Christian values

The Pervert from Ward Four

City Council member John La Tour, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, in detail undated, uncredited image via Planet Transgender.

At some point the question arises why it is that the outburst of perversity we’ve seen in recent years, resulting as such from the advancement of gay rights, actually comes in the form of the conservative, family-values crowd (ahem!) letting it all hang out?

Fayetteville Councilman John La Tour, a tea party member and recipient of Josh Duggars campaign funding, is being accused of threatening to expose himself to a female employee of a city restaurant. People who witnessed the incident say he approached the woman assuming she was transgender and told her that he was man and that could prove it by dropping his pants

(Busey)

Naturally, it’s everyone else’s fault; the Planet Transgender report notes he was in a restaurant where, “The music was overly loud despite his request to lower the volume, so he responded by dancing along with it, he said”. And why does it always start with some version of, “There I was, minding my own business, being oppressed for no reason, so I decided to just go along with it, and hey …”?

No, really.

La Tour said the incident began during his regular Friday morning stop at Arsaga’s to meet a group of acquaintances. The music was overly loud despite his request to lower the volume, so he responded by dancing along with it, he said. He intended to ask the employee to dance with him but wanted to confirm she was a woman first, La Tour said, citing the ordinance.

“You can declare you’re a man or you’re a woman, whatever you want to,” La Tour said. “I’m not going to ask a man to dance with me.”

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The Marco Rubio Show (Second Thoughts)

Sen. Marco Rubio addresses a crowd in Las Vegas, Nevada, 20 December 2015. (Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)

A murmur arises, via the New York Times:

Inexperience and inattention to detail on the ground can have a tangible cost. Melody Slater is a former Lee County chairwoman for the now-defunct presidential campaign of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin. Shortly after Mr. Walker dropped out, Mr. Rubio’s campaign announced that Ms. Slater was one of several of Mr. Walker’s backers who had signed on with them.

But now she says she is having second thoughts. “I had three campaigns call me that day―Huckabee, Cruz and Rubio,” Ms. Slater said in an interview, explaining that she agreed to endorse Mr. Rubio only at his campaign’s request. She said she still liked Mr. Rubio and may indeed caucus for him.

But she cautioned that she was also drawn to Mr. Cruz’s Christian values.

“You’ve got to be careful about what you say, don’t you?” Ms. Slater mused.

(Peters)

Madness reigns? Chaos? Something about inexperience, and maybe the bauble of an innovative Iowa ground strategy that has the convenience of being really, really easy for the candidate and also happens to be less expensive?

(more…)

Christian Faith and Character in Iowa

Iowa Christian talk radio host Steve Deace appears on msnbc in undated frame detail; background text via Twitter.

You know, to call Steve Deace a dick is insufficient; it’s too small a word, and not nearly a stiff enough insult.

Still, though: Full vagina?

And people can say what they will about one extreme voice, this, that, and the other, but what is the market calculation, here? Once upon a time this was the sort of thing that put political players on the naughty list, sent them to the penalty box to not be taken seriously at least for a while.

Who exactly is the king of Iowa conservative family values pitching to?

Wow … Fiorina goes full vagina right away (Steve Deace, via Twitter, 15 December 2015.Here’s the thing about the Christian radio host backing Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign: He’s betting that misogyny sells in Iowa.

What are the chances he’s right?

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Image notes: Top ― Iowa Christian talk radio host Steve Deace appears on msnbc in undated frame detail; background text via Twitter. Right ― Steve Deace message via Twitter explaining that Carly Fiorina went “full vagina” in her opening statement during a presidential debate, 15 December 2015.

Lerner, Kira. “Conservative Radio Host Says Carly Fiorina Went ‘Full Vagina’ In GOP Debate”. ThinkProgress. 15 December 2015.