Republicans shoot themselves in the foot so often I\’m surprised they have any feet left.
Case in point: Phil Robertson.
Phil Robertson is a ridiculous self-caricature of a backwoods swamp thing (yeah, I know that, once upon a time, he was a college student and the quarterback at LSU, but that was then and this is now), who is a religious fanatic and can\’t stand the thought that gay people should be free to lead their own lives.
So what did Republicans do? They made him a speaker at their leadership conference this past week.
Just a few quotes from his speech (there\’s plenty more where that came from):
-“Educationis useless without the Bible”,
-“It\’s biblical, oneman one woman for life.” (does that mean he rejectedtwice-married Ronald Reagan?), and
-“You can\’t be right forAmerica if you\’re wrong with God”.
What in the world possessed the Republican “brain trust” – such as it is – to give this bizarre-looking, fundamentalist-thinking drone such celebrated status in their Party?
Do they want to chuck any possibility of even being considered by the millions of people who either are gay, or are straight but support gay people\’s personal freedom to live their own lives? Do they want to turn away people who do not insist that religion pervade their lives?
How can Republicans, on the one hand, claim to celebrate personal freedom, while, on the other hand, deny it to people whose lifestyles they disapprove of?
Hint, guys: You don\’t need personal freedom if everyone lives the same kind of life. It only has relevance if people think and act differently from one another – which is precisely what your guy Phil Robertson is against.
This was nuts. And be assured Republicans will pay for their nuttiness with lost votes in November. As they should.
