[The Times, U.K.]
Le Figaro, France
U.S. Republicans:
The Reawakening of Moral Intolerance
"There is cause to protest
this equation in which a particular group - the Christian right - has a
monopoly on morality, while all others are presumed to be living in debauchery.
What a paradox for the Republican Party, always hostile to the encroachment of
the state, to have become the champion of religious values imposed by public
force!"
By Nicole Bacharan
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
September 2, 2008
France
- French - Original Article (French)
Nicole Bacharan, a specialist
on American society, a historian and a political scientist, reacts to the
decision of John McCain to select Sarah Palin as his running mate on the
Republican ticket. She also published this week 'The Little Book of the
American Elections' and in October, "Black Americans, from the Cotton Fields
to the White House." (Editions du Panama).
In choosing Sarah Palin,
Governor of Alaska, as a candidate for the vice-presidency, John McCain has
suddenly returned the well-known dispute over moral values to the heart of the
election battle, after eight years of the Bush Administration had given way to
real priorities (recession, terrorism, two wars and increasing tensions in the
world). Up to now, John McCain, not much liked by his party, was trying to
attract independents and moderates. The arrival of Sarah Palin radically alters
this pattern: it greatly polarizes the electorate and has triggered an outbreak of
moral intolerance in the campaign.
Why has 72-year-old John McCain designated as his successor - if elected and in the event something should befall
him - this newcomer who has little domestic policy
experience and no international policy? Of course, Sarah Palin is
a woman (a thumb to Hillary Clinton’s nose), young (a thumb to Obama’s nose), who
can bring modernity and glamour to the Republican ticket. Most important for
McCain is that Sarah Palin is an ultra-conservative Christian, a supporter of
teaching "creationism" (which refutes the theory of evolution), a
fierce anti-abortion activist; and supporter of programs that exclusively promote
abstinence among adolescents and ignores contraception (a hypocrisy that her
daughter is now a primary victim of). The role of this Lady of Ice is
clear: to win the ultra Christian right for John McCain, which up to now has
tended to shun him.
[The
Times, U.K.]
This strategy was concocted
by advisors who, drawing lessons from the defeat of George Bush senior (against
Bill Clinton in 1992), based the political rise of his
son W. on this principle: to win, the Republican candidate must obtain the
votes of Christian conservatives. To convince them to go to the polls, they
must be given assurances on "moral" issues they feel most passionate
about: abortion, gay marriage, stem-cell research. This radicalization is also
that of John McCain.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The point here is
not to criticize the choice of a woman like Sarah Palin, who in fact wanted to
give birth to a child with Down syndrome. But there is cause for alarm to see
in the United States of 2008, an active and very well financed minority trying
to impose the law on private choice. And there is cause to protest this
equation in which a particular group - the Christian right - has a monopoly on
morality, while all others are presumed to be living in debauchery. What a
paradox for the Republican Party, always hostile to the encroachment of the
state, to have become the champion of religious values imposed by public force!
How, at the same time, can it claim the right to bear arms (a position defended
by Sarah Palin) in the name of individual freedom, and oppose the right to
abortion, ie: another freedom of the individual?
[The
Telegraph, U.K.]
Having spent the last several
years examining American society, I have gained the impression that George W.
Bush has pursued a policy far to the right of what most U.S. citizens would
have liked. In 2004, I felt that if a majority of Americans, traumatized by
September 11, entrusted their safety to George W. Bush rather
than the unconvincing John Kerry, they nonetheless didn't want to put religion in charge. I
have met Christians who protested the political use of their faith; young
people (Republicans and Democrats) who lived together without getting married;
citizens who refuse to discriminate against homosexuals … I have seen a people
whose ways of life - east, west, north, south, urban and rural - increasingly
mingle on the Internet, through the arrival of immigrants from around the
world, and the great mobility within the country. In short, I have seen a more
reasonable America, less and less bigoted and warmongering than its caricature
…
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
THE DAILY SHOW ON REPUBLICAN VP PICK PALIN
Is it still the case? If Sarah
Palin is elected despite her political shortcomings, then this image might
perhaps no longer be correct. By choosing this running mate, John McCain runs
the risk of splitting the country again along the moral and religious lines
that have previously hurt him so badly. Since this announcement, the
fundamentalists (according to Ralph Reed, former leader of the Christian
Coalition) have been "beyond ecstasy." They are now fully engaged in
the battle. The Democratic electorate is just as motivated. And already
historical event (with the first Black candidate), the election of 2008 has
also become an in-vivo test of the actual state of American society. But with a
new challenge: the freedom of women.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US September 4, 7:40pm]
