Handmaid's Tale

The country is moving rightward, whether the people want it to or not. 146
million people did NOT vote for W (if you count those who voted against him
and those who didn't bother to vote). The greatest concern is the push
among those in power to move the country, not just to the right, but to do
it religiously. In FY-2004, the Bush-Cheney administration spent $154 million to fund abstinence programs nationwide and have requested $270 million for FY-05. In 2003, the administration awarded $1.7 billion to
various faith-based initiatives.

Rick Santorum is one of the leaders of the new crop of heirs to W's legacy,
such as it is. The danger of a Rick Santorum administration is that the
evangelism that W has sported when it suits him is, to pardon the phrase,
fundamental to who Rick is. The election of Rick Santorum will erode the
division between Church and State. He must be stopped in 2006 before he can run for President.

One of Rick Santorum's key supporters is James Dobson of Focus on the
Family. A Christian organization based in Colorado Springs that employs
1,200 people, each and every one screened for Christian beliefs. With an
annual budget of $146 million, it spends $250,000 on political action,
however that doesn't count educational and program spending on its
newsletters, radio shows and other organs for lobbying. Dobson of course
endorsed the candidacy of W because of the "attack" on the institution of
marriage. He maintains a direct line to Tim Goeglein, Bush's liaison to the
Christian right.

The agenda of a Santorum administration will further consolidate control of the family and control over basic rights, like privacy, in the hands of few radical religious fanatics. W just plays at this game to score points and turn out the vote, but when push comes to shove he doesn't want to enact the agenda because he likes red meat that gay marriage and other liberal social issues provides for his bully pulpit. Rick Santorum, on the other hand, is a true believer.