Hillary: Christian Warrior

Mother Jones has a really disturbing article on Hillary Clinton's 15-year-history with The Fellowship (aka "The Family), a secretive religious group that has, at its core, shades of Dominionism. They're the ones who organize the National Prayer Breakfast every year, at which the president speaks, which is their only public event.

Clinton's been an active member of the Capitol Hill cell of The Fellowship ever since arrived in D.C. in 1993, and her "collaborations with right-wingers such as Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) grow in part from that connection." Given its Dominionist leanings, the group naturally appeals disproportionately to Republicans—although there are Democratic members, too, in addition to Clinton (like Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor, who believes "the separation of church and state has gone too far").

The secretive group has its roots in anti-Communism and anti-unionism, has members associated with the anti-union Christian management movement, and is comprised of "a network of sex-segregated cells of political, business, and military leaders dedicated to 'spiritual war' on behalf of Christ… The Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God's plan."

If you're starting to think something along the lines of "The more I hear about this group, the less I like it" (or, perhaps, "What the fuckity fuck?!"), you're not alone—and it's about to get worse.

In an interview with the United Methodist Reporter, [Clinton] expressed regret that her church had focused too much on social gospel concerns in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, "to the exclusion of personal faith and growth." The spirit, believe theological conservatives, matters more than the flesh. Clinton added that she was happy to see her liberal denomination becoming more salvation centered in the '90s.

In case you can't easily extract the important political sentiment from that mélange of garbled godspin, let me translate for you: There's no point wasting all our energy on "social gospel concerns" like poverty or equal rights, because "the spirit matters more than the flesh," so eternal salvation is the key, not "having stuff" (like food, or rights) on earth.

In other words, it's the same crock of total shit the rightwing's been selling their ignorant base for years—that it's more important to vote for the guy who loves the Baby Jebus than the guy who's going to make sure your kids have healthcare.

Put that in a mixer with anti-unionism, pro-corporatism, and sex-segregated Christian warriorship, with a twist of manifest destiny, and it makes for a rather nasty concoction that I'm none too disposed to drink.

I keep wanting to like Hillary; I keep wanting to feel like it won't be a terrible disappointment if (when?—sigh) she gets the eventual nomination. But it's just not happening.

Bleh.

[Thanks, Lauren.]