As the three-ringed circus of the Republican primaries draws
to a close and the last few contestants are voted off the island, leaving the
nomination open for Jack Donaghy’s real-life incarnation, we must look back on
one of the defining candidates of this race. The esteemed Senator from
Pennsylvania reined in the hardcore conservative crowd in ways that the
Amphibian-candidate could only dream of, and he did so with a gusto and spirit
that was reminiscent of Father Charles Coughlin of the 1930s. His constant
attacks on educated “snobs”, feminists, anyone associated with liberalism or
anything more left-of-center made him stand out as a demagogue, and yet a
wannabe demagogue: a man of conviction but lacking passion. The public knew of
his puritanical fundamentalism, an ironic feature of a devout Catholic, and yet
did not seem swayed by his doom-and-gloom view of American policy under Obama.
Like his fellow candidates he lacked inspiration, and replaced it instead with
a moralizing nature that almost made Jerry Falwell look pious. Though he was
successful in many races throughout culturally conservative states, he was
ultimately the victim of an uninspiring message and a competitor with deeper
pockets.
But in the
end the esteemed Senator from Pennsylvania lived up to his internet namesake.
The odious bile that this race created, filled with grand illusions of
socialist takeovers and war on religious freedom, had its fair contribution
from the Senator. His dogmatic zeal has infected a political conversation
already ripe with falsehoods and ignorance. But I doubt we have seen the last
of him, for as long as religious fundamentalism continues to infest the
American political dialogue you can bet that our esteemed Senator from
Pennsylvania will be there manipulating the conversation like so many would-be
demagogues do.
