Glenn Beck, Ralph Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs, step aside. You’re not the only ignoramuses spouting hate and racism in this country. Right here in Nashville, TN we have our own brand of hate-mongering in the person of local-yokel Ralph Bristol, another one of those radio talk show hosts who likes to hear himself yap.
Complete with hell fire and damnation, flag waving, patriotic songs, and dire warnings of the evils of socialism, Bristol led a regular old timey country revival at the local Cornerstone Baptist Church, one of those mega churches with a congregation of around 2000 or more. Only 600 showed up.
I don’t know how Tennessean reporter Bob Smietana kept a straight face when writing his piece. Maybe he was scared because Bristol is a scary man and so are those people who gathered for “A Call to Arms.”
There were no calls to come to the altar. “Instead, they were asked to sign up for conservative causes like the Tea Party Nation, and the Eagle Forum, and to donate to charities like the Nashville Rescue Mission.” I wonder if anyone donated to a charity.
Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation urged the crowd to fight what he called the “Obama-Pelosi-Reed axis of evil,” which he believes threatens the American way of life. “Tonight’s altar call is not for God. It’s for country.”
The party livened up when Bristol started talking about the Obama administration, accusing the United States of moving toward socialism.
“To deprive a child of the fruit of independence is malnourishment of the worst kind. We are committing child abuse to generations of American children, by getting them hooked on the milk that comes from that ever growing, obscene government test.”
Toward the end of his program, Bristol replaced the Hawaiian shirt he had been wearing “with a green army jacket and baseball cap with the American flag on it, to play a character called Sgt. Bristol. He gave his audience marching orders to slay the socialist monster.”
Guns in Church?
He had thought about bringing a firearm to church as part of his uniform but decided not to. “Sargeant Bristol gets pretty angry, and to be up there, wearing a gun, didn’t feel right.”
Others in the audience who were dressed in similar uniforms did bring their guns. Said one husband and wife team who brought their guns, “There’s been a lot of fear-mongering about that. I’m probably the safest person out there because I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my permit.”
And yes, the head pastor, Maury Davis, was in attendance.
I keep hearing this accusation of 'socialism' a lot. It's really getting old.
ReplyDeleteI AM a socialist, and, AS a socialist, I can say with confidence that President Obama's policies are quite far from socialism. I can't say this often enough, in enough places. Bernie Sanders (I - Vermont) will tell you the same thing. He's the only man in the Senate beating the drum for single payer.
If anything, my biggest complaint is that the president has more in common with Susan Collins, Olympia Snow, or Richard Lugar than with socialism. :)
Look at it this way: having more in common with Snowe, Collins or Luger. He could have more in common with Boehner, Graham and Sessions.
ReplyDeleteThe accusations of socialism have been around since the beginning of time. In the 50s it was the Communists. People thought there was one under every bed.
eclecticradical said...
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing this accusation of 'socialism' a lot. It's really getting old.
I AM a socialist, and, AS a socialist, I can say with confidence that President Obama's policies are quite far from socialism.
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Don't worry eclecticradical he's getting there.
"Don't worry eclecticradical he's getting there."
ReplyDeleteUh, no. He's really not. I mean /really/ not.
"Look at it this way: having more in common with Snowe, Collins or Luger. He could have more in common with Boehner, Graham and Sessions."
Heh. I'm not completely complaining. When I was a Republican, I voted for Lugar over Dole in the '96 primary. My political view of the world has changed considerably since then and I doubt that I would vote for him again, but I certainly respect the heck out of him. And I'm a big fan of Collins and Snowe, despite not being that kind of Republican anymore myself.
I just think the socialist accusations are a bit ridiculous. Though I'm certainly aware of how long they've been around. I'm originally from Richard Nixon's home sate.