One of the way that the GOP and the theocrats and professional Christians dupe the general public is to deliberately rewrite history to support what in essence are out right lies about the nation's Founding Fathers and much of American history in general. Sadly, given the low priority that history and government courses are given in our public schools, far too many people fall for the out right lies an bullshit disseminated by the anything but godly folks. The high priest of Christianist revisionist history is a certifiable (in my view) lunatic named David Barton who seems to be increasingly providing Kool-Aid to the Republican Party. Like so many Christianists, Barton has utter contempt for the real history of the country and falsifies history which in fact cuts directly against the theocratic agenda he wants to force on the nation. Right Wing Watch has another major expose on Barton and his lies. Anyone who cares about the nation's future needs to understand Barton's insidious agenda and be able to refute the lies that ignorant and/or simple minded people fall for all too easily. Here's the table of contents for the expose which is a must read for anyone who cares about America:*
Table of Contents Introduction Why Barton Matters Barton 101 Sloppy Scholarship Good Timing for Bad History Barton’s Bible = Tea Party Platform Barton on Politics:GOP = God’s Own Party Barton on Environmentalism: Green = Evil Barton on Religious Minorities Immigration Racial History The Courts Gay Equality Enlisting Jesus in the War on Unions Conclusion Additional Resources
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Here are some brief highlights from the expose:
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Newt Gingrich promises to seek his advice and counsel for the 2012 presidential campaign. Mike Huckabee calls him America’s greatest historian, says he should be writing the curriculum for American students, and in fact suggested that all Americans should be “forced at gunpoint” to listen to his broadcasts. Michelle Bachmann calls him “a treasure for our nation” and invited him to teach one of her Tea Party Caucus classes on the Constitution for members of Congress. . . . . Who is this guy?
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This guy is David Barton, a Republican Party activist and a fast-talking, self-promoting, self-taught, self-proclaimed historian who is miseducating millions of Americans about U.S. history and the Constitution.
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Barton has been profitably peddling a distorted “Christian nation” version of American history to conservative religious audiences for the past two decades. His books and videos denouncing church-state separation have been repeatedly debunked by respected historians, but that hasn’t kept Barton from becoming a folk hero for many in the Religious Right. His eagerness to help elect Republicans has won him gratitude and support from national as well as state and local GOP leaders. Former senator Sam Brownback, now the governor of Kansas, has said that Barton’s research “provides the philosophical underpinning for a lot of the Republican effort in the country today.
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While Barton is best known for his claims about the religious intentions of the nation’s founders, he has become a full-service pundit for the far-right in Tea Party America. He pushes predictable positions on abortion, gay rights, and the judiciary. But he is also attacking environmentalists working to combat climate change. And he is a key figure for conservative strategists who would love to forge an even stronger political merger between the Tea Party and Religious Right movements.
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Why Barton Matters. Barton’s growing visibility and influence with m embers of Congress and other Republican Party officials is troubling for many reasons: he distorts history and the Constitution for political purposes; he encourages religious divisiveness and unequal treatment for religious minorities; and he feeds a toxic political climate in which one’s political opponents are not just wrong, but evil and anti-God.
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Barton promotes a false reality in which anyone who opposes any element of his political agenda stands in opposition to both the Founding Fathers and to God. He believes that everything in our society – government, the judiciary, the economy, the family – should be governed according to the Bible, and he promotes a view of the Bible and Jesus that many Christians would not recognize.
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Barton believes the government should regulate gay sex, relying on bogus claims about gay people to make his case, such as “homosexuals die decades earlier than heterosexuals.” Barton has also maintained that countries that “rejected sexual regulation” have inevitably collapsed.
Table of Contents Introduction Why Barton Matters Barton 101 Sloppy Scholarship Good Timing for Bad History Barton’s Bible = Tea Party Platform Barton on Politics:GOP = God’s Own Party Barton on Environmentalism: Green = Evil Barton on Religious Minorities Immigration Racial History The Courts Gay Equality Enlisting Jesus in the War on Unions Conclusion Additional Resources
*
Here are some brief highlights from the expose:
*
Newt Gingrich promises to seek his advice and counsel for the 2012 presidential campaign. Mike Huckabee calls him America’s greatest historian, says he should be writing the curriculum for American students, and in fact suggested that all Americans should be “forced at gunpoint” to listen to his broadcasts. Michelle Bachmann calls him “a treasure for our nation” and invited him to teach one of her Tea Party Caucus classes on the Constitution for members of Congress. . . . . Who is this guy?
*
This guy is David Barton, a Republican Party activist and a fast-talking, self-promoting, self-taught, self-proclaimed historian who is miseducating millions of Americans about U.S. history and the Constitution.
*
Barton has been profitably peddling a distorted “Christian nation” version of American history to conservative religious audiences for the past two decades. His books and videos denouncing church-state separation have been repeatedly debunked by respected historians, but that hasn’t kept Barton from becoming a folk hero for many in the Religious Right. His eagerness to help elect Republicans has won him gratitude and support from national as well as state and local GOP leaders. Former senator Sam Brownback, now the governor of Kansas, has said that Barton’s research “provides the philosophical underpinning for a lot of the Republican effort in the country today.
*
While Barton is best known for his claims about the religious intentions of the nation’s founders, he has become a full-service pundit for the far-right in Tea Party America. He pushes predictable positions on abortion, gay rights, and the judiciary. But he is also attacking environmentalists working to combat climate change. And he is a key figure for conservative strategists who would love to forge an even stronger political merger between the Tea Party and Religious Right movements.
*
Why Barton Matters. Barton’s growing visibility and influence with m embers of Congress and other Republican Party officials is troubling for many reasons: he distorts history and the Constitution for political purposes; he encourages religious divisiveness and unequal treatment for religious minorities; and he feeds a toxic political climate in which one’s political opponents are not just wrong, but evil and anti-God.
*
Barton promotes a false reality in which anyone who opposes any element of his political agenda stands in opposition to both the Founding Fathers and to God. He believes that everything in our society – government, the judiciary, the economy, the family – should be governed according to the Bible, and he promotes a view of the Bible and Jesus that many Christians would not recognize.
*
Barton believes the government should regulate gay sex, relying on bogus claims about gay people to make his case, such as “homosexuals die decades earlier than heterosexuals.” Barton has also maintained that countries that “rejected sexual regulation” have inevitably collapsed.
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