Max Blumenthal’s Republican Gomorrah highlights the hypocrisy, connects the sleazy dots, and demonstrates the true character and history of the Christian right and its hold over the GOP better than any book I have ever read.
Some of the things I didn’t know or remembered reading Republican Gomorrah are as follows:
- Before murdering dozens of women, Ted Bundy worked for the Republican governor of Washington.
- James Dobson, leader of Focus on the Family, interviewed and forgave Ted Bundy for his murders. You can buy the tape today.
- James Dobson’s /son Ryan joins dad in opposing same-sex marriage because it violates the sanctity of marriage. Ryan Dobson is on his second marriage.
- Pat Robertson, who attacks people for premarital sex, married his wife 10 days before the birth of their first child.
- Tony Perkins, current leader of the Christian right Focus on the Family, spoke to the Council of Concerned Citizens in Louisiana. The Council of Concerned Citizens is a white supremacist organization.
- In 1996, Perkins signed a check for $82,500 to David Duke (the former leader of the KKK) for a mailing list of political donors. The Federal Election Commission fined the campaign Perkins was working on for trying to hide the payment to Duke.
- David Vitter, former Republican senator from Louisiana, regularly touted his Christian faith and supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage. David Vitter was caught visiting prostitutes.
- Ted Haggard became a famous and wealthy pastor by championing so-called family values and opposing same-sex marriage. Ted haggard was outed by a male prostitute he regularly paid for sex.
- Larry Craig was a family values Republican from Idaho. He supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. Larry Craig was arrested for soliciting an undercover cop for sex in an airport bathroom.
- Newt Gingrich, whose third and current wife was his former mistress, sells himself as a man of God. He left both of his first two wives while they were hospitalized.
Sadly, Blumenthal demonstrates how many of the hypocrites he details were victims of child abuse. Normally, I would feel more compassion for someone who was abused as a child than I feel for James Dobson, former Republican Speaker of the House Tom DeLay, and the rest. I’m unable to generate much sympathy for them, though, because they have responded to their abusive childhoods by becoming abusive hypocrites. James Dobson, not learning much from his abuse, has sold millions of books encouraging people to hit their children and pets.
Republican Gomorrah is a must read for anyone interested in politics. It’s not a pretty read.
Republican Gomorrah was an entertaining, thought-provoking, important read. If you want to learn more about the twisted relationship between the Christian right and the Republican Party, Republican Gomorrah is a must.