Holy Moly
by digby
Bryan Fisher has been known as one of the most bigoted, right wing fascists in America for years even as Republican politicians make pilgrimages to his radio show on a regular basis. Anyone who cared to notice could easily see that he's a toxic boil on the body politic. But it took until now for the GOP to feel any blowback from their relationship with him. Sarah Posner reports:
Rachel Maddow broke the news last night that Bryan Fischer, the American Family Association’s Director of Issue Analysis, has been fired, following media coverage and pressure from watchdog groups highlighting Fischer’s racist and homophobic views in advance of an AFA-funded trip to Israel for members of the Republican National Committee.
Debra Nussbaum Cohen reports in Haaretz that following news of the Israel trip, the Southern Poverty Law Center highlighted AFA’s “extensive track record of bigotry and hate,” and urged RNC members to boycott the trip. (None have.)
“Our issue is not with these folks going to Israel, which is an important ally and important for international policy,” Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project told Cohen. “Our issue is that one of our mainstream political parties and a group with these heinous beliefs is sponsoring it.”
The trip is being led by long-time evangelical operative David Lane, who is also organizing a domestic effort to recruit 1,000 pastors to run for political office. Lane is also behind the AFA-sponsored prayer rallies The Response, first hosted by former Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2011, and most recently by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal last weekend.
About his role in mobilizing evangelicals in the 2008 election, Lane told me, “why the left continues to attack public involvement by folks with faith in the public square is beyond comprehension to most people… What we’re doing is the mobilization of pastors and pews to restore America to her Judeo-Christian heritage. That’s our goal.”
Don't cry for Fischer though. He still has his noxious radio show. And the Republicans will all be trekking over to kiss his ring just as soon as the heat is off them.
Read the whole piece. I think people are fooling themselves if they think the Christian Right is no longer relevant in American politics. They've just been resting.
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