Since the rise of the evangelical right in the '70s and '80s, with charlatans like Jerrry Falwell and Ralph Reed leading the pack, Rethuglican politics has had a tent revival feel to it. Moralizing on issues like contraception, prayer in schools, etc., became part of the Rethuglican act, as they drove evangelicals to the polls to support Rethug policies.
Flash forward to 2014, and the same thing is going on with the Tea Party radicals. As Jack Schwartz writes, these radicals have created, initially within the base of the Rethuglican / New Confederate Party, a political religion from which no deviation from "principles" can be tolerated:
"While a traditional political party may have a line that it won’t cross, the Tea Party has a stone-engraved set of principles, all of which are sacrosanct. This is not a political platform to be negotiated but a catechism with only a single answer. It is now a commonplace for Tea Party candidates to vow they won’t sacrifice an iota of their principles. In this light, shutting down the Government rather than bending on legislation becomes a moral imperative."It gets worse. Every religion needs a demon, and the teabaggers have one, of course, in President Obama and Dems in general. That's apparently why no negotiation, no dialogue, no recognition of the others' position is acceptable to these radicals. To them, it's more than a policy difference, it's a black and white, good vs. evil choice. And therein lies the seeds of totalitarianism if they ever achieve their goals.
