SHOWING THE SCOUTS SOME LOVE…. The right gets angry about the strangest things.
Seizing on a report from CNS News’ Penny Star, several conservative blogs are attacking President Obama for not speaking in person at the Boy Scouts’ upcoming 100th anniversary jamboree because he will be in New Jersey to speak about the economy before heading to New York City to film an upcoming appearance on ABC’s The View.
On his radio show, Glenn Beck also went after the president over the Boy Scouts’ event, which suggests we may be hearing more about this from the usual suspects.
There’s an obvious response here — this isn’t a snub. The president will address the Boy Scouts’ jamboree via a taped message, and he already showed his appreciation for the group by hosting an Oval Office gathering just two weeks ago.
But if we’re going to talk about politics and scouts, it’s worth remembering that Beck and his cohorts are barking up the wrong ideological tree here. Did you ever notice the right’s hostility towards the Girl Scouts?
A few years ago, James Dobson’s Focus on the Family encouraged Christian fundamentalists to steer clear of the Girl Scouts because it made use of the word “God” in its oath optional. Another religious right group complained about the Girl Scouts’ emphasis on “empowerment,” which Robert Knight argued would “steer” girls “into collective action for liberal causes, such as environmentalism.”
There was also the hatchet job Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote for National Review, which claimed, among other things, that that the Girl Scouts are under the sway of radical feminists and lesbians. “There are currently 2.7 million Girl Scouts in the U.S.,” Lopez said. “That’s a lot of liberal feminists to look forward to.”
And the right wants to complain about Obama sending a pre-recorded message to the Boy Scouts? This is evidence of some kind of scout animosity? Please.
