Right Wing Theo-Facist

Paul Krugman Blows Religious Right Influence Over Current Administration Wide Open

Paul Krugman has written one of the most astute op-eds I've seen on the increasing influence of the religious right during the current administration.

Krugman goes deep, quoting Christian Reconstructionist Gary North in his first paragraph (Krugman refers to it as "Deconstructionist"), and more importantly addresses the religious right's theocratic goals with the seriousness they deserve — something mainstream media coverage often fails to do.

From the article:

The infiltration of the federal government by large numbers of people seeking to impose a religious agenda — which is very different from simply being people of faith — is one of the most important stories of the last six years. It's also a story that tends to gounder reported, perhaps because journalists are afraid of sounding like conspiracy theorists.

But this conspiracy is no theory. The official platform of the Texas Republican Party pledges to "dispel the myth of the separation of church and state." And the Texas Republicans now running the country are doing their best to fulfill that pledge.

In the brief op-ed Krugman does a fantastic job of highlighting just a few examples of how this infiltration has impacted policy — ranging from Monica Goodling to presidential appointee to NASA George Deutsch, who "told a Web site designer to add the word 'theory' after every mention of the Big Bang, to leave open the possibility of 'intelligent design by a creator.'"

Krugman continues:

And there's another thing most reporting fails to convey: the sheer extremism of these people.
You see, Regent isn't a religious university the way Loyola or Yeshiva are religious universities. It's run by someone whose first reaction to 9/11 was to brand it God's punishment for America's sins.

Kudo's to Krugman. Maybe this Regent scandal will wake America up to the fact that this threat is real, and that influence over thegovernment is not a far-off goal for the religious right, it's a present day reality.