Civil Discourse From the Right

There are, I am sure, conservatives who support the right of people to disagree with them. There are probably people who argue in measured, rational tones to attempt to persuade people to their point of view without invoking violence, torture, hatred, or death threats.

"Mr. Bill" Donahue is not one of these. Lately he pulled a Michelle Malkin and went so far as to encourage his merry band of good Christofascists to engage in some grass-roots, serious, issue-driven debate:

Via FDL and Jesus' General:

It's just too bad your mother didn't abort you. You are nothing more than a filthy mouth slut. I bet a couple of years in Iraq being raped and beaten daily would help you appreciate America a little. Need a plane ticket ?

--from Good Christian Bud Phelps, who dislikes ugly language.
And this little gem:

YOU RACIST WHORE. FAT UGLY BITCH. SUCK MY LONG COCK ASSHOLE I HOPE YOU KIDS NEVER LIVE AND YOUR PARENTS DIE A TRAGIC DEATH YOU ASSHOLE BITCH!
I HOPE YOUR WOMB IS BARREN AND YOUR CAREER PLUMMETS TO HELL YOU BITCH

--from one Romanco De Leone. All caps make the point so much more clearly than simply foaming at the mouth, dontcha think?
Of course it's not all "torture and kill the infidels":

Problem with women like you, you just need a good fucking from a real man! Living in Texas myself, I know you haven't found that real Texan yet. But once your liberal pro feminist ass gets a real good fucking, you might see the light. Until then, enjoy your battery operated toys b/c most real men wouldn't want to give you the fucking you deserve b/c the shit that would come out of you ears.

--Andy Driggers just wants to make love to them (the way his daddy did to him).

And that's just a sampling. Surely Ms. Marcotte and Ms. McEwen must be some real bad eggs to excite this sort of thing from Good Christianists, eh?

Where this all starts is that Crazy Mr. Bill got uptight when the John Edwards '08 campaign hired people he characterised as "anti-Catholic" and "vulgar". The two non-man bloggers had made disparaging references to the Catholic church's positions on certain issues. In some cases (Shock! Horror!) profanity was used (Profanity in the blogosphere? What the ₤µ¢λ?). Two samples:

"The Catholic church is not about to let something like compassion for girls get in the way of using the state as an instrument to force women to bear more tithing Catholics"

"What don’t you lousy motherfuckers understand about keeping your noses out of our britches, our beds, and our families?"

Methinks Mr. Bill is mischaracterized as a Catholic (as here by famed wingnut organ ABC/Disnazi). He is the real American Taliban. All the elements are there: the use of faith to promote hatred, the suppression of any dissent, the use of tactics designed to frighten the opposition through violence and threats. Oh--and the ban on certain heathen foods (Google "Bill Donahue" and "Lipton's Onion Soup").

As an ex-Catholic, I sincerely hope that Mr. Bill is right and there is an afterlife. Because if you stand me up in front of the god that I reject, and stand him up next to me, it's clear which one of us would be allowed into heaven.

Also as an ex-Catholic, I feel that true Catholics need to get on the stump and shout him down. Fox News and ABC/Disnazi don't control all the airwaves. If you're sitting there wondering why the Muslim community don't disavow terrorism, then you have a God-given duty to speak against this sort of extremism. It makes all Catholics look equally bigoted and stupid.

I'm waiting, Your Holiness.

As for John Edwards: He initially fired both women, then re-hired them in a panic when it turned out his support base gave him no sympathy for caving in to TalibanAmerica. I feel he's lost any hope of decent support (or should have now) and should throw what little he has behind my man Barack Obama.

But the point is that the self-described "Conservatives" of the right in America have clearly lost sight of what "civil discourse" means. Remember, these are the people who are represented by Dick "go ₤µ¢λ yourself" Cheney.