Teddy Roosevelt and Citizens United

This quote comes from Roosevelt's State of the Union Address- December 3, 1906. In that speech- which is evidence of Roosevelt's long windedness- we also find this quote:

There are at this moment wealthy reactionaries of such obtuse morality that they regard the public servant who prosecutes them when they violate the law, or who seeks to make them bear their proper share of the public burdens, as being even more objectionable than the violent agitator who hounds on the mob to plunder the rich.

To read the entire speech go to this link.

The Small Town in Illinois that Bishop Jenky Forgot

by Nomad

Strange Remarks from a Bishop

Back in April of this year, Catholic Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois began a rambling sermon called "A Call to Catholic Men of Faith" with this observation: 

There is only one basic reason why Christianity exists and that is the fact that Jesus Christ truly rose from the grave.

It's quite a strange statement when you think about it but so boldly stated that few had to courage to challenge it. The resurrection was only one aspect of the Christ story. What about Christ providing a model through his love to all humankind, rich or poor, male or female and morally righteous or fallen? What about the Gospel of the all-forgiving Lord which was quite different than the image of God in the Old Testament? What about his command to the flock to "love thy neighbor"?  

According to Bishop Jenky, it was the miraculous reanimation of the flesh of Jesus which is "the only one basic reason why Christianity exists."

It must have been quite baffling to hear a bishop make such a statement. But there was quite a bit more in store for the congregation.

About three-quarters of the way into the lecture, the bishop’s remarks took an even more surprising turn. He used the pulpit to attack the president’s policies on healthcare by telling his parishioners:

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.

In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.

Now things have come to such a pass in America that this is a battle that we could lose, but before the awesome judgement seat of Almighty God this is not a war where any believing Catholic may remain neutral.

This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries -- only excepting our church buildings – could easily be shut down. Because no Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the intrinsic evil of killing innocent human life in the womb.

Many across the country criticized these provocative remarks. By attempting to equate Obama to both Hitler and Stalin, Jenky tried to stir up public fears with visions of rampant fascism and outlandish notions of  shutting down of the Catholic Church. It was clear that Bishop Jenky was diving into uncharted waters. 
At that time , it sparked me to investigate the Church’s more recent history with fascism. (It was a rewarding investigation.)

A Church Without a Flock?

In point of fact, as far as a so-called Catholic conscience goes, according a survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, most U.S. Catholics ( 60 percent) think the church should focus more on social justice and helping the poor, even if it means focusing less on issues like abortion. 

And there's still worse news for Jenky.

A survey in September found that President Barack Obama holds a 54%-39% advantage over Mitt Romney among Catholics- despite the bishop's appeals.

Video of Romney Voters in Ohio

I thought this was probably the saddest thing I've seen from the entire campaign- and as we know that's a pretty strong statement. Clearly the dumbing-down of the American voters has been successful as far as the Republican party is concerned. It's practically a national security problem when voters are this ignorant.  

Poor Chase Whiteside has to keep a straight face throughout the interview no matter how ludicrious the remarks. ("You think Buddhists are taking over the country??")

It makes one seriously consider requiring an IQ test to register for a Voter ID. 

A Message to the Republican Party from Joe

Charlie Manson vs. Michele Bachmann

Bachmann 

“We’re in a state of crisis where our nation is literally ripping apart at the seams right now, and lawlessness is occurring from one ocean to the other. And we’re seeing the fulfillment of the Book of Judges here in our own time, where every man doing that which is right in his own eyes—in other words, anarchy.”  Senator Michele Bachmann, appearing as guest on radio program “Prophetic Views Behind The News”, hosted by Jan Markell, KKMS 980-AM, March 6, 2004.

Manson:

Manson told me ... that he personally believed in law and order. There should be "rigid control" by the authorities, he said. It didn't matter what the law was - right or wrong being relative - but it should be strictly enforced by whoever had the power. And public opinion should be suppressed, because part of the people wanted one thing, part another.
     "In other words, your solution would be a dictatorship," I remarked.
     "Yes."

Vincent Bugliosi, from Helter Skelter © 1974 Curt Gentry and Vincent Bugliosi:

All jokes aside, speculation has been high that Bachmann might actually lose her House seat to Democratic challenger Jim Graves. The polls showed a tight race all summer but most surveys suggest that Bachmann with her hefty $15 million war chest, will be back in Congress after the election. 

As one source reports:

According to a poll released [two weeks ago] by theMinneapolis Star-Tribune, Bachmann leads Democratic challenger 51-45 percent, with four percent undecided.

A KSTP/Survey USA poll released Oct. 12 showed Bachmann ahead, 50-41 percent.

Those are fairly convincing numbers.

Jason Easley, writing for PoliticusUSA, gave this assessment for why she has been in such a struggle to hold onto her job: 

But it might be Bachmann’s national political ambitions that will be most responsible for her undoing. Nothing turns off the folks at home like the feeling that they are being used as stepping stones by their ambitious elected officials. Bachmann’s brief presidential campaign also put her right wing extremism on full display. Because of this, it will be nearly impossible for her to come back to the middle and court Independents after what took place on the national stage earlier this year.

Clearly strategists for the Republican Party, which has been the source of a great deal of her support, have decided that Bachmann is worth the risk. And that's revealing decision given her talent for making a spectacle of herself and for making outrageous statements on Fox News. 

Ultimately their decision to back this Tea Party crusader may come back to haunt them and provide the Democratic party a steady stream of outlandish quotes.

__________________________

Related articles

• The Democrat Who Could Unseat Michele Bachmann (truthdig.com)
• Bachmann on defense after W.H. bid (politico.com)
• Welfare queen Michele Bachmann super excited about government she hates building her a new bridge (dailykos.com)
• Michele Bachmann feeling the heat of Jim Graves' challenge (dailykos.com)
• "Michele Bachmann In Danger": The Voters May Just Pray Her Away (mykeystrokes.com)