Sunday, May 21, 2006
Distant Thunder - Fury on the Right
G.W. Bush and Conservatives * Saudi Arabia and "Unbelievers"
When all is said and done what are the conservative Republicans going to do about their dissatisfaction with President Bush and his policies? The honeymoon lasted a long time but seems to be over. Richard Viguerie writes about Bush's Base Betrayal. Bush and his handlers are doing what they have always done. Principle has nothing to do with it. It is to be seen whether the Republicans will, at the end, forgive Bush and come to the aid of the party. "Republicans were desperate to retake the White House, conservatives were desperate to get the Clinton liberals out and there was no direct heir to Reagan running for president. So most conservatives supported Bush as the strongest candidate -- some enthusiastically and some, like me, reluctantly. After the disastrous presidency of his father, our support for the son was a triumph of hope over experience."
- Once he took office, conservatives were willing to grant this Bush a honeymoon. We were happy when he proposed tax cuts (small, but tax cuts nonetheless) and when he pushed for a missile defense system. Then came the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and conservatives came to see support for the president as an act of patriotism.
- Conservatives tolerated the No Child Left Behind Act, an extensive intrusion into state and local education, and the budget-busting Medicare prescription drug benefit. They tolerated the greatest increase in spending since Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. They tolerated Bush's failure to veto a single bill, and his refusal to enforce immigration laws. They even tolerated his signing of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul, even though Bush's opposition to that measure was a key reason they backed him over Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in the 2000 primaries.
The Wahabi Kingdom Tries a Makeover of Text Books
It does not matter what the Saudis do---how backward the country is about women's rights and its treatment of those who do not practise Wahabism---it has vast reserves of oil and it enjoys a cozy relationship with the president and his father, former President George H.W. Bush. The Clinton Administration,too, did its best to remain friendly with the Saudis. Nina Shea in the Post: "Saudi Arabia's public schools have long been cited for demonizing the West as well as Christians, Jews and other "unbelievers." But after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis -- that was all supposed to change."
- A year ago, an embassy spokesman declared: "We have reviewed our educational curriculums. We have removed materials that are inciteful or intolerant towards people of other faiths." The embassy is also distributing a 74-page review on curriculum reform to show that the textbooks have been moderated.
- The problem is: These claims are not true.
- A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government's statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system. The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true believers of Islam (the "monotheists") and unbelievers (the "polytheists" and "infidels").
- This indoctrination begins in a first-grade text and is reinforced and expanded each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text instructing students that their religious obligation includes waging jihad against the infidel to "spread the faith."
The Saudis might mount a PR blitz to polish up their image but don't expect meaningful reform.
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A very insightful blog. It's too bad November is just a congressional election, George can still do a lot of damage.... and the GOP handlers will certainly mount a full "liberal-horror show" campaign on the base between now and 2008. Hopefully the Dems can wrest the party's voice from bull-horn liberal Kennedy to more moderate leaders.
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