From Jeff Sharlet’s Salon article on Bart Stupak and Joseph Pitt’s house-mates:
In its internal documents, the Family refers to itself as an “invisible organization” and the “prayer cells” into which it organizes politicians as “invisible ‘believing groups.'”
The connotations run wild: part Manson Family, part Al-Qaeda, part Illuminati, part Scientology. I try not to invoke the word “post-modern” much these days, but I can’t think of another word that fits. Well, other than “creepy” and “ludicrous” and “risible” and “scary.”
Thanks to Stupak and Pitts, I learned another interesting word:
Together, they’re poster boys for the evangelical/conservative Catholic alliance known as “co-belligerency,” a culture war strategy designed to take territory within the Democratic Party as well the GOP. [em-phassis mine]
I don’t know if that’s the Family’s word or Sharlet’s own diction, but it raises an eyebrow or two (or three, if your third eye is alarmed.) On Sharlet’s part, it could be rhetorical overload; he’s genuinely –and rightly– concerned about the religious right’s (admittedly smart) tactic to infiltrate both parties to push their agenda forward. But the rest of us –secular left, religious left, or middle, or whatever word choice you wanna make– could take a page from the fanatical fundy insurgency manual and (hopefully) adapt it with more intellectual honesty and transparency.
Anyhoo, just to be self-promoting “hoower”, here’s my relevant cartoon for this week.
