12 May 2010 Still looking under their beds at night

12 May 2010 Still looking under their beds at night.


Creeping socialism, Red Scare, Yellow Peril, Fellow Travelers, “Godless, atheistic, Jewish Communists.” These bon mottes and other remnants of the Cold War are constantly being dredged up, in the best J. Edgar Hoover manner, by the GOP, John Birchers, Christian Militias, and others who still look under their beds at night to make certain no Communist is there, placing a mind-control device, to indoctrinate and brain-wash them during the hours of darkness.

Elena Kagan is now going to become rather well reacquainted with these slurs, and others, that will be used in another attempt to tar a well-qualified nominee as a “socialist,” looking to overthrow the Constitution.

The GOP has never been particularly concerned with diversity in political matters. They’ve had no qualms about excluding any minority from the Supreme Court, from representation in Congress, or from any of the other benefits that the Constitution affords to citizens of this nation. WASP rule has been the standard of practice for most of this nation’s life. Catholics have been 2nd class citizens when being considered for the Judiciary, for civic boards, and elected positions until JFK demonstrated that being Catholic in faith did not enslave an American citizen to the Vatican. Then, when the GOP began courting the religious right, using, abortion, homosexuality, and other wedge issues, as bait, the Catholic hierarchy became ensnared by the religious right. Now they share the stage with GOP theocrats – Protestants evangelical fundamentalists who wish to require everyone to behave as they claim we should all behave.

Jews were also excluded from many of the same roles. Despite the Jewish drive to obtain and use education, their excellence in many professional fields of endeavor and their representation in such fields in great excess of their percentage of the American demographic; the GOP has tried to exclude Jews just as they have Catholics, Lutherans, Moslems, and of course, Hindus. We can make the same observations with regard to various ethnic minorities.

Case in point is the current nomination of Elena Kagan. She is an Ivy League educated female of Russian-American parents and is Jewish. There are also persistent rumors that she is a lesbian. Despite the hopes of the GOP, these seem to be unfounded.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37114.html

Kagan if confirmed will become the third Jew on the current SCOTUS bench. The other six members are Catholic, largely a result of the wedge issue politics practiced by the GOP. The evangelicals have suddenly discovered that they will have no presence on the SCOTUS. They have suddenly begun yammering about the need for diversity and the lack of a “fair percentage” in the makeup of the court. This should be very interesting as it plays out.

Kagan is certainly going to be attacked for her academic background, her un-married status, her history as Dean of Harvard Law School. The GOP and Tea Party mobs will want to attack her for her religious background and her writings on socialism. I can hear the voices muttering Commie Jew in any of a dozen planning sessions run by pseudo-conservatives and theocrats. I wonder how long until those words surface.

The religious right’s view on diversity: We’re all for it as long as it means we get to pack the court with WASPs and kick everyone else off.