Thursday, June 12, 2008

An Exorcist May Be On McCain's Veep Shortlist

Last night I found myself talking politics with a group of friends - all LGBT individuals - and one was trying to make the case as to why they supported McCain rather than Obama, citing the GOP's traditional positions on fiscal responsibility, smaller government, and individual responsibility and freedom. While I love my friend to death, her vision of GOP is out of touch with the reality of just how crazy today's GOP has become. While many moderates try to down play the control over the Party wielded by the fruit loop nutcases of the far right, the truth is that it's the nutcases that would influence McCain's position on many issues, including appointments to the U. S. Supreme Court. As a former GOP activist in my straight life - I was actual "debriefed" by the executive director of the Virginia Democratic Party in Richmond after I left the GOP - I do know what I am talking about in terms of what has happened to the GOP. I left the GOP precisely because the Party was being taken over by the Christianist whack jobs who could not separate fanatical religion beliefs from governmental policy. Thus, my friend's vision is that of a GOP which is long dead and gone.
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In fact, if further proof of the demise of the once rational GOP is needed, one only need look at the talk of Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, as a possible running mate for McCain. You see, Jinadal believes in exorcisms of all things. With Jindal as a running mate, I guess we could expect McCain to nominate a witch doctor to be surgeon general. People truly need to wake up to the fact that the GOP base which directs the Party is CRAZY!! Here are some highlight all about Jindal:
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Bobby Jindal, the 36-year old governor of Louisiana, is being taken seriously by the national press as a candidate on the shortlist to be John McCain's Vice President. No one doubts that he's a political prodigy -- his impressive resume includes stints as president of the state university system, a Congressman and now governor. But one of Jindal's job titles hasn't gotten much attention -- and it just might prompt a few questions if his Veep candidacy gains steam: Exorcist.
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As others noted during his 2003 and 2007 gubernatorial campaigns (see update), in an essay Jindal wrote in 1994 for the New Oxford Review, a serious right-wing Catholic journal, Jindal narrated a bizarre story of a personal encounter with a demon, in which he participated in an exorcism with a group of college friends. And not only did they cast out the supernatural spirit that had possessed his friend, Jindal wrote that he believes that their ritual may well have cured her cancer.
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Reading the article leaves no doubt that Jindal -- who graduated from Brown University in 1991, was a Rhodes Scholar, and had been accepted at Yale Law School and Harvard Medical School when he wrote the essay -- was completely serious about the encounter. He even said the experience "reaffirmed" his faith. . . .
But Jindal's battle with the dark forces may become an issue should his Veep candidacy proceed. While it's hardly a blockbuster revelation, it could provide fodder for bloggers and late-night comics to turn his candidacy into a media sideshow.
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I urge you to read the full story - after the lunacy of the Chimperator, do we want more leadership by those who are not in touch with objective reality? I surely do not.

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