The Bush Theocracy

The following are links to articles and commentary, websites, quotes, information, and SourceWatch Resources regarding The Bush Theocracy.

A "Third Awakening"
During an "1 1/2-hour Oval Office conversation on cultural changes and a battle with terrorists that he sees lasting decades", President George W. Bush told a group of conservative journalists on September 12, 2006, that "he senses a 'Third Awakening' of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists," Peter Baker reported in the Washington Post. It is a war, Bush said, that a "lot of people in America see ... as a confrontation between good and evil, including me."

"Believing in George W. Bush will get you everlasting ...."
"Believing in George W. Bush will get you everlasting deficits, not everlasting life. Believing in George W. Bush will get you everlasting wars, not everlasting life. Believing in George W. Bush will get you everlasting oil company profits and rising gasoline prices, not everlasting life.

"Believing in George W. Bush will mean waiting an eternity for decent health care coverage, an educational system that actually educates, or homeland security that actually secures the homeland. Because of failures in the latter, eternity may come sooner than you think.

"If you've pinned all your hopes of salvation on the fact that you're riding in a hand basket of holiness weaved by George W. Bush, then you should prepare for very warm weather in the hereafter. Make that 'hot' weather, as in sizzling, as in blazing, as in, darn, doesn't it ever rain down here?"&mdash;Glen McAdoo, Lahontan Valley News, May 16, 2005.

Theocratic characteristics
"No matter what the belief system or religion," wrote Lawrence Butt, February 20, 2005, "theocracies all have similar characteristics."


 * 1. The society and its leaders believe they have a divine right.
 * 2. The divine mandate is interpreted in specific political contexts.
 * 3. Civil rights and a code of conduct are dictated by religious dogma.
 * 4. Individual aspirations are subordinate to the priorities of the state/religion.
 * 5. Domestic and foreign policy is guided by a religious ideology.
 * 6. Leaders are part of a theologically trained elite.
 * 7. Leadership is limited by religious dogma and is rarely skilled in economics.

Theocratic opportunity
"... the Pope and his closest advisers are also concerned that the ultimate acts of evil - the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon - were known in advance by senior Bush administration officials. By permitting the attacks to take their course, there is a perception within the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy that a coup d'etat was implemented, one that gave Bush and his leadership near-dictatorial powers to carry out their agenda," according to Wayne Madsen, CounterPunch, April 22, 2003.

Quotes

 * "I do not believe in the separation of church and state, nor did our founders." --Jerry Falwell in a USA Today Chat, August 2, 2000.


 * "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." --George W. Bush, December 18, 2000.


 * "The very first act of the new Bush administration was to have a Protestant Evangelist minister officially dedicate the inauguration to Jesus Christ, whom he declared to be 'our savior.' Invoking 'the Father, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ' and 'the Holy Spirit,' Billy Graham's son, the man selected by President George W. Bush to bless his presidency, excluded the tens of millions of Americans who are Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Unitarians, agnostics, and atheists from his blessing by his particularistic and parochial language.


 * "The plain message conveyed by the new administration is that George W. Bush's America is a Christian nation and that non-Christians are welcome into the tent so long as they agree to accept their status as a tolerated minority rather than as fully equal citizens. In effect, Bush is saying: 'This is our home, and in our home we pray to Jesus as our savior. If you want to be a guest in our home, you must accept the way we pray.'" -- Alan M. Dershowitz, in "Bush Starts Off by Defying the the Constitution," Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2001.


 * "Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ -- to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness.
 * But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice.
 * It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.
 * It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.
 * It is dominion we are after. World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less... Thus, Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land -- of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ." --George Grant, a leading dominionist writer in The Changing of the Guard, Biblical Principles for Political Action (pp.50-51).


 * "When we win this revolution in November, you will be doing the Lord's work, and He will richly bless you for it." --Senator James Inhofe, Christian Coalition rally, October, 2002.


 * "Unlike his father, George W has a vision: reckless war, economic ruin, environmental disaster, and institutional theocracy -- the four horses to our Apocalypse." --Regis T. Sabol, Intervention Magazine, January 8, 2003.


 * "When analysis of local races around the nation becomes available, it will become clear that theocrats have advanced everywhere, gaining control of even more school boards, gaining even more representation in city councils, winning even more seats in state legislatures.


 * "Make no mistake, this election was the keystone of the theocrat coup. All that is left now is carrying out the agenda and changing the laws of this nation irrevocably to gut the Bill of Rights and establish a Dominionist government in America." --Galiel's Diary, Daily Kos, November 3, 2004.


 * "In America, we are in a democracy, not a theocracy, ... God does not take part in partisan politics." --Sen. Harry Reid, (D-NV) New York Times, April 16, 2005.
 * "I cannot imagine that God - with everything he has or she has to worry about - is going to take the time to debate the filibuster in heaven." --Sen. Richard J. Durbin, (D-IL) New York Times, April 16, 2005.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * abortion
 * absolutely good versus absolutely evil
 * Bush administration opportunism
 * Bush regime
 * Bush regime delusions
 * Bush's judicial nominees
 * ChristianExodus.org, Inc.
 * compassionate conservatism
 * Coral Ridge Ministries
 * David Barton
 * Dominionism
 * Faith-based and Community Initiatives
 * Family Research Council
 * fear
 * Focus on the Family
 * Free State Project
 * Georgeland
 * intelligent design
 * James Dobson
 * John Ashcroft
 * Justice Sunday
 * Karl Rove
 * Marvin Olasky
 * Michael Gerson
 * Moral Majority
 * moral values
 * New World Order
 * Feith Based Threat Assessments
 * Officers' Christian Fellowship
 * Pat Robertson
 * religion and empire
 * Religious Right
 * same-sex marriage
 * social conservatism
 * stem cell research
 * Terri Schiavo
 * The Courts: Shifting the Judiciary to the Right ... for Big Business
 * theocracy
 * Theocon

Organizations monitoring or challenging the Religious Right

 * Alliance for Justice
 * Americans for Religious Liberty
 * Americans United for Separation of Church and State
 * Interfaith Alliance
 * People for the American Way
 * Political Research Associates

Published works

 * David Kuo, "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction (2006 book)," Free Press (October 16, 2006), ISBN 0743287126.

Websites

 * Alliance for Justice website.
 * American Theocracy weblog.
 * Americans for Religious Liberty website.
 * Interfaith Alliance website.
 * National Reform Association website.
 * Republican Taliban website.
 * Theocracy Watch website.
 * The Resistance. Resisting the New American Theocracy website.
 * Right Wing Watch Online, People for the American Way website.
 * Veritas Et Ratio website.
 * White House .org website. This is NOT an official government website.

Documents & Reports

 * "Ordering the Courts: Right Wing Attacks on Judicial Independence in 2000," People For the American Way.
 * "TT: Toward Transition or Toward Theocracy?," American Humanist Association, February 2, 2002.
 * House Resolution 153, March 27, 2003: "Whereas humility, fasting, and prayer in times of danger have long been rooted in our essential national convictions and have been a means of producing unity and solidarity among all the diverse people of this Nation as well as procuring the enduring grace and benevolence of God ...."
 * "Christian Coalition Rates the U.S. Senate, 2004."
 * Senate Resolution 520, March 3, 2005: "Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an entity of Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer or agent of Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in official or personal capacity), concerning that entity's, officer's, or agent's acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government."

Propaganda

 * Edward Feser, "How to Mix Religion and Politics," Tech Central Station, March 29, 2005.
 * "Justice Sunday" poster, April 14, 2005.

Related Topics

 * "The Filibuster," Theocracy Watch, with articles dating from January 2005.
 * "Separation of Church and State," Theocracy Watch, last updated December 2005.
 * "Resisting the Theocrats," Refuse and Resist website. Last update July 30, 2006.
 * "Christian Right and Theocracy," Public Eye. Collection of related articles.

2006

 * Sidney Blumenthal, "In Bush we trust. By pandering to Christian zealots, Bush has come close to establishing a national religious party. But reality is crashing in," Salon, March 23, 2006.
 * Russell Cobb, "Cracks in the Christian Ascendancy. Why it's too soon to panic about an American theocracy," Slate, June 27, 2006.
 * John Young, "The unfathomable war against contraception," Waco Tribune (Texas), July 3, 2006.
 * Bill Berkowitz, "GAO report raises serious questions about Bush's Faith-Based Initiative", Media Transparency, August 2, 2006.
 * Dan Froomkin, "Adding Insult to Expulsion," Washington Post, August 3, 2006.
 * Peter Baker, "Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening'," Washington Post, September 13, 2006.
 * Chris Hedges, "Bush’s Nuclear Apocalypse," truthdig, October 9, 2006.
 * John Aravosis, "Tucker Carlson: The Republicans hate evangelicals," AMERICAblog, October 10, 2006.
 * Jonathan Larsen, "Exclusive: Book says Bush just using Christians. 'Tempting Faith' author David Kuo worked for Bush from 2001 to 2003," MSNBC, October 11, 2006. re David Kuo (Larsen is the producer of Keith Olbermann's Countdown.)
 * John Amato, "Olbermann Exclusive: Dissecting new Book: Tempting Faith," Crooks and Liars, October 11, 2006. (WMV and QT formats).
 * John Amato, "Tempting Faith: Christian Conservatives Duped by BushCo. Part II," Crooks and Liars, October 12, 2006. (WMV and QT formats).
 * Jake Tapper and Avery Miller, "Concerns Over Gay Issues Challenge GOP. Differences in Opinion on Homosexuality Threaten to Split the Republican Party," ABC News, October 13, 2006.

2007

 * Robert C. Koehler, "The Crusaders. 'The Christian Taliban is running the Department of Defense'," Common Wonders, May 3, 2007.