The Inevitable Lincoln/Darwin/D-Day Post

Lots of hubbub today over birthdays. As fate would have it, 164 years after Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day, I came into being. If you simply MUST make me pair all three together, well, fine, I will, but I take no pleasure in it.

We do a disservice to these great men by following the accident of history and drawing too many parallels, but certainly neither was afraid of the occasional truth in a world all too burdened with falsehood. Darwin had the courage to follow facts instead of dogma and set a path for evolutionary biology that is as wondrous as it is grounded in science. As he said in the final line of On The Origin Of Species:

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

As for Lincoln, I've often praised him for his political foresight, his acknowledgment of the realities of a house divided, and his work to save the union. Here's President Barack Obama today.

Obama pointed out that the men building the Capitol wondered whether each workday would be their last, fearing that the metal they were using in the construction would be requisitioned for use in the war. "When President Lincoln was finally told of all the metal being used here, his response was short and clear: 'That is as it should be,' " he said. "The American people needed to be reminded, he believed, that even in a time of war, the work would go on; that even when the nation itself was in doubt, its future was being secured; and that on that distant day, when the guns fell silent, a national Capitol would stand, with a statue of freedom at its peak, as a symbol of unity in a land still mending its divisions."

Which is nice and all, but I prefer Cooper Union, cutting through the rhetoric of his opposition and speaking the truth of how they seek only to have everyone be placed "avowedly with them," and how "They will continue to accuse us of doing, until we cease saying." It is truth that binds these two.

And truth that imperils them. The Gallup poll showing that only 39% of Americans believe in evolution is very dangerous, not just for our future as a competitive nation educationally and economically, but dangerous to the idea of rationality, which those who believe in must protect with an eternal vigilance. It is ignorance - ignorance of history, ignorance of facts, ignorance of reality, whether by design or by accident - that has brought us to the crisis where we now find ourselves, both domestically and abroad. There will always be those who counter thought with the need to believe - and hey, if anyone wants to pick up a quick 6 trillion dollars, talk to the Islamic creationist in that article who's offering that sum for anyone who shows him a fossil proving evolution - and there must always be those who lighten those dark corners with reason before it envelops. In many ways, that's a core purpose of the progressive blogosphere - aha, I knew I could find the connection somewhere!!!

I say all that to say this - the Library of Congress has released several never-before-scanned photos of Lincoln onto their Flickr page, including this slick one showing Lincoln with the Johnny Cash look:



In solidarity, I am not wearing my hair the same way today. But I appreciate Abe and Charles' contributions ... especially because otherwise, the next most-famous celeb on this birthdate is Lorne Greene.

The Palin Zig-Zag

Let nobody think that Sarah Palin was picked solely to excite Hillary Clinton-supporting women to vote for McCain. The base of the party wants none of that, and Palin herself has called Clinton a whiner. While Palin might sweep up a handful of low-information women, the real meaning of this pick was to fire up the grassroots base, those who can't stand those fancy-pants elites in the GOP with all their experience and governing. They want someone who believes this is a Christian nation:

Here's a "ca-ching" moment for Evangelicals. John McCain's new vice-presidential running mate signed a proclamation back in October of 2007 which emphasized the Christian heritage of America.

You can read the proclamation that she signed below:

WHEREAS, the celebration of Christian Heritage Week, October 21-27, 2007, reminds Alaskans of the role Christianity has played in our rich heritage. Many truly great men and women of America, giants in the structuring of American history, were Christians of caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their faith.

The theocon wing of the conservative base is energized. Even Ralph Reed is unafraid to come out of the woodwork and suggest that social conservatives are "getting back on the field." Of course, they're getting on the field a couple months too late. But they're getting on and they'll be put right to work.

This wasn't a pick to satisfy women. It was a pick to satisfy the base. I think Sen. Kerry has it right - this shows McCain as completely hostage to his far right Christianist wing. This is a proxy pick, and the DC establishment is pretty much misreading it.

The question is whether or not that base is big enough in 2008, or whether Americans have completely tuned out the kind of Christian Dominionism which this pick represents. The challenge for the Obama campaign is to make sure Palin's far-from-the-mainstream views are fully broadcast. Right now independents like her, though they may not see her as ready to take over the Presidency. I'd mention the abuse of power investigation - but I'd harp on the creationism and the Dominionism and the opposition to abortion in the case of rape or incest.

They Think You're Stupid

The early results are not promising:

The first national polls on John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin yesterday came out today from Rasmussen and Gallup -- and contrary to what the GOP probably hoped, she scored less well with women than men.

Here's a finding from Gallup: Among Democratic women -- including those who may be disappointed that Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination -- 9% say Palin makes them more likely to support McCain, 15% less likely.

From Rasmussen: Some 38% of men said they were more likely to vote for McCain now, but only 32% of women. By a narrow 41% to 35% margin, men said she was not ready to be president -- but women soundly rejected her, 48% to 25%.

This seems to me like a classic example of a bunch of men deciding what women would want. Palin's gender is not nearly as important as her views on women's issues. She is aggressively anti-choice, is likely to be anti-birth control and wants our kids to be taught creationism. She doesn't believe in global warming and doesn't know anything about Iraq. Women are far more likely to look at the facts and not the chromosomes when it comes to this; if the first female Vice President is an unqualified disaster it sets back the cause of feminism years. That's unfair but just factual. And women are going to vote for someone who needs quick tutoring from an old man before he dies (that's the MCCAIN CAMPAIGN'S FRAMING):

Mr. McCain’s advisers said Friday that Mr. McCain was well aware that Ms. Palin would be criticized for her lack of foreign policy experience, but that he viewed her as exceptionally talented and intelligent and that he felt she would be able to be educated quickly.

“She’s going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years, and most doctors think that he’ll be around at least that long,” said Charlie Black, one of Mr. McCain’s top advisers, making light of concerns about Mr. McCain’s health, which Mr. McCain’s doctors reported as excellent in May.

I agree with Molly I - the McCain campaign believed the PUMA hype to such a degree that they thought going with a woman as some kind of bone to throw would be enough. It's classic Republican superficial thinking. And it's not going to work.

Huckabee's Own Shag Fund - For Shag Carpets, And More

The new frontrunner in Iowa is starting to attract some scrutiny across the media. This article from the Los Angeles Times offers a good compendium of the more damaging charges. Obviously there is the insufficient fealty to tax cuts and inappropriate concern for sick kids and poor people in Arkansas (I mean, can you imagine?). Huckabee has signed the Grover Norquist "no new taxes" pledge, so maybe that's not a problem for him anymore.

The Times managed to cover the Wayne Dumont angle without actually explaining the whole story:

Shortly after he became governor, Huckabee expressed his support for the release of a convicted rapist -- who, once freed, sexually assaulted another woman and killed her. Wayne Dumond had been sentenced to life plus 20 years in 1984 for raping a 17-year-old cheerleader. Tucker, Huckabee's predecessor, reduced Dumond's sentence in 1992, making him eligible for parole.

In 1996, according to the Democrat-Gazette, Huckabee questioned Dumond's guilt and said he might commute his sentence to time served. He also met with the parole board in a closed session. Some board members have said Huckabee pressured them into releasing Dumond; others said he did not.

Dumond was released from prison in October 1999. He chose his next victim 11 months later.

What isn't expressed is that Dumond's first victim was a distant cousin of Bill Clinton, and it became a wingnut cause celebre to release him.

But the real revelations in the article concern Huckabee's venality - his belief in being entitled to gifts and perks common for a Southern preacher but not a politician.

During his years in office, the media scrutinized numerous mini-scandals, including an allegation that he used public funds for private purposes, and failed to properly report gifts and income. Huckabee was cited five times for violating ethics rules by the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

Toward the beginning of Huckabee's governorship, the Arkansas Times, an alternative weekly, reported that his family had used a fund meant for upkeep of the governor's mansion for expenses like out-of-town trips and dry-cleaning.

As he was preparing to leave office, local media reported that bridal registries had been established at two stores for the governor and his wife, even though they had been married for more than 30 years. State ethics laws prohibited Huckabee from receiving gifts of more than $100 as a reward for doing his job. But there was an exception for wedding presents. The Huckabees had registered for nearly $7,000 in housewares as they prepared to move to a private residence.

Arkansas Times Executive Editor Max Brantley -- a longtime nemesis of Huckabee's -- said Huckabee's ethics violations and other gaffes probably stemmed from his preacher's background, in which "love offerings," or gifts to the pastor, were encouraged.

That's practically Giuliani-esque. Good thing there's no Judith Nathan in his life, or he would have bankrupted the Arkansas budget!

Perhaps more damaging in a general election are the quotes that show how Huckabee's religious life informs his political life. His clever dodge of a question in the YouTube debate about the death penalty, claiming that "Jesus was too smart to run for public office," belies the fact that he answered the question in the context of Jesus before:

“Interestingly enough,” Huckabee allowed, “if there was ever an occasion for someone to have argued against the death penalty, I think Jesus could have done so on the cross and said, ‘This is an unjust punishment and I deserve clemency’.”

State-sponsored killing: OK with Jesus, OK with me.

And that's how it's gone on a number of issues, as Matt Taibbi recounted in a must-read for Rolling Stone.

But Huckabee is also something else: full-blown nuts, a Christian goofball of the highest order. He believes the Earth may be only 6,000 years old, angrily rejects the evidence that human beings evolved from "primates" and thinks America wouldn't need so much Mexican labor if we allowed every aborted fetus to grow up and enter the workforce [...]

The troubling thing about Huckabee's God rhetoric is that a man who is glad that Christians will "win" at Armageddon must be happy about the rest of us losing. When I press him on whether he believes all non-Christians are eternally damned, Huckabee is evasive. "Being president isn't about picking who goes to heaven and who goes to hell," he says. When none other than Bill O'Reilly hammered him on the same point a day later, Huckabee conceded that "I believe Jesus is the way to heaven."

This God stuff isn't just talk with Huck. One of his first acts as governor was to block Medicaid from funding an abortion for a mentally retarded teen ager who had been raped by her stepfather — an act in direct violation of federal law, which requires states to pay for abortions in cases of rape. "The state didn't fund a single such abortion while Huckabee was governor," says Dr. William Harrison of the Fayetteville Women's Clinic. "Zero."

As president, Huck would support a constitutional amendment banning abortion and would give science a back seat to religion. "Science changes with every generation and with new discoveries, and God doesn't," he says. "So I'll stick with God if the two are in conflict." Huckabee's well-documented disdain for science was reflected in the performance of the Arkansas school system when he was governor; one independent survey gave the state an F for its science standards in schools, a grade that among other things reflected Huckabee's hostility toward the teaching of evolution.

Obviously, some of this scrutiny will help Huckabee among hard-core conservatives, and some of it will hurt him. But at least there's a little catch-up being done on the true nature of this guy.

Depressing Gallup Poll On Evolution

Spoon brings us this cheery bit of news from the flat earth file:

The majority of Republicans in the United States do not believe the theory of evolution is true and do not believe that humans evolved over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. This suggests that when three Republican presidential candidates at a May debate stated they did not believe in evolution, they were generally in sync with the bulk of the rank-and-file Republicans whose nomination they are seeking to obtain.

Spoon gives us the breakdown:

The partisan numbers are 68% creationism to 30% evolution among Republicans, and 57% evolution to 40% creationism among Democrats. Of course, the divide between those who attend church regularly and those who do not is far larger (74% creationism to 24% evolution among those who attend church weekly, compared with 71% to 26% the other way)

And if there's a silver lining, its in the numbers among independents:

Most interesting and underreported in stories covering this issue, however, are the numbers among independents: a full 61% of independents believe in evolution, compared to 37% for creationism--a higher belief in evolution than among Democrats.

This is welcome news since independents are the fastest growing voting block, and their strong rejection of creationism signals, as spoon rightly puts it:

but another example of a strong majority of "swing" voting population moving away from bread-and-butter Republican beliefs

This dynamic was on full display on Hardball last week when Matthews could hardly contain his disbelief that the man in front of him, the subject of his interview, was telling him he didn't not "believe in evolution."

MATTHEWS: I didn‘t think Mr. DeLay would be arguing evolution in the 21^st century. But here we go again. We‘re talking about us and the monkeys and everything.

[snip]

MATTHEWS: Well, here we are back in the Scopes trial, the monkey trial...[Gov. Huckabee] clearly said, we are not descended from the primates.

[snip]

MATTHEWS: Look, I grew up in this country, too. I know we don‘t argue about this every day. But 6o percent of the people believe, basically, the fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. So it‘s not like it‘s an exotic position that Huckabee is taking there. Or you might have.

DELAY: Well, you...

MATTHEWS: It‘s not an exotic position.

DELAY: You‘re sitting there, and you‘re giggling about it.

MATTHEWS: I‘m giggling, because I said—I‘ll say to you on and off the air, I think it‘s fascinating that, in the 21^st century, we‘re having the monkey trial all over again. And I still think it‘s weird.

For all of Matthews' problems, I think in general he serves as a fairly good bellwether for where the movable middle in this country is and here, it's clearly "you doon't believe in WHAT!?" Not to mention the fact that DeLay bobbed and weaved as much as he could to avoid admitting he's not an evolution guy. They know they're in the fringes of the country and they know it's a problem.