Southern Baptists Lick Bush

The Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., have been meeting in their annual convention this week in Indianapolis, and there to slip a little knock-out drug into their non-alcoholic drinks was Ralph Reed, morphed from top guy at the Christian Coalition into a top Reelect Bush/Cheney campaign official. Reed hosted a "pastors reception" next door to the convention site where he signed up these sheep/shepherds on pledge cards to push the limits of their tax-exempt statuses by becoming partisan cheerleaders to their congregations back home.

In defense of this corruption of religion for the short-term benefit of a pip-squeak politician, Dr. Jack Graham, the departing president of the denomination, told the New York Times that he believed the Bible called on Christians to support godly politicians.

And what constitutes a "godly politician" (letting go for the moment whether Holy Scripture actually says anything at all about "politicians" as opposed to heritary Kings, Emporers, and the odd Rich Man)? Apparently, for Dr. Graham and his fellow goobers in shark-skin suits, the mere assertion by a politician that he's "godly" is good enough for them. They ain't never heard a word about "by their fruit ye shall know them," or else they like some mighty queer-looking fruit. Who would Jesus torture, eh?