Craziest Republican of the Day: E.W. Jackson

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Virginia may be turning blue, but its Republican Party -- the party of Gov. Bob McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Ken Cuccinelli -- is getting redder and redder.

And crazier and crazier, perhaps because it knows deep down that it's losing the state.

You'll recall that McDonnell, among other things, reinstituted state discrimination against gays and lesbians as well as Confederate History Month in Virginia, while Cuccinelli, who is now running for governor, worries about exposed boobs and blow jobs and otherwise pushed an even more extremist agenda.

Well, apparently that's not crazy enough for Virginia Republicans, who yesterday nominated E.W. Jackson, a far-right minister, to be Cuccinelli's successor. And just how crazy is Jackson?

Jackson also maintained a now defunct blog on his site, where he argued in one post that President Obama saw the world "from a Muslim perspective."

Obama clearly has Muslim sensibilities. He sees the world and Israel from a Muslim perspective. His construct of "The Muslim World" is unique in modern diplomacy. It is said that only The Muslim Brotherhood and other radical elements of the religion use that concept. It is a call to unify Muslims around the world...

Those who are paying attention and thinking about these issues do not find it unreasonable to consider that President Obama is influenced by a strain of anti-Semitism picked up from the black community, his leftist friends and colleagues, his Muslim associations and his long period of mentorship under Jeremiah Wright. If this conclusion is accurate, Israel has some dark days ahead. For the first time in her history, she may find the President of the United States siding with her enemies.

Um, what?

What is a Muslim "perspective"? What are Muslim "sensibilities"? Is there a Christian or Jewish perspective as well, Christian or Jewish sensibilities? There are a lot of Jews, in Israel and elsewhere, who would object to being lumped in with those on the extremist far right demanding more settlements and rejecting a two-state solution. And there are a lot of Christians who would object to being lumped in with Jackson and his ilk. But it's okay to talk about a "Muslim" perspective, to lump all Muslims together?

And Obama is an anti-Semite? Why, for being something other than a bigot towards Muslims and for proposing something other than an extremist right-wing solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

It's always hilarious to see Christians, and particularly American Christianists, take such a rabidly pro-Israel position, as if the Jews are their eternal friends, though of course we know that the Jews are just pawns in their little game of Rapture.

And it's also always hilarious to see idiots like Jackson talk absolute shit about Obama, trying to tar him with every insult and smear their tiny minds can dredge up.

There are many on the right, all across the U.S., who think like this and hold views like this. The thing is, Jackson isn't just some random bigot. He's the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia. That should tell you a lot about the current state of the Republican Party in that state, and throughout the country.