Texas Republicans want a theocracy

When I first saw the Texas Republicans’ 2010 platform, I honestly thought that maybe they had dug up a platform from some long-ago time in America’s infancy. I think the only thing missing is a call for the repeal of the Emancipation Proclamation. But seeing as the document is in .pdf format and the title actually contains the year 2010, we have the unfortunate privilege of witnessing religious discrimination and ignorance in all it’s political glory.

The platform document reads like a battle plan on how to ensure that the fallacy of the US Constitution being founded on Judeo-Christian values continues to exist. It states this view clearly in the Texas Republican Platform. What struck me as particularly short-sighted is the fact that they state the US was founded on Christianity, but maintain that it’s still okay to have religious freedom.

“Judeo-Christian Nation – As America is a nation under God founded on Judeo-Christian principles, we affirm the constitutional right of all individuals to worship in the religion of their choice.”

This may be me coming from a completely different idea of religious freedom, but does that not sound like “Hey, you can worship your own false gods, just remember that you live in a Christian nation and will follow OUR guidelines to what is moral and what is not…”? This Palin-esque misrepresentation of the founding documents and leaders does not lead to MORE personal freedom, but instead results in an attempted theocracy. Did the early settlers and patriots (since Republicans regard patriotism so highly) really want to set up a government that imposed religious laws on its people? Of course not! That’s why they left England; to get away from the Anglican Church and the theocracy/monarchy.

“Safeguarding Our Religious Liberties – We affirm that the public acknowledgement of God is undeniable in our history and is vital to our freedom, prosperity and strength. We pledge our influence toward a return to the original intent of the First Amendment and toward dispelling the myth of separation of church and state. We urge the Legislature to increase the ability of faith-based institutions and other organizations to assist the needy and to reduce regulation of such organizations.

Religious Liberties Abroad – We urge Congress to sanction any foreign government that persecutes its citizens for their religion”

Now, wait a minute… These two articles were consecutive in the platform document. How does one go about stating that the separation of church and state is a “myth?!” I like how they snuck in some BS about deregulation so that faith-based organizations can “assist the needy.” Yeah, like that’s what regulations are in place to prevent. They are in place to prevent greedy fuckers from fleecing people and injecting their bronze-age mythology into our political system. Oh, but wait! They also want Congress to sanction OTHER countries if they persecute their citizens for religious reasons. Now, I know this may be a bit of a stretch for someone who actually BELIEVES that there is a creator of the universe and such deity actually despises gays, but wouldn’t the Christian/Muslim views of homosexuality be persecution?

The blatant bigotry is displayed in the section on homosexuality, “the family”, and other wacko religious incursion into people’s personal lives. According to the Republicans, gays should never receive equal rights for marriage, adoption, health benefits, and “pursuit of happiness”, among others. Plus, we MUST shield the children from the ‘dangerous’ gays that would otherwise infect people with communicable diseases, teach children that everyone should be gay, and sodomize anything in sight.

“Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.”

“We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.”

They actually want it to be LEGAL to openly discriminate against gays! Do any of these assholes wake up in the morning and stop to think about what it is they are saying and trying to enact in our society?

“Texas Sodomy Statutes – We oppose the legalization of sodomy. We demand that Congress exercise its authority granted by the U.S. Constitution to withhold jurisdiction from the federal courts from cases involving sodomy.”

Where is the “Texas Double-Sided Dildo Statute”? Apparently they haven’t been told that straight couples enjoy anal sex as well. Oh, and for the record, do you walk around wondering exactly how every person you meet has sex? Does it matter if someone only fucks doggy-style, or doesn’t get oral except on birthdays and holidays? Is it really any of your fucking business? NO! What happens consensually between two adults in private is exactly that: private. There are no gays going around to schools teaching children how to engage in risky sexual behavior. Stop watching FOX Not-really-News and listening to fear mongering.

I could go on and on about the unthinkable stances these politicians (elected by the ignorant among us) take on issues that affect the lives and happiness of citizens. It’s the usual:

• No stem cell research – Despite the incredible advances in medical abilities from only scratching the surface of this most promising field of medicine. Apparently a small group of cells with no sense of feeling or pain receptors is more important than the suffering of children and adults throughout the world. Bullshit I say!
• No women’s rights to their own bodies – Of course… “Look ladies, we know they’re your bodies and all, but our God says that what you’re doing is wrong. So we would rather have an unwanted child to be born to people who are not prepared (mentally or economically) to have a child than to dare upset our God by you removing a fertilized egg from your body before it has a chance to develop.” After all, chances are high that the fertilized egg will result in miscarriage. If there was a god, He/She/It would be the most accomplished abortion doctor of all time…
• Evolution is “just a theory” so we need to teach Creationism as an alternative theory – Yeah, evolution is a theory; like the “Theory of Gravity” or “Germ Theory of Disease”. Read a single book on evolution you idiots. It’s not that difficult to understand. Same goes for global warming. YES, we as humans are poisoning the Earth. Now stop fighting us who DON’T believe Jesus is coming back in our lifetime to magically fix everything. If you care so much about your children, teach them the TRUTH about the world.

Oh, and I’m wondering who put the document together. I would have expected a uniform font and weight throughout the document. I’d think that an organization would be able to find at least ONE undergrad to proof-read their official platform.

– Jay