Yep, the secret is out.  All you heathen Democrats, Independents, Socialists, and all other third partiers better repent and switch affiliations to save your souls, for God is a Republican and anyone not voting the party line is sure to have cast their after-life to hell.

     So, how do we know that the Holy Father is a card carrying member of the Grande Ole Party? Why, we have none other than that darling of the Tea Party, and he of the Mormon faith, Glenn Beck to thank. During Beck’s rally to “Restore Honor” (held on August 28 at the Lincoln Memorial), the self-professed former rodeo clown, claimed to be channeling the words of God during his speech to the assembled masses (got to wonder if he had on his special Mormon undergarments?!?), and remarked that “God dropped a giant sandbag on my head” and that his divine mission was to “wake America up onto the backsliding of principles and values most importantly of God.” Setting aside whether Beck was wearing a hardhat when the giant sandbag descended from the heavens, Beck and his fellow Tea Party compatriots, professed that the rally “had nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with God.” Beck then proceeded to eviscerate the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and adopt a revisionist view of U.S. history, by claiming that the founders of our country desired for a country based on Christian principles and that our nation was now sorely in need of recommitting to this vision of America.

     While Beck’s theatrics at the site of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous speech were nothing more than that which have previously  graced our television screens via the exhortations of Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Falwell, the query still remains as to how does ole Glenn know that God is a Republican? Because the opposition party, the poor misguided Democrats, are led by a man who has adopted the religion of “liberation theology.” Furthermore, that heathen, President Obama is now engaged “in an unholy war on the value of your money.” Wow, and I thought Obama was a Muslim and a foreigner who lacked the necessary qualifications (i.e., a birth certificate) to be president! Little did I realize that Obama is also the heir apparent to Che Guevara and a Marxist! Thankfully, Brother Beck has all the answers, and beside a return to Christianity and a vote for Tea Party candidates, we can also subscribe to Gold Line (which, coincidentally, happens to be a major sponsor of Beck’s radio and t.v. shows) and thwart the nefarious plans of that Beelzebub, Obama.

     Setting aside the hypocrisy of Beck, and the wisdom of ignoring him in the hopes that he is hitting the 14:59 mark of his Warhol 15 minutes of fame, there is an acute danger to Beck’s elixir of politics and religion. Other than the abortion controversy, this country has amazingly been able to sidestep embroiling religious views in political controversies. The importance of such separation is epitomized by an overview of the world’s longest lasting wars, and the fact that virtually all such conflicts are comprised of warring religious sects (the numerous Middle East conflicts,  Northern Ireland and Kosovo to name just a few of the many). By now introducing the ultimate form of demagoguery into this nation’s political debate, Beck has gone beyond our country’s normal partisan political discourse. When one attempts to champion his political cause by claiming that god is on his side, by necessity, the opposition becomes inherently evil. This demonization of portions of the electorate is, at least, heavily steeped in anti-intellectual sophistry (its much easier to resort to demonization of one’s opponent than to engage in true intelligent debate), and, at worse, a precursor to civil conflict.  And, Beck does not appear to be alone in his quest to lay claim to divine endorsements of political positions.  The chairman of the Hawaiian Republican party has castigated opposing gubernatorial candidates as not being “righteous” and that his party’s candidate is backed by the “power and authority of the name of Jesus.” And, that ultimate Republican femme fatale, Ann Coulter, has weighed in with the haughty claim that Obama is an aetheist.

     Paradoxically, it’s one of the rights contained in the First Amendment (freedom of speech) that is allowing these elements to eschew the amendment’s companion right, freedom of religion. One wonders how much longer it will be before we revisit the misinterpretation of modern music, ala various politicians’ adoption of Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” as a campaign tome, and we will witness the first divine endorsed politician to adopt the Dylan penned “With God on our Side.”