legislator Gerald Allen, who wants to ban books that feature gay characters, or that are by gay authors:

But as is so often the case when a wingnut legislator feeds his wingnut base, the true impact of the bill as-written would be far worse . . . Here's the sentence in the bill, emphasis mine:

No public funds or public facilities shall be used by any state agency, public school, public library, or public college or university for the purchase, production, or promotion of printed or electronic materials or activities that, directly or indirectly, sanction, recognize, foster, or promote a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of the state of Alabama.

It's not surprising that Allen is stupid, or that he's written a bad law, or that he doesn't seem to have even read the criminal code his law references. It is surprising that the MSM has focused on this as "a law to ban gay authors and characters" (which is appalling), and missed the fact that the law as written is really "a law to ban gay authors and characters, unmarried characters who suggest that oral sex may be enjoyable, and male characters who have ever deceived women in order to sleep with them."

The question isn't what books, plays, and movies would be banned from Alabama schools, universities, and libraries. The question is what would be left.

So, do you think the Republican coalition will fall apart if the religious extremist wing of the party continues to call in its chips? Does it matter? And even if the conservatives splinter, is this good for America, or will it lead to a further rightward shift in American politics, as people like John Cole join the Democrats, seeking privacy without progressive values? Discuss.
- posted by TJ @ 3:03 PM