U.S. elections: You could die laughing

By David Brooks

THE right wing in this country is so unhinged that, if you ignore for one moment the devastating consequences, you could die of laughter.

For example, when the right-wing legislature in North Carolina learned that scientists predicted that the sea level will rise one meter by the end of this century, which might imply the destruction of all development along the coast (more than 5,000 square kilometers), the lawmakers did the obvious and took preventive measures at once: they wrote a bill prohibiting the ocean to do such a thing.

The bill, which some say will pass, orders that henceforth state government agencies can only utilize those reports based on historical trends, which means that calculations on the rising sea must be lowered to 38 centimeters, instead of one meter, by the end of this century, according to The Charlotte Observer.

In other words, the lawmakers forbid any mention of global warming, insisting that there is no scientific proof of that phenomenon – a stance that fundamentalist Christians and other ultraconservatives espouse nationwide. A university geologist in North Carolina commented: "You can’t legislate the ocean, you can’t legislate storms."

This is not the first place where politicians have declared science null and void. Several states have laws that force schools to teach the theory of creationism (the Biblical version of the creation of the earth) along with Charles Darwin’s theory.

But there are other samples of ultra-rightist humor. For example, in Florida and several other states there are attempts to "defend the ballot box" against fraud by doing exactly the opposite: by denying the vote to some sectors. Florida’s government, controlled by the Republicans, initiated a process to "purge the rolls" of as many as 180,000 voters who are potentially legitimate. It is no coincidence that almost all of them are in communities that favor the Democrats. The maneuver was so blatant that the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the suspension of what was a means to slash voter rolls. Texas is doing something similar. In fact, in 2011, 34 state legislatures introduced bills with that intention, all of them under the pretext of defending the state from the threat of fraud. All the initiatives are promoted by a group of conservative millionaires and legislators intent on formulating ultraconservative laws against communities that are home to minorities, immigrants and labor unions.

Many of those millionaires, like the famous brothers David and Charles Koch, invested millions to successfully defend the governorship of Scott Walker in Wisconsin, so he might continue with his offensive against unions in the public sector, which has become part of a nationwide effort

After years of anti-immigrant initiatives and propaganda promoted by these same conservative sectors, a new CBS News poll reveals that a majority of U.S. citizens (52%) agree with Arizona’s controversial, anti-immigrant and racist law, against only 33% who say it is extreme, demonstrating how effective the ultra-rightist anti-immigrant rhetoric has been in this country.

The right is also trying new ways of combating environmentalists and critics of savage capitalism. An environmentalist who testified in Washington before the House Committee on Natural Resources prepared material to demonstrate the negative effect of the coal industry and its practice of destroying mountaintops near communities. Her visual aids included a photograph of a little girl washing herself in brown water contaminated by the coal.

Republican legislators not only prevented the environmentalist from showing it, but also summoned the Capitol police and charged her with child pornography. The police released her after she showed them that the picture showed a 5-year-old girl washing herself in contaminated water – and that was what offended the Republicans.

Elsewhere, the same conservative forces try to defend comic-book superheroes. The Guardian newspaper reports that the conservative organization One Million Moms has launched a campaign to stop homosexuality in comic books, after learning that DC Comics is about to reveal that one of its most famous figures is gay. Speculation is that it might be Batman, Green Lantern or Wonder Woman.

Not only that, but another superhero in X-Men (Marvel Comics) might be involved in a gay marriage. This, apparently, is a grave threat to civilization, according to the conservatives. It should be noted that the same group was defeated when it tried to stop an Archie comic-book story which involved a gay couple.

To the right, all of this is a holy war, and in almost all these attempts they use Biblical language and religious images to defend what they understand to be their America.

In fact, in early June, conservatives rallied outside the Capitol in favor of "religious freedom," reaffirming that the great battles include the struggle against abortion and any health programs that include methods of contraception. Former legislator Robert Dornan, a notorious ultra-rightist, said that the reelection of Barack Obama would be "apocalyptic," The Washington Post reported.