As you can probably tell, I’m fascinated by the worldview of the contemporary Christian Right and the pols who lust for the votes of politicized conservative evangelicals. It’s remote from anything I would associate with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it has a powerful allure nonetheless, as another example of how badly people revere what they imagine to be the golden age of the recent past that has been displaced by unfamiliar and ungodly influences. Fritz Stern called this the “political of cultural despair” when it arose in Germany early in the 20th century, so interesting its contemporary exemplars want to call their opponents Nazis.
Here are some less tangled midday news/views treats:
* Oh God, a nightmare returns: Linda Tripp offers her pithy thoughts on why Hillary Clinton must be blocked from becoming president. What a shock.
* Just in time for Senate vote on defunding Planned Parenthood, new poll shows 63% of Americans oppose that move.
* Speaking of polls, Monmouth finds Trump leading Bush two-to-one in NH in survey taken entirely after news broke of Trump criticizing McCain’s war record.
* Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) and two staffers indicted on federal charges of misappropriating campaign funds.
* At TNR, Elizabeth Stoker Breunig seems to glory in Pope Francis’ unpopularity with the political left and right.
And in non-political news:
* Pomona College tops Forbes‘ new “top colleges” list.
As we break for lunch, here’s more Charlie Christian, with “Solo Flight.”
