A peek into the Republicans' minds

Today a major league baseball player accidentally crashed his plane into a New York apartment building. But for a couple hours, it was anybody's guess as to whether the crash was an act of terrorism. Now think about this question for a second:

What do you think was the first thing that went through Republicans' minds when they heard that a plane had crashed into a building? Was it sadness for the tragic deaths of Americans? was it rue, at not having protected America better? Or was it a rush of glee at the possibility that homeland security concerns might take voters' minds off the Iraq mess and the Foley scandal just in time for election day?

If you picked either of the first two, but not the third, I think you might not be being completely honest with yourself...

For another interesting glimpse into the Republican mind, check out the scoop on the new book "Tempting Faith." The author is David Kuo, an evangelical Christian leader who spent two years as a special assistant to the Bush Administration, ostensibly helping to implement Bush's "faith-based" policies.

Here's what he has to say:

Kuo says some of the nation’s most prominent evangelical leaders were known in the office of presidential political strategist Karl Rove as “the nuts.”

“National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ‘ridiculous,’ ‘out of control,’ and just plain ‘goofy,’” Kuo writes.

More seriously, Kuo alleges that then-White House political affairs director Ken Mehlman knowingly participated in a scheme to use the office, and taxpayer funds, to mount ostensibly “nonpartisan” events that were, in reality, designed with the intent of mobilizing religious voters in 20 targeted races.

Mmm. I hope politically-minded Christians (like D.M. Rose, one of Noahpinion's readers) realize that their party of choice, that they back without fail again and again, refers to them as "the nuts."

Just another little glimpse into the Republican mind. Anyone who votes for that party should think long and hard before they do.


In other news...

The other thing that happened this week concerns the only people (well, almost) whom I trust less to run a country than the Republicans...namely, North Korea, who tested a nuke (which fizzled out).

Does anyone else suspect China's hand in this? Sure, the Chinese are making angry noises, and even threatening (mild) sanctions. But China could end the North Korean regime in 5 minutes if it so chose, as China provides that destitute country with a lifeline of food and fuel. The claim is that China is afraid of the refugee swarm that would pour north if Kim Jong-Il's regime were to collapse, but I doubt that a country of 1.3 billion is much concerned with a couple million refugees.

It seems clear to me that the real reason China has chosen to let Kim go nuclear is that they have no reason to stop him. China will never be threatened by Kim's pathetic nuclear arsenal, and in the meantime, his antics drive a wedge between the US and it's ally South Korea (moving South Korea ever more firmly into China's orbit). If I'm right, China is looking less and less like a "responsible stakeholder" by the day, and more like a traditional Great Power out to expand its sphere of influence.