There was an NYT article a few weeks ago on the triumphant return of Ralph Reed:
At the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., he was sought after by party luminaries and afforded the ultimate status accommodation, a room in the same hotel as Mitt Romney. And soon he plans to unleash a sophisticated, microtargeted get-out-the-evangelical-vote operation that he believes could nudge open a margin of victory if Mr. Romney can keep the race close.
What is this sophisticated operation (via)?
That Faith and Freedom Coalition mailer also included 10 more pages of inflammatory, debunked, and malicious rhetoric, a right-wing grab bag of Obama hatred. In this letter to potential voters, Reed claims that Obama wants an America where “government bureaucrats micromanage every aspect of your life,” the taxman “seizes most of what you earn,” and death panels—yes, those fictional death panels—determine whether you live or die. Reed insists that Obama will destroy capitalism and replace it with “Socialistic economic theories.”
Here’s the most inflammatory line: If Obama wins reelection, “he can complete America’s destruction.” This warning, naturally, is presented in bold print.
If it all works, he’ll be feted by all the right people on the Sunday morning shows.
Dennis G had a good run-down on Reed’s various past criminal activities.
PreservedKillick
Romney should be hating this stuff. All this BS has basically inured the electorate to his BS.
I mean, the guy can’t even lie effectively, that has to be a new and frustrating experience for him.
jwb
Why does it seem like conservatives are just not very good at this stuff any more? On the other hand, PPP polls in OH and NC show that well over 70% of GOP voters are willing to tell the pollster that they think the polls are skewed, so who knows, maybe it really does work for the 27%.
PeakVT
… “[Obama] can complete America’s destruction.”
I said the same thing about Bush in 2004. I wasn’t right, but I was a heck of a lot closer to the truth.
SenyorDave
I believe in a form of heaven and hell, and there aren’t many people I can safely say this about but Ralph Reed is going directly to hell.
Higgs Boson's Mate
No one could have anticipated that purging their party of anyone who didn’t sing hosannas to the notions of the Tea Baggers would leave the Republicans with a deficit of both talent and ideas.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
What I love the most about Ralph Reed is that he’s a Christian and his mailer which included 10 more pages of inflammatory, debunked, and malicious rhetoric, a right-wing grab bag of Obama hatred was designed to appeal to other Christians.
I guess the bearing false witness commandment no longer applies.
rlrr
Apparently Reed thinks the Ninth Commandment is more of suggestion.
Linda Featheringill
Ralphie and his minions better get with it if they hope to influence this election.
I don’t see this stuff influencing people who aren’t already securely Republican. It might persuade some lethargic folks to go out and vote. But that’s about it.
Reed? Well, he’s been a bad person for a long, long time. He should have been struck by lightning many years ago.
Strandedvandal
Last throes of a dying regime? Is this what Dick “Kaboom” Cheney was talking about?
The Ancient Randonneur
I blame this on the ancient Romans. They should have had better and hungrier lions.
Punchy
Who the fuck reads a 10-page mailer?
danimal
It seems that Manichean Monsters are usually not Metrosexual, but what do I know? It also seems like nice-looking, respectable Christian leaders wouldn’t have the same morals as a grifting con-man, but Ralph Reed has shown that it is possible.
Lurking Canadian
@rlrr: Extremism in defense of blah, blah, blah et cetera.
rlrr
@Punchy:
Shut ins with no internet access.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Strandedvandal:
Nevah happen. They have 27% of the vote no matter what and in their delusional world all that they need to is to go more to the right and PROFIT!
Ash Can
Reed’s a career criminal. Why would he stop now? Getting right-wing rubes riled up under the guise of religion is right up his alley. He’ll make a killing, then move on to his next mark.
Culture of Truth
When did ‘socialist’ become ‘socialistic’? When the ‘forecast’ became the ‘futurecast’?
Jay in Oregon
Fred Clark over at Slacktivist has a related story:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/10/01/a-documented-case-of-false-prophecy-four-years-later-letter-from-2012-makes-focus-on-the-family-look-ridiculous/
peach flavored shampoo
So “ultimate status” is not rooming with Romney, not having cojoined rooms with Willy, but merely getting one of probably 300-500 rooms in the same building as the former governor?
Whooooooaah nelly. Nice party ya got there.
Chris
You’d think they’d get bored with this shit after a hundred years of peddling it – more to the point, you’d think at some point the regular people who support them would notice that it’s the hundredth time America’s destruction has been predicted and none of the first ninety nine times came true.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Ash Can:
For a party that asserts its business credentials the Rs certainly hire a lot of con men; Reed, Sproul, Dick Morris…
El Cid
@PeakVT: Hey, credit where it’s due: Bush Jr. (i.e., Cheney’s rep for all but the last 2 years) tried his best to end the Republic. And the story’s not done as to whether or not a death blow was dealt.
hueyplong
Look, SOMEONE’S gotta buy all that gold.
SatanicPanic
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: IIRC there’s an evangelical doctrine that it’s OK to lie to non-believers for the right reasons. Or is that the Mormons?
Chris
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:
Running through the list of commandments here –
No idolatry. Yeah, given the worship of money, of The Party and even the nationalism, I think it’s safe to say they let that one go.
Not taking the Lord’s name in vain. See the number of times they invoke his name as shorthand for “shut up that’s why.”
Keeping the sabbath. Leave it up to them and I don’t think most employees would get even one day a week off. Efficiency, you know.
Honoring your father. Romney and Bush at least seem to have blown that one.
The rules against killing. Heh.
The rules against stealing. HEH.
The rules against coveting your neighbor’s shit. HEH!
That leaves adultery. Probably the only commandment they give a shit about, and only when it’s the woman.
Chris
@SatanicPanic:
I mostly hear that as a distortion of a Muslim belief which fundies use to say “we can’t trust the bastards.” But I do remember hearing something like that about Mormons too. Don’t know about fundiegelicals.
SatanicPanic
@Chris: As a (former) Catholic I remember being told we didn’t have to volunteer the truth, but we were forbidden to lie. Which is maybe how they could justify not reporting all those molester priests.
jimmiraybob
@Punchy:
That’s why they provide an easy to identify executive summary up front:
After that, the 10 additional pages provide argument by shear volume. Like the wingnut cry of “but it has voluminous end notes!” Ergo, the thesis presented on page one is soundly supported. A real time saver.
GregB
Anxiously awaiting a David Gregory fluff-job on this faux-religious-fascist-charlatan.
Reed should be invited on shows long enough to have a cup of coffee thrown in his face and then kicked in the ass on his way out the door.
I mean this metaphorically.
Butch
I know the point has been made over and over again, but what does it take to actually become a disgraced political figure in this country?
SatanicPanic
@Butch:
(D)
Culture of Truth
In the Meet The Press rolodex, is Reed under C” for ‘Christian’ or ‘Criminal’ ??
Yutsano
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: This is modern Christianity after all. Who cares what that hippie Jeebus said?
Violet
I suppose this might be a good place for this: http://bcove.me/7k78ccmc. Someone sent it to me. It’s a link to a video for some sort of series on “Truth, Lies and America Today: How to vote for a President” at Second Baptist Church in the Houston, TX area.
So much for that separation of church and state. Hard to be more blatant than that. “Come to our church and we’ll tell you how to vote.”
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Butch:
Republicans never become disgraced political figures because each of them is equipped with an aerosol can of forgiveness.
MattF
@Chris: Well, and then there’s the Jesus stuff. Personally, I put all that into the ‘Inscrutable Gentiles’ folder.
Comrade Mary
Speaking of religious freedom, I found this link and comment from Pierce’s commentary on the PA law:
The Thin Black Duke
@Butch: Be a Democrat.
(Too slow, damn it.)
jimmiraybob
@SatanicPanic:
I seem to remember some distant, early-childhood Catholic suggestion of lying being committed via both commission and omission. Of course, what I found out early regarding the church is that all rules, regulations, bible passages and commandments (so on and so forth, etc., and also too) are subject to amendment based on immediately pressing concerns.
Chris
@Butch:
SP beat me to it. Actually, I’d amend the (D) to simply read “non conservative.” If Nixon had really been One Of Them instead of an EPA-creating, welfare-expanding, UHC-proposing Keynesian, I remain convinced that they would have worked much harder, maybe not to save him, but at least to redeem him after the fact (like they do with that incessant “McCarthy was right” shit).
Also I was raised Catholic too, I don’t remember being taught that exact thing, but you’re right that a lot of priests probably used that rule to justify themselves.
The Other Chuck
Wow, that’s some amazing copy. This guy is a day-glo sign away from becoming the next Fred Phelps. And we all know how seriously he’s taken nowadays.
Hey GOP: by all means guys, invite the crazy in, let them make themselves at home, see how that works out for you.
? Martin
@SatanicPanic: Every religion has that loophole somewhere.
Butch
@Chris: To Chris and the other folks who responded – I shoulda thought of that myself. You’re right.
1badbaba3
If I am the first to get the post title reference, is it evidence of a mis-spent youth, or do I win cash and prizes? Let’s ask our judges the Glimmer Twins and their good friend Nanker Phelge.
DFH no.6
As someone said a long time ago, the poor we have with us always.
Apparently the hypocrites and Pharisees, also, too (or wolves in sheep’s clothing, if you prefer metaphors).
Evil grifting fascist motherfucker Ralph Reed is as much an atheist as I am (and I am as certain as I am about anything that there is, unfortunately, no god).
I hate the bastard as much as I hate anyone I’ve never met.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Comrade Mary:
The establishment Republicans of the Reagan/GHB era really are nowhere to be found in today’s political landscape. Their influence shrank until it was small enough to drown them in a teapot.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
Back when you could still joke about bullets, I used to joke that you could fix our politics with five bullets.
But then Andrew Breitbart died of natural causes (ie Chardonnay and heart failure).
Ralph Reed, however, still lives.
? Martin
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ: Yeah, if that was a true conservative judge, like Scalia, he would have drawn a parallel between providing birth control and a federal mandate to stuff vegetables in your cooter, and then ruled against President Usurper, because brussel sprouts.
SatanicPanic
@jimmiraybob: That’s right, but I don’t remember getting far enough along to really get into the details. I just remember being given the example of Nazis showing up your town, and you’ve got Jews hiding in your basement, it’s OK to be evasive.
They never got around to telling us if you could lie about politicians in order to lower your rich uncle’s tax rate
Anoniminous
Grifter sends PANIC! to fearful people to spread fear and PANIC!
yawn
I’ve seen this movie.
SatanicPanic
@? Martin: You could drive an 18-wheeler through the loophole some of these people have erected. Or should I say, you could drive your camel through the eye of that needle.
Chris
@Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God:
Any bullet fix that doesn’t involve killing the entire membership of PJMedia is going to fall short in my book.
Suffern ACE
@SatanicPanic: That sounds like what the Evangelicals screech about the Muslims.
piratedan
@Jay in Oregon: ty, great link! Nothing like holding the doom and gloomers accountable for their claims…. if that’s what they really believed and we show them the reality, they can choose to ignore if the wish, but in the end they’ll simply end up as monster shouters.
Metrosexual Manichean Monster DougJ
@1badbaba3:
You win the prize!
Thanks for getting it. Great song, no?
Jay C
@Chris:
Heh. Dick Cheney’s “1% Doctrine” in action….
amk
@Jay in Oregon: A delightful read. Tweeted.
catclub
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ: “Reagan/GHB”
Isn’t GHB a rape drug?
1badbaba3
@Metrosexual Manichean Monster DougJ: Indeed. Off my favorite Stones album. Stray Cat Blues is awesome too. It’s funny, a few days before you posted the Elvis lyric I had listened to My Aim Is True for the first time in decades. Now you post some of my favorite Stones. It almost makes me overlook the recent Men At Work wank.
But seriously, folks…
Love it. Keep it coming. And I don’t think of you as particularly monstrous, at least not in that way.
Also too: motherfuck Ralph Reed.
Bruce S
Phone # of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
678-869-0227
gbear
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
…and a bag to huff the fumes.
PurpleGirl
@Ash Can: One change — Reed keeps going back to same marks again and again. They’ve given him money once and they’ll give him money again because “he’s fighting the god fight”. Even though the fight is only their heads.
PurpleGirl
@PurpleGirl: “he’s fighting the god fight”.
I meant that to be “the good fight” but looking at it now, “God fight” is better and more accurate.
Opie_jeanne
@SatanicPanic: It’s a Mormon practice.
opie_jeanne
@Opie_jeanne: It’s called “Lying for the Lord”.