Obama Called "Anti-Christ" at Fundraiser

You know, Republicans--particularly the spectator variety--really ought to learn how to control their emotions. We've already had outbursts at three out of the four last GOP debates. And now, we have an over-excited extreme right-winger shouting that first, "Jesus is God" (repeatedly). Really? I thought he was Lord. Isn't God his dad? Anyway, the crazed freak followed up by calling President Obama The Anti-Christ. Which is a totally made-up, non-biblical creation, popularized in such Hollywood movies as The Omen. And also such direct-to-video tripe as Left Behind II: Tribulation Force. As Lawrence O'Donnell said, if Obama is going to take over the world, his poll numbers in Florida are going to have to improve a lot.

Rachel Maddow & Frank Schaeffer: GOP Sub-Culture Is "The Fifth Column Of Insanity"

Do I really have to add anything to that headline (cribbed from Democratic Underground)? OK, just this bit: 1 in 3 New Jersey conservatives think that President Barack Obama just might be the antichrist. Seriously.

Crazy Sen. Michelle Bachmann Strikes Again

Photo from source, Think Progress

It's interesting how widespread the use of the phrase "batshit crazy" comes up when Googling Michelle Bachmann's name. She has replaced Katherine Harris as the first Congressperson that comes to mind with that phrase. It might have something to do with the fact that every time her name pops up in the press she has said something. . .well. . .batshit crazy.

Two separate things have come up in this category. One has to do with some fantasy she has about a "one world currency" to replace the dollar. I don't think it's unreasonable to wonder if she's a Tim LaHaye/Jerry B. Jenkins Left Behind believer, as that is one of the main portents of Armageddon.

The other crazy item is that Bachmann talked to Sean Hannity. Not that she just talked to him--that would just be stupid--but what she said to him on his radio show. She's actually calling for revolution. "Orderly" revolution, whatever that means. Considering she's talked about people taking up arms, one has to wonder if her craziness has crossed over into incitement to violence.

[Excerpt the First]

Touting Her Currency Conspiracy, Bachmann Insists: ‘This Is Not Michele Bachmann Being A Kook’

Earlier this week, right-wing fanatic Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) started peddling false conspiracy theories that the world was moving toward a unified global currency — and that the U.S. might join in as early as next week’s G-20 conference. The myth was started when China’s central bank governor suggested replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Though the suggestion has nothing to do with a unified global currency, Fox News’ Major Garrett decided to ask President Obama whether he supported the fictional prospect of such a move. (Obama, for the record, does not.) . . .

Read more at: Think Progress

[Excerpt the Second]

Bachmann Blasts Obama's "Economic Marxism," Calls For "Orderly Revolution" To Save Freedom

Wow. Just plain wow. This past Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appeared on Sean Hannity's radio show, and sharply reiterated her calls for revolution in America, warning against the imminent dangers of tyranny under Barack Obama. . .




Read more at: TPM

Post-Apocolyptic Warnings from the Future!

Apparently, there is still a faction of the religious right that is convinced that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. I know, it's stupid. And they also seem to regard the very (very, very) bad fiction series Left Behind as literal truth. Scary. But also a little funny.







Fair warning: if you take the bait, and check out the Left Behind series, be prepared for a lot of wasted hours, and some dreadful writing. Read my review, and save yourself some time.

Found at: Jesus' General

CNN Asks if Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ

Image from source, Raw Story

After the ridiculous "The One" anti-Barack Obama attack ad was released by the John McCain campaign, I wondered in this space if they were trying to win over the Left Behind crowd. The message would be at best subliminal to an ordinary viewer, but to a rapture rightist, all the cues are there: Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?

Now, my piece was not posing the question seriously, only if that was what McCain was going for. I believe I was right, and have lots of company out in the blogosphere. CNN has now, quite some time later, entered the fray. Only their angle on the story seems less focused on the believers and more interested in asking the actual question!

[Excerpt]

'Obama the Antichrist?' CNN actually asks

Just so we're clear: Barack Obama is in fact not the Anti-Christ, sent here to feed on the souls of the innocent, resume Satan's reign over earth and bring about the apocalypse as foretold in Revelation.

Not. The. Anti-Christ.

Read more (with video) at: Raw Story

More on John McCain's "Obama as Anti-Christ" Ad

This weekend, after the latest ridiculous John McCain attack ad had sunk in to my subconscious, it occurred to me that a subliminal (or maybe not so subliminal) message might be encoded there. That message could have been aimed at the readers and believers in the Rapture, Tribulation, Glorious Appearing--you know, the Left Behind crowd. I was not--it turns out--the first to have this thought. The blogosphere is abuzz with speculation.

Today, Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann devoted a good chunk of his radio show to the topic. Later, so did Nova M's Randi Rhodes. I guess I'm in good company. What no one could agree on is, is this good, bad, funny, scary, what? It is unlikely that anyone from that particular crowd would have voted for Barack Obama in the first place. But what John McCain lacks right now is a hook that will motivate his crowd to get out and vote en masse.

Could stirring up the Rapture Right accomplish that goal? Are they really that gullible? Oh wait, yes of course they are. They already think the voluminous (horribly written) Left Behind series is what will happen. Jesus as the ultimate movie monster. So why not Barack Obama as Devil's Advocate? Jesus, save us from your followers. . .

[Excerpt]

Obama Anti-Christ? McCain Ad Touches Off Religious Debate

A number of progressive religious figures are angry over the McCain campaign's recent ad "The One," which they believe paints Barack Obama as a kind of anti-Christ, specifically to conservative evangelicals:

On Beliefnet.com, Mara Vanderslice, founder and director of the pro-Obama religious group Matthew 25 Network, writes:

I found this McCain campaign ad "The One" to be one of the most offensive ads we have seen in American politics to date. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

New Barack Obama Ad: McCain & Big Oil

As John McCain keeps spewing out ridiculous ads doing no more than hitting Barack Obama's image (and possibly portraying him as the AntiChrist), Obama is hitting McCain on the issues.

Will it work? Or are we a tragically stupid country, easily lead by Rovian strategies against our own best interests? Time will tell.

McCain's "The One" Targeting Left Behind Readers?

As noted here in several posts, John McCain has had a series of back-to-back attack ads, all attempting to portray Barack Obama in a negative light. In large part, they are all based on Obama's perceived image (or at least that which the right wishes to portray). Like the PUMA Hillary Clinton supporters, they are projecting the way that Obama is talked about in the press, and the behavior of some of his more ardent supporters onto Obama himself.

They are doing so with a lot of distortions, out-of-context quotes, and sometimes outright lies. But that isn't the point of this post. I'm more interested in what McCain hopes to illicit from these ads. In the recent Paris Hilton/Britney spears ad (seriously), bloggers and cable news speculated that the intent was to portray Obama as an empty, airy celebrity. Famous for being famous and nothing more. And a hint of race-baiting with two hot white chicks and a black man.

But what about the new ad, "The One?" This ad--stealing Rush Limbaugh's current theme--casts Obama as a self-proclaimed messiah. His supporters are his adoring flock, and Obama will deliver us. Is the ad trying to paint Obama as conceited and self-important now? Or is there a more insidious aim, as with the race-baiting?

Then I got to thinking about the fabled Republican base. Family values. God, guns and (no) gays. The Heartland. Left Behind readers! In that apocolyptic Christian fiction series of books, a charismatic, self-proclaimed messiah captures world adulation. On his charisma (and help from the Devil), he changes the world--and ushers in the rapture and the tribulation! Is this what McCain is getting at? Is he trying to portray Barack Obama as the Anti-Christ?

Just wonderin'! Here's the ad again. Make up your own mind.




Turns out, I wasn't the only one wondering. From Daily Kos: McCain's Left Behind Attack

Man Cuts Off Hand, Cooks in Microwave

Wow. Few stories hit me like this one did. . .

This poor, delusional, religion-soaked guy took "Crazy Christian" to its extreme. I'll bet he was reading the collected Left Behind series of Armageddon books, and became convinced that he was Nicolae Carpathia. Poor sucker. I hope he gets the help he needs, and comes to realize how nutty all that "anti-Christ" nonsense is. Everybody knows the AC is Dick Cheney!

[Excerpt]

Man Cuts Off, Microwaves His Own Hand

A man who believed he bore the "mark of the beast" used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave and called 911, authorities said. . .

Read more at: CDA Press

Is Huckabee the Antichrist?

Hee hee! No, I don't allege this seriously. I'm agnostic, and find the notion excellent fodder for horror movies, but little else. But somebody out there is spreading rumors. OK, yeah, it's all a joke, but I find it funny. Something tells me that (formerly) big Mike would find it less amusing.

[Excerpt]

Marty Kaplan: Is Huckabee the Antichrist?

A flyer was found on windshields in several church parking lots in Iowa on Sunday, asking: is Mike Huckabee the Anti-Christ? The major GOP campaigns have all denied authorship. The Keyes campaign could not be located for a comment. Among the points raised: 1) Revelation 13 says that the Antichrist's kingdom will be both a political and an ecclesiastical power. Huckabee, a Baptist minister, is running for President. 2) No normal American man over the age of 40 loses 110 pounds. It's not natural. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post