I’m not sure why my aversion to the religious right has generated such a response. And I don’t know why I’ve made you so angry flenser, when I have only written politely to you, sans any insult.

Nevertheless, I believe the religious right have the right to participate in the political process. I believe the Lakers have the right to play in the NBA. And I fervently hope neither one wins in the big game. (Go Jazz!)

Just because I wish a group to lose power and influence, doesn’t mean I want them to lose their voice. If a Kerry gov’t started rounding up Baptists and putting them in camps, I’d be the first on the front lines with my mossberg, even if I personally can’t stand what the Southern Baptist Convention has become.

They have a right to speak, just as I do. I wish for them to lose political influence, just like they (and probably most of you) want my side to lose political influence.

Thats the nature of the game. Thats why I’m voting the way I am. Thats why you’re voting the way you are.

And no, I’m not some liberal who only knows about conservative religion from some biased documentary and the typical hollywood ridicule of Christianity.

My affiliation with the religious right goes back thirty-five years. I was raised a Southern Baptist in the Bible belt. I went to a private Christian school so conservative that we had Falwell, Oliver North as speaking guests and I can remember a couple of field trips to see Reagan speak. Most of my family are still in the church. I’m still very close to my family, despite their view that I’m going to hell. I don’t take that part personally; its just business.

So I’ve seen up close what they are, what they want, where they want to be. And I didn’t like it. Therefore, if a politician forms an alliance with the religious right, I usually vote against them.

As individuals, members of the religious right are often great people. As a political movement, I think it sucks. I’m sorry some of you took that personally, but its just what I think from my neither left nor right perspective.

And, in the long run, if they get their way, I think they’ll be bad for freedom. Thats my opinion. Sorry if it pissed you off.

But no, there’s no reason to extrapolate the worst from my comments. I dislike Bush, and I think I made it clear that I dislike Kerry. But Bush is not the moral equivalent of the Taliban or Hitler or any of the other pejoratives of the Left. Bush is just another American politician, with all the good and bad that implies. I believe he loves this country, freedom, mom, and apple pie. I believe he’s doing what he thinks is right for the country. I just believe he’s misguided and its time for a change.

Somehow, I don’t think that makes me a prick, a Michael Moore loyalist, a blind person with no self-awareness. You complain about the left jumping to conclusions and attacking Bush supporters left and right, and then you do the same to me? Oh well. Whoever wins, I’ll fully support, and I hope (Bush|Kerry) won’t take us to hell.