archived: 1 - 7 May, 2005         Back                 Next

UPDATED:  May 5, 2005 

                        “BILL FRIST’S DECLARATION OF WAR”’
                        “The Coming 2nd Civil War,” No. 11                                 

This column is the eleventh in my “Coming 2nd Civil War” series.  The first Civil War, at its core the defense of black slavery built on the theory of white supremacy and an economy dependent on the institution, began with the firing by South Carolinian shore batteries on the Federal Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor.  History may well mark the beginning of the second one, at the core of which would be the defense of US Constitutional Democracy against the goal of the Republican Religious Right to impose a theocratic-fascist dictatorship in the United States, with the firing of a verbal and political assault led by the Republican Majority Leader of the US Senate, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, in Louisville, KY.   

Whether or not either this war or that dictatorship comes, my friends, the occasion of the Frist speech was an historic one.  The central issue is not whether the filibuster rule in the US Senate should be overturned (for confirmations only, not legislation, let it be noted).  The central issue is why the Republican Religious Right, led by the likes of Frist, wants to do this.  What are their goals for putting as many fellow radical religious rightists on the Federal courts as they possibly can? 

In February of this year, a meeting took place in Fort Lauderdale at the “Coral Ridge Presbyterian” bringing together the central elements of the Christian Right to whom Frist, the two Bushes, and all the other Georgites speak when they talk about “faith” and “religious life.”  The conference was called “Reclaiming America for Christ.”  The Conference opened with the recitation of an oath that their leaders propose for daily recitation in every classroom, public or private, in the country.  It is: "I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands.  One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe." 

A principal Christian Right leader, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, leader of Coral Ridge, has clearly stated their goals: "As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society.  We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors - in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."  This is a clear goals statement for the Republican Religious Right, although most of the time, so far, it does not want the nation as a whole to hear it.  However, sooner rather than later Frist and the rest of the Georgites must be forced to own up publicly as to what their real goals are, or it will all be over before we know it. 

Sen. William Frist is, politically, the third most important Republican leader in the US.  He has attacked the entire Democratic Party for opposing what he calls the "people of faith."  On Sunday, April 24, 2005, he kicked off a nationwide campaign linked arm-in-arm with major leaders of the Christian Right such as Tony Perkins (no, not that Tony Perkins; he of the Bates Motel is dead and, anyway, he was gay) and Pat Dobson.  In pursuit of their goals, the campaign is aimed at making sure that, from now on, the Federal judiciary increasingly will be filled with judges who are on the side of what Frist calls "people of faith."  Accordingly, it would seem useful to examine just what the term as they use it means. 

Perkins and Dobson and all of the other Christian Right leaders have actually told us for years what they want (see my book, The 15% Solution, published in 1996, referenced below).  They often do not use terms quite so bold as those of Rev. Kennedy, but their aim is the same: to establish what they call a “Christian Nation” to replace our traditional Constitutional Democracy, although it is a nation that the majority of Christians would not recognize as Christian.  If the more public Christian Rightist leaders, like Dobson and Perkins and Falwell and Robertson, do not have such an objective, let them be confronted with Kennedy’s words and see if they deny them.  Of course, if they do not share those goals, should the Christian Right as represented by Kennedy and his ilk get the power it seeks, they will go to the stake along with many of the rest of us.  

And so, just who are these “people of faith” for whom Frist is carrying the water?  As they will readily tell you, they are the people who, for example: believe that life begins at the moment of conception and would criminalize the beliefs of all others who disagree with them; believe that homosexuality is both a matter of choice and a sin and would, for openers, deny homosexuals equal protection of the law; believe that only "abstinence" is the correct teaching about sex outside of marriage and would prevent any other approaches, such as those based on science and medical knowledge, from being taught in the public schools; believe that the scientific Theory of Evolution explaining the development of life on Earth is erroneous and would prevent teaching it as well, substituting the Creation Story from the Christian version of the Jewish Old Testament. 

Now, in this context, what does "enemy of people of faith" mean in concrete action?  Does it mean that people who believe as “people of faith” do about when life begins would be forced to have abortions or to provide them, against their will?  Why no.  That they would be forced to allow the marriage of homosexuals in their churches, if not something worse?  Why no.  That they would be prevented from teaching their children, in their churches and in their own homes, that abstinence is the only right approach to sex outside of marriage?  Why no.  That their children would be forced to believe in Evolution on the pain of criminal penalties and that they would be prevented from teaching the Creation Story in their own churches and homes?  Why no.  Has anyone ever heard a Democrat, or even a Secular Humanist like me, ever take that position?     

In fact, the opposition to Frist and the rest of the Georgites in the Republican Religious Right and in the Christian Right movement on whom the former are leaning politically evermore heavily, has nothing to do with what they believe and want to believe for themselves.  The real opposition to them has to do with: preventing them from forcing the rest of us to incorporate into our own belief systems, upon the pain of criminal penalty, the belief that life begins at the moment of conception; preventing them from denying the right to homosexuals of the equal protection under the law that is guaranteed to all Americans under the 14th Amendment; preventing them from excluding from public education teaching about the well-known public health measures that work for dealing with pre-marital sex; preventing them from excluding the teaching of biological science from the public education system and substituting for it the teaching of Bible stories as fact.  

What the "people of faith" are really about is clear: forcing their particular brand of religion and religious thought down the throats of all Americans, not by persuasion and good example, but by massive intimidation, by taking over the Justice system to use it for oppressive and repressive purposes, and ultimately, by the use of the criminal law.  Indeed, these people are correctly called the "My Right to Control Your Lifers." 

Here, once again, is my short definition of fascism: “Fascism is a politico-economic system in which there is: total executive branch control of the government; no independent judiciary; a single national ideology, to which adherence is compulsory, that first demonizes and then criminalizes all political, religious, and ideological opposition; and total corporate determination of economic, fiscal, and regulatory policy.”  Given the ideology of the Kennedy-Dobson-Perkins variety, you can decide if what these people state they want very clearly, in more or less open and strident terms given the circumstances, meet the terms of that definition. 

Does Frist have a right to do what he is doing, politically?  He does.  Our job is make the people of our nation aware of what are the goals of Frist, his Christian Rightist allies, and the Georgite leadership of this party, the Republican Religious Right that is now in power.  Our job is to make it clear to all Americans that the Republican Party has truly become the Republican/Right-Wing-Christian Alliance.  And then our job is to fight back, and restore Constitutional government, as more and more of us, including some of the Democratic Party leadership, are doing, before it is too late. 

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NB:  This column is based in part on my “Short Shot No. 58: Frist’s “People of Faith,” that appeared on The Moving Planet Blog.

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Dr. Steven Jonas is a TPJ contributing author.  He is a Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) and author/co-author of over twenty books. Dr. Jonas is one of America's most perceptive Democratic political analysts.

In his book The New Americanism, Dr. Jonas presents his case that the Democratic Party has come adrift from its founding principles.  He urges the Party to turn to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to find the new vision and mission that it, and our country, so desperately need.  "The New Americanism: How the Democratic Party Can Win the Presidency  is available from Amazon.com (go to "Books;" enter the title) and BarnesandNoble.com (same). 

He is also the author of The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism, 2001-2022, originally published in 1996 under the pseudonym “Jonathan Westminster,” and republished with a New Introduction in 2004, under the same author's name.  The 2004 edition is available at www.barnesandnoble.com (search with author’s name) and www.xlibris.com (click on “Bookstore,” then “Search” with title).  Both versions are available at www.amazon.com (go to "Books;" search with title).