The political right is going through interesting changes right now. The war hawks from the neoconservative pillar of the political right is crumbling as support for the Iraq War dwindles.
Corruption in the congress has led to the resignation of major figures like Majority Leader Tom Delay. A sex scandal has led to the resignation of Mark Foley and now even House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, is being asked to step down by his own party members.
Now one of the biggest connections of the political right to the religious right is in the danger of also falling apart. Pastor Ted Haggard, who talks to President George W. Bush every Monday, has resigned from The National Association of Evangelicals, as he too finds himself in the middle of a sex scandal with young male escort.
I first learned about Pastor Ted in an Harpers article entitled ‘Soldiers of Christ’. I then saw Pastor Ted interviewed by Richard Dawkins in the BBC documentary ‘Root of all Evil’, and most recently Pastor Ted appeared in the documentary ‘Jesus Camp.’
The American neoconservative movement, as it exists right now, is being challenged in all its major fronts. The way the neoconservative movement might look at the end of all this might be surprisingly different.
Great post – precarious times for the right…
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As much as I’d like to jump on the “Right Wing is Dead!” bandwagon, I’m still skeptical that there is going to be any true change. I’m skeptical that the Democrats will take the House and defintely not the Senate. The fact is that there is simply too much stupidity and ignorance in this country. Hell, 34% of Americans still(!) think that Saddam Hussein was personally involved with 9/11. I’ve heard reports that Dennis Hastert is actually 10 points ahead of his Democratic opponent in the polls. I saw the Borat movie this weekend and that simply solidified my opinion that a lot of people will never vote for a Democrat and their beliefs will not be shaken by such quaint things as facts. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen the movie (two thumbs up!) but I think those who see it will probably agree with me. Beliefs are incredibly hard to shake and they won’t change even with 4 weeks of Republican scandals.
Does this mean that Obama gets more brownie points for becoming president? It’s indirect, but possible.
Okay, so maybe I was a little too cynical. Although the Democrats have almost won it all, we’re still stuck with Bush. Also, we’re still stuck with Lieberman.
There appears to be a reorientation in the country’s priorities and I think it’s for the better. But the issues the United States has gotten itself into are tough even with the most well meaning people. We are dealing with issues that will take decades to resolve no matter who is in power.
What new problems will the Democrats now introduce? Well, I suspect that the Democrats will introduce many, like in immigration, but a change in tone for the same tired arguments, if nothing else, is refreshing.