The Bush administration has finally displayed embarrassment over the hate-filled rhetoric spewing from the so-called Evangelical Christian Right (ECR). ECR members are frequently called "Christian-Zionists" as Ariel Sharon proudly refers to them, or "Judeo-Christians", or "Dispensationalists" as they sometimes call themselves. Whatever their label, the ECR has shocked many mainstream churchgoers with their anti-Muslim hate-rhetoric containing virulently racist overtones. The bigotry has become all too obvious, and is resulting in growing revulsion even among those misguided, non-ECR Christians who have otherwise supported the Administration. The President has been forced to distance himself from those who constitute his most feverish support base for war with Iraq. The Administration fanned the fire, but now is forced to cool it just a bit.
Here is how the London Guardian's New York correspondent, Oliver Burkeman, sees it in his November 15th story:
"Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, condemned America's Christian Right yesterday for propagating hatred against Muslims, in what appeared to be a coordinated White House campaign to confront anti-Islamic rhetoric from a constituency that includes some of the Bush administration's staunchest supporters.
Here is how the London Guardian's New York correspondent, Oliver Burkeman, sees it in his November 15th story:
"Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, condemned America's Christian Right yesterday for propagating hatred against Muslims, in what appeared to be a coordinated White House campaign to confront anti-Islamic rhetoric from a constituency that includes some of the Bush administration's staunchest supporters.