Sharron Angle, Holy Warrior
Back in May, half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin insisted that the Founding Fathers "were quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the 10 commandments." But while the Founders intended no such thing, Palin's protege Sharron Angle is convinced. Just weeks after proclaiming "God has a plan" for pregnant victims of rape and incest and suggesting God is on her side, the GOP's Nevada Senate hopeful declared herself a warrior against government "idolatry" she deemed "a violation of the First Commandment."
To be sure, Sharron Angle has a lot of company. As it turns out, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Jan Brewer and Michael Steele are just some of the Republicans who believe they have been touched by the hand of God. For his part, Governor Huckabee in 2008 announced "what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards."
But in an April interview with TruNews Christian Radio's Rick Wiles (audio here and here), Angle proclaimed the United States already has a faith-based Constitution. (For its part, TruNews touts itself as "the only newscast reporting the countdown to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.") Like Sarah Palin ("it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country"), Angle suggested America's future is not in the hands of Americans, but those of the Almighty:
"I know people are very frightened about what's going on in this country. And these programs that you mentioned -- that Obama has going with Reid and Pelosi pushing them forward -- are all entitlement programs built to make government our God. And that's really what's happening in this country is a violation of the First Commandment. We have become a country entrenched in idolatry, and that idolatry is the dependency upon our government. We're supposed to depend upon God for our protection and our provision and for our daily bread, not for our government."
After Palin in April announced "Prayer Warriors all across the country...your prayer shield allows me and others to go forth," holy warrior Sharron Angle apparently heard the call. As the Las Vegas Sun reported in its transcript of her Wiles interview, Angle declared war:
We're at war in this country - for our freedom, our culture, for our liberty, our Constitution, and we need a true, battle-tested, proven, Constitutional conservative to take out Harry Reid...
And I need warriors to stand beside me. You know, this is a war of ideology, a war of thoughts and of faith. And we need people to really stand for faith and trust, not hope and change.
As for the Lord, Angle made clear in an interview with former Christian Coalition hatchet man Ralph Reed in July that He stands with her:
"How do you explain all this? You're now a national story, are you kind of overwhelmed by it all?" asked Reed.
"I believe that God has been in this from the beginning and because of that when he has a plan and a purpose for your life and you fit into that, what he calls you to he always equipped you for," Angle replied.
As Americans learned in June, if nothing else Sharron Angle is equipped with a heart of stone. Given the 2008 Republican platform and John McCain's prime-time mockery of the "health of the mother," Sharron Angle's extreme position on abortion sadly is not unusual among hard-line conservatives. But what is unique is her frankness in claiming the suffering of rape and incest victims is divinely mandated:
MANDERS: Is there any reason at all for an abortion?
ANGLE: Not in my book.
MANDERS: So, in other words, rape and incest would not be something?
ANGLE: You know, I'm a Christian, and I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations and we need to have a little faith in many things.
Just not, as Sharron Angle insisted today, our government.
Surprisingly, I can agree with Sharron Angle that "what's happening in this country is a violation of the First Commandment." However, it's not belief in the powers of government, but rather belief in the capitalist system, that has become the Republican's/right's secular religion. A few simple substitutions in Angle's quote as follows demonstrate: "We have become a country entrenched in idolatry, and that idolatry is the dependency upon our capitalist system. We're supposed to depend upon corporations for our protection and our provision and for our daily bread, not for [sic] our government."
That capitalism can be considered our secular religion is also demonstrated by the way that words like "socialist" and "communist" are considered by those on the right to be an epithet automatically rendering the person so described as despicable and worthless of consideration; like a fundamentalist, those using such terms are incapable of any rational discussion comparing alternative economic systems.
I'm not opposed to secular religion per se; but I much prefer to believe in the redeeming power of working for human rights and supporting democratic principles.
I am Jesse Holland and encourage the media to look beyond the promises of party candidates and replace the office, as it belongs, to the state and the citizen’s therein.
Politics as usual it seems. Both parties have betrayed our country and our financial securities. Currently you have congress representatives of each party talking about our failing country. They, the Republicrats, are truthfully responsible and yet, mysteriously, we are calling this good and acceptable? Stand up, think and place your vote with a true voice of the people by selecting Jesse Holland for United States Senate representing Nevada and the citizens. The media has chosen your candidates for the elections, but we, the people, have suddenly accepted their choices? We talk about taking back our rights and country, but we fail to do much about it? Do the right thing and elect Jesse Holland who is easily found online! Even the polls are purchasable. If you leave out the voice of the people, you end up with a bought poll. Maybe your parents were right by saying don’t believe everything you read.