The Hate Business

Franklin Graham is at it again, in this Washington Post article today. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't like Buttigieg.)

The Religious Right--of which Graham has become the chief spokesperson--has nothing much to do with religion. It's just a big business, and its business is hate. And for Graham, business has never been better (nor more profitable). He goes out of his way to express this hatred in new ways whenever he can. Very "innovative". Kind of the Steve Jobs of hate.

It's almost comical to see him act out his pseudo-morality. Moral absolutism for LGBTQ, moral relativism for Trump and the rest of the right-wing hate brigade. Graham can't even get his own beliefs right.

In short, he has become a pretty disgusting human being. If there is any positive use for the guy, it's that he's so obviously on the wrong side of morality, history, and politics, that he is a useful gauge to know where the right side is.

Democrat?

I have pretty much considered myself a socialist of some sort ever since I read Michael Harrington's Socialism back in the 1970s. But unlike many of my socialist comrades, I pretty much also considered myself a Democrat.

After the last few days, watching the Democratic establishment/leadership (at least in both houses of Congress and DNC) fail to explicitly defend Ilhan Omar, I think my days of calling myself a Democrat are over. These same leaders (Pelosi, Hoyer, Schumer) were very quick to throw Rep. Omar under the bus with false accusations of anti-Semitism. Now they are largely silent.

As Rep. Tliab accurately tweeted:

They put us in photos when they want to show our party is diverse. However, when we ask to be at the table, or speak up about issues that impact who we are, what we fight for & why we ran in the first place, we are ignored. To truly honor our diversity is to never silence us.

In fairness, with a few disappointing exceptions, most of the Democratic presidential candidates came out strongly in support of Omar, some quicker than others. Even the Third Way came out with a stronger defense than Pelosi, Schumer, Hoyer, and Perez. So much for solidarity.

One of the ironies of this affair is that many establishment Dems and HRC supporters are consistently telling me that Bernie Sanders is not a real Democrat. But Bernie, along with Elizabeth Warren, was among the first to strongly and unequivocally stand behind Omar. Maybe he's not a "real" Dem, but he is usually way ahead of the supposed "real" Dems when it comes to doing the right thing and pushing the right policies. As I said elsewhere, the Speaker of the House may not have Rep. Omar's back, but Bernie does.

It's pretty embarrassing.