Why would the newspaper mention that Henry County Commissioner Steven Baden, who has been indicted for menacing by stalking, is a Republican? What do political views have to do with a possible sex crime?A fair question. The answer, I think, has much to do with the decades-long attempt by GOP propagandists to smear Democrats and liberals as sexually abnormal. In fact, many conservatives have involved themselves with pedophilia, a far worse crime than stalking. At this point, one must stop asking if a link exists between pedophilia and right-wing ideology. Better to ask why it exists.
Personally, I don't have a prescriptive or proscriptive attitude toward any type of sexual activity (even the most unusual varieties), as long as all parties are consenting adults. Child abuse, of course, exists in a very different realm -- a realm beyond rationalization or exculpation. That's why every American who ever bought into the right-wing propaganda about the "party of virtue" should be forced to view the catalogue of horrors listed on the page labeled Stop Republican Pedophilia.
Nearly every week brings fresh examples. Here's the latest:
Item: On Tuesday, a high-ranking spokesman for Homeland Security, Brian Doyle (55) was arrested for trying to seduce a "14 year-old girl" he met on an internet chat room. The adolescent was actually a Sherrif posing as a girl; one breaks the law when one tries to arrange sex with someone underaged, even if the "victim" is masquerading. Apparently, this was not one isolated chat -- he had gone to great lengths to court the "girl" over a period of time. News stories do not specify his party registration, but one may easily guess.
Item: In a story headlined "Sex Tourism Thriving in Bible Belt," we learn that Atlanta, Georgia -- a city run by and for fundamentalists -- has become America's answer to Bangkok:
"Men fly in, are met by pimps, have sex with a 14-year-old for lunch, and get home in time for dinner with the family," said Sanford Jones, the chief juvenile judge of Fulton County, Georgia.An overwhelming proportion of Georgians consider themselves Christians. Oddly enough, you don't see these kinds of news stories coming out of post-Christian Europe.
A new federal law passed in 2003 ensures that American sex tourists landing on foreign soil and hiring prostitutes under the age of 18 can get 30 years in prison.
But in Georgia, punishment for pimping or soliciting sex with a girl under 18 is only five to 20 years, according to Deborah Espy, the Deputy District Attorney of Fulton County.
"Men are coming to Atlanta to have sex with a child," said LaKendra Baker, project manager for the Center to End Adolescent Sexual Exploitation (CEASE).
Half of the street-level prostitutes in Atlanta are believed to be under 18, according to experts.
Others are booked through Internet sex sites and from social sites like Black Planet, where girls innocently post profiles, said Baker.
Item: Clifton Bennett, a young adult whose father is Arizona Senate President Ken Bennett (Republican), was a camp counselor entrusted with the care of a number of younger boys. He anally raped his victims -- 18 children in all -- with brooms and flashlights. Thanks to a bargain struck with prosecutors, Clifton will do two years (maybe less) and has signed a plea bargain describing his actions as "non-dangerous and non-repetitive offenses."
Bennett will not be reigstered as a sex offender.
And, keep in mind that if a 17-year-old has consensual sex with a 20-year-old in Arizona, that 20-year-old could be convicted of a felony and forced to not only serve jail time, but to be registered as a sex offender.Shame on you if you think his father's position as a Party Gauleiter has anything to do with this lenient treatment.
Item: The American military is predominantly Southern, Christian, and Republican. Keep that in mind as you read this report of what really happened at Abu Ghraib:
I saw [redacted] ***ing a kid, his age would be about 15-18 years. The kid was hurting very bad and the covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard the screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn't covered and I saw [redacted], who was wearing the military uniform putting his **** in the little kid's ***. I couldn't see the face of the kid because his face wasn't in front of the door. And the female soldier was taking pictures.That's the part of the Abu Ghraib scandal they've been hiding from you all this time.
Here are a few selections from the Stop Republican Pedophilia web site:
* Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters."Well, it happens on both sides," apologists might say. But it doesn't -- not nearly to this degree. I am not saying that no liberal has ever committed an offense against the underaged. But try this experiment: Google the words "Republican child molesters," then google "Democratic child molesters." Tell me what you find.
* Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.
* Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
* Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.
* Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.
* Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.
* Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.
* Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
* Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.
* Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
The evidence is clear, the data are in, the pattern is overwhelming: Child abuse and conservatism are linked. Psychologists must study this linkage; future editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders should cite ideology as one indicator of a potential for pedophilia. It's no longer a question of if the link exists, but why.
22 comments:
I think we already know why, at least in general terms.
The high levels of intolerance seen among "social conservatives" is a form of sociopathology which, in the last 25 years, has been tapped and legitimized by the Republican party. These people are not aware of their own natures; they lack that fundamental self-reflexivity which distinguishes humans from reptiles. And they cannot control their urges or see their own hypocrisy and the unresolved contradictions of their characters.
Add this to Bibilical literalism and the sexual repression common to such literalist traditions, and you've got a party of child molesters and habitual liars who themselves no longer know the truth.
Same reason Elvis wanted Nixon to make him his anti-drug rep. These guys figure that if they take a strong position against their "vice" publically it will force them to change privately and no one will know they were ever part of it.
It is all about pride. Think about all the folks who are "proud they are saved." You don't see the apostles in the bible running about saying that. So it has very little to do with the bible and everything to do with pride.
sofla said:
I'm not sure that Dems aren't in these things, and perhaps at about the same levels of involvement. There was that member of the House, a Mel somebody from Illinois, who got nailed for this. When they had the Congressional 'intern' scandal, one Rep had a minor boy, and one had a minor girl. The one with a minor boy was re-elected, and forgive me, but I'm thinking he was a Democrat.
In any case, it just isn't true that this doesn't happen in 'post-Christian' Europe, whatever that term means. In Brussels, the capital of Belgium, seat of the EEU parliament and hq for NATO, **400,000** people hit the streets in protest to a very high level pedophilia ring run out of and covered up by the top authorities, which had kept a high level case from coming to justice for several years, and including the killing and/or 'suicides' by the prosecutors. That protest occured on ... 9/10/01... and was quickly replaced in the headlines with something else the next day.
it makes perfect sense, really.
if you've got a spiffy religion on your sleeve, then you've got a "get out of jail free" card. not literally-- although, in some cases, that actually does conveniently apply.
commit a crime? just ask the good lord for forgiveness and you're off scott free. the other christians won't mind-- in fact, they'll most likely help you as you're "recovering" after you've "strayed from the path".
because, you know, mmm hmm, we're all just a bunch of heathen sinners, oh yes, and it's just our human nature to do evil, bad things. that's right. oh yes, you know, we just can't help it. praaaaaise the lord.
enter, the republican party. riddled with scandalous corruption and depravity left and right. try to muck out -that- barn and you'll be scooping crapola for years and years and years.
it's pretty simple really. they all just tend to migrate towards a style of "believing" that's convenient for there their nasty, cruel lifestyles.
sure, not all christian folks are child molesters or corrupt politicians. there are some good christians out there.
chances are, though, you'll never find them in a church or on the Tv. chances are, they don't even use the title 'christian' at all.
True conservatism is not linked with child abuse. What you have here are evil people hiding behind the FACADE of Judeo-Christian values. They call themselves conservatives and pretend to be Christians because most people in America are and they need their votes for power.
Case in point - the infamous Larry King of the Franklin Cover-up was a Democrat party activist but changed parties when he saw that he could rise to power more quickly as a Republican.
The Democratic Party will never hold on to power until they drop their stance on abortion and gay marriage because true Christians could never defect to a party that supports that.
I always shake my head when I see those bumper stickers that say "Jesus was a liberal." Jesus was a liberal but not a democrat because Jesus would never allow any "fruit of the womb" to be cut up and cut out. Nor would he sanction Sodom and Gomorah.
So you see...the facist Nazi regime that has become the GOP has us caught between a rock and a hard place and there is nowhere for true Christian conservatives to go any longer.
"The Democratic Party will never hold on to power until they drop their stance on abortion and gay marriage because true Christians could never defect to a party that supports that."
Oh, please, this is just more of the same. Child molesters also think they're "true Christians."
As far as I know, Jesus had nothing to say about either abortion or homosexuality. He did, however, have a great deal to say about wealth, duties to the poor, turning the other cheek, etc.
How many "true Christians" want to hear that making money off people is evil? That accumulating wealth is evil? That prosecuting war is evil?
"True Christianity" is unliveable; people who try either go mad or drop out altogether. Or they become foaming evangelicals who express their insufferable faith through intolerance of others. Anyone who takes scripture literally can only go done this route. There is no pure path. Deistic religion is tolerable only when its a Sunday social event. Take it literally, and you'll either burn yourself, or start burning others.
LONG list of GOP perverts.
Some links available in one of the replies.
Dem/GOP doesn't matter. But it sure is telling that it's the "family values" crowd who seems to get caught with their pants down most often.
And let's just relive those fond memories of Jeff Gannon while we're at it.
Washington Times article about child prostitutes in the White House under Poppy Bush:
http://www.voxfux.com/features/bush_child_sex_coverup/franklin.htm
this is a fascinating topic.
i think first of all it's important that we all recognize that this very sick problem is not a function of republicans or democrats, per se. that is, in theory. as alluded to in the comments by various permutations of anonymouses (anonymice?), many humans have great difficulties with ambiguity and nuance, so they often gravitate to structure, rules, pre-digested answers for security. the difficulties or fears of these things remain, but are temporarily kept at bay by the delusion of security to be found in structure and rules. and the difficulties exist on a gradient and not in neat categorical cubbies, and so does the flight to authority and safety in rules and structure.
at the increasingly pathological end of this spectrum, folks tend to project their own fears onto others; makes them feel not quite so uniquely monstrous or sinful. they also tend to really insist on structure for more than themselves; they demand it for everyone, and that structure MUST be to their own liking, their own dictates. this is by definition power lust, and with power comes the delusion of invincibility. the pathological craving for power is nevertheless always threatened by the subconscious truth of fears of weakness and vulnerability, so of course these folks will bully the weak, and they will molest the young. all to guard themselves against the threat of those awful truths of their own imperfections, their own weaknesses, their own sins. the inability to accept their own failings leads them to condemn them in everyone. it makes them feel bigger than they really are.
it is therefore not surprising that this republican party (not, mind you, that of lincoln or ike)has attracted so many perverts. this party is the expression of all that fear of one's own weakness and sinful impulse writ large and crystallized into a full-blown party of rule-giving, mind-taking, authoritarianism. the christianity is not a masquerade; it is the same old religious fundamentalism that has plagued humanity since the dawn of religion. fear of ambiguity, fear of nuance, fear of differences, fear of the feminine, and on and on, drive these sad little men to try to bottle it all up, to devastating consequences. i'm not trying to push a freudian agenda, as i don't agree that the primary impulse is sexual. however, i do respect freud's awareness of unconscious motivations for actions, especially the socially deviant ones. and i also would say that at least those who are suffering from so much fear of their own truths that they retreat into the unbending rigidity of authoritatianism cannot help but expose their pathologies sexually. that is, after all, our most fundamental vulnerability, so they must prove their power in that way. put another way, does it make any sense whatsoever that a person so consumed with fear that they must acquire power over others any way possible, does it make sense for such a person to have a healthy sex life? think about it.
so again, it's not so much a direct relation between pedophilia and republicans, but there sure as hell is a relation, and only removed by one degree of separation.
as for the christianity perspective, i'd have to also remind everyone that jesus had not one word to say for these two issues of abortion and homosexuality that so-called christians have taken up as their modern crusade. to presume that jesus would have led this charge is to have missed not only the explicit words he is said to have uttered, but to have missed the actions of his life and his mission. the larger point of these is that he would never have considered condemning ANYONE, A-N-Y-O-N-E, for whatever lives they had to suffer or whatever decisions they were forced to make to survive. that, it seems to me, is just so thoroughly missed by this misguided application of "christian" principles as to be purely paradoxical.
and i would add here, a little to the side of this topic (though ultimately, not really), that what many christians believe to be the message of christianity are not really the message from jesus but from paul, who never met the man, actually persecuted his followers for many years, and then threw his own fears of women and gays into the discussions of what the life and mission of jesus the man held for anyone who cared to listen. paul's letters harbor a disturbing misogyny and homphobia that i have never been able to square with the enlightened life of jesus, who existed on a plane where there is just no point in condemning anyone. moreover, as one commenter so aptly noted, the only incident that aroused this man's wrath was not homosexuals or abortion or even whores or tax collectors or lepers, but money lenders.
so i would appeal to those christians out there who are misplacing (in my humble opinion) your religious passions in misguided pauline frailties to instead use all that energy and conscience to reflect the true passions of the man whose life and teachings you claim to follow. get out there and use your moral high ground to literally 'turn the tables' upside down on our capitalist society. which is after all, destroying civilization in a million big and little ways. pedophilia not least among them (consider just for a sec how money talks in such circumstances, from payoffs to bribery, etc., to keep the practice alive).
republicans are, after all, the capitalist party as well as the party of power. and if true christians, as well as true american patriots, are what they say they are, the republicans will also become the party of shame.
sofla said:
Actually, apart from Mel Reynolds and Garry Studds, I cannot think of another Democratic politician hooked up with pedophilia. IF Larry King (not the talk show host, but the African-American guy from Nebraska) was originally a Democratic activist (as I've never heard of before, despite having read the Franklin Coverup), was he running his 'call-boy' service then as well?
But as for worldwide, either Xymphora or Rigorous Intuition had a list of pedophiliac goings on which was universal, in almost any country you can think of. Seems to be a part of the corrupt power structure, wherever it is.
Don't know if the guy was Republican, but NASA HQ was recently raided and the computer of a program director was seized. He been snared in a sting the year before. He had not been arrested as of a few days ago.
http://p216.ezboard.com/frigorousintuitionfrm10.showMessage?topicID=3761.topic
Egh.
Child abusers, and those who rationalize their actions, make my skin crawl. They're the kind of "human embodiment" of evil that make me want to shred my pacifist card and start paying gangsters to exterminate them for the good of society overall. Since that would apparently also rid the world of many conservatives, only my belief in the important of civilization (something the vile scum who remorselessly hurt children don't share) keeps me from considering this option.
Joseph, you were brave to wade through these waters in order to compose this entry. I hope you got yourself a nice, long shower after completing it. I know I'll need one after reading some of these comments.
Anthropologist Edward Hall writes that external vs. internal locus of control is a key difference between cultures. Rape and child abuse can easily take place if you remove the safeguards from a group who have traditionally had external controls. In the old-style extended family, abuse would have had witnesses. In the nuclear family or a residential school, this isn't the case.
Most Republicans are authoritarian personalities who depend on an external locus of control - either real or imaginary - to maintain order. Remove the chaperone and the fear of punishment, and they revert to doing what comes naturally! Most liberals, for all their concern about environmental factors contributing to social problems, have more practice at self-control.
I think it's pretty clear by now: people who crave authority, are attracted by religious apocalypse and demand rigid social norms (for others) do so because they fear their own impulses and drives.
There are no doubt liberal child-molesters. But its clear that people who foam at the mouth at the idea of, say, contraception or consensual adult sex or "secular humanism" have some special pathology they're nursing.
So it's makes perfect that most of these people would be attracted to the Republican party, which encapsulates that very pathology -- fear, self-loathing, unacknowledged guilt and impulses.
I want everyone who has read Joseph's post on Republican Child Abuse to go out and rent the movie "Happiness" on DVD which includes fine performances by Seymour Hoffman amongst others.
The main theme is pedophilia and the extremes to which the conservative, lying, suburban, father of two children goes to pursue victimizing little boys.
This film was backed by Warner Brothers and slated for national distribution but then the subject matter became so hot they had to back out and so this film only played a short time on independent theater screens before being relegated to the land of DVD rentals.
I saw this film a few months ago and it has haunted me ever since. The film doesn't state whether the abuser is a Republican but from his lifestyle and conservatism it suggests he is probably a Republican.
The most shocking thing: the abuser will go to any lengths (including putting his entire family to sleep) to purse his prey (raping little boys) and hiding his actions and rationalizing what he has done.
If this conservative, upstanding pillar of the community is willing to go to the lengths portrayed in this movie, then just imagine the lengths that these pedophilia groups of rightwing conservatives will go in order to continue their abusive practices, hide their actions as well by buying up the mainstream media cable TV stations, newspapers and other media corporations, control congress and the senate and the presidency. These folks know they are sick, sick, sick bastards and don't care and so they become control freaks in order to continue what they have been doing over the past few decades in their secret societies only hinted at in the sex parties that were shown in the landmark film, "with closed eyes" starring nicole kidman and tom cruise.
These folks are sicker than heroin or crack addicts and they have developed strong groups/clubs so that they can cover each other such as what happened in the Franklin Conspiracy as mentioned earlier.
Pedophilia is the absolute worst of the mental illnesses and these folks who practice this on little boys and girls are sickos who can't help themselves and are willing to do anything to hide and continue what they are doing.
All this talk from the redstates and Carl Rove about the degenerate lifestyles of homosexuals and lesbians is just the kettle calling the pot black. Carl Rove while he may be married to a woman I have no doubt that he definitely prefers sex with men, young men, probably young boys over having the obligatory sex he probably is forced to have once a year with the wifey. Ken Blackwell is another sicko ready to screw anything that moves but particularly teens. he is just so absolutely incredibly gross. No I haven't slept with these sickos either so don't come looking for me.
shame on the folks that control the Republican party and have turned it into some sicko fascist neonazi pedophilia organization where sex with their real wives is considered a chore and done as infrequently as possible.
Gotta love The Blade, one of the few papers to do some real digging into the Tammany Hall-like corruption in Ohio. One of the only papers to do any actual journalism! They've come real close to digging into the stolen elections but have been following the money instead which probably makes sense.
In the meantime, as we await the latest revelations from Ohio, let's turn our attention to that other state known for election fraud--Florida, where Clint Curtis is mounting a congressional bid in Florida against Tom Feeney. As many of you know, Curtis was the programmer hired by Feeney to write election-stealing software a few years back. Since then, much has happened, including the suspicious death of the Florida Inspector General Raymond Lemme looking into the matter and the total media clampdown of any serious discussion of electronic election manipulation in Florida and across the nation. Curtis, a former Republican, became so disgusted by what he saw that he became a whistleblower. The whole sordid tale is chronicled on www.bradblog.com.
Here's Curtis in his own words:
My name is Clint Curtis. I am running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida's 24th Congressional District. This great district is currently represented by one of the most corrupt politicians in history. Having personally attended closed-door meetings where Tom Feeney spoke candidly about his aspirations of corruption forces me to provide this district with an alternative to this man. I will need your help.
http://www.clintcurtis.com
Now Curtis is now taking on the VERY well-funded Feeney. He promises to fight for fair elections and to expose electronic vote fraud. He is the ONLY candidate who will take it to the NeoCons on this issue.
Because of his willingness to take on election fraud, I believe Curtis may be the single most important candidate for the progressive community to promote. Please visit his web site and offer to help, donate even $5 if you can spare it, and help spread the word. It's time to TAKE BACK AMERICA--and Mr. Curtis may be own only chance of overcoming a rigged election system.
http://www.clintcurtis.com
When a person represses their core identity and their most basic, primal desires, they have to find a way to live within their own skin. For many, far-right evangelical Christianity provides a platform for doing this. By becoming a part of this dominionistic community, they can safely project their rage and sexual frustration on those who refuse to live by the same code of denial and repression - those who refuse to deny who they really are.
I suspect that Jeff Gannon/James Guckert spent 200+ nights at the White House with someone who knows a great deal about this subject.
Kim in PA
Kim in PA: shall we make a guess?
me thinks it was none other than karl rove and Bush so Karl couldn't have all the fun to himself.
Perceptive comments. Thanks to each and every one of you. Joe can be proud of his readers.
Joe is. Sometimes he's in awe of their wisdom.
Except, perhaps, for the ones who keep harping on controlled de...no, I had better not finish that thought.
News stories do not specify his party registration, but one may easily guess.
Wizbang just proved he's a Democrat, dumbass.
Google the words "Republican child molesters," then google "Democratic child molesters." Tell me what you find.
I found that liberals are more likely to think that pedophilia has some sort of boundry based on political affiliation. Psychologists (and not jackasses like yourself) know otherwise.
And just which psychologists are you citing, Jason? Or are you pulling your "facts" out of the place other Republicans prefer to fill?
I've already made the correction regarding Doyle. Note that Wizbang, whcih cited my piece, did not dare touch any of the other examples I provided.
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