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A rare defeat for the religious right in Alabama

Associated Press

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R)

Dissent on culture-war issues is rarely tolerated within the Republican Party. A few months ago, for example, the chair of the Illinois Republican Party was forced to step down for having the audacity to say gay Americans should be able to get married.

In Alabama, where dissent among Republicans on social conservatism is even less common, a similar fight has brewed in recent weeks and was resolved over the weekend. The outcome was not altogether expected.

At the heart of the controversy is Alabama College Republicans Chairwoman Stephanie Petelos, who praised the Supreme Court's ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act on Facebook. Soon after, she told a local news outlet she supports marriage equality because "we're governed by the constitution and not the Bible."

The comments were not well received within the Alabama GOP. State Republican officials quickly began the process of writing new bylaws that would require all steering committee members to support the party's positions as outlined in the national platform. Those who publicly disagree would be removed from their leadership posts.

On Saturday, in a surprising turn of events, efforts to punish Petelos fell short.

Alabama Republicans voted Saturday to reject an amendment aimed at punishing the head of the state's college Republicans for publicly defending same-sex marriage — a rare, if minor, victory for gay rights supporters in the Bible Belt, and a sign of hope for conservatives who want to see their party embrace generational shifts on key social issues.

[T]he debate over the amendment Saturday was not without drama. According to a report in AL.com, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore spoke out fervently against same-sex marriage during the meeting.

Moore is perhaps best known as the Ten Commandments judge -- a fierce opponent of church-state separation who was forced from the state Supreme Court for ignoring federal court rulings he didn't like.

So, how did the measure intended to punish Petelos fail?

...Petelos said the media attention was "a pretty big factor" in defeating the amendment, and noted the strong support she received from young Republicans across the country via Facebook and Twitter as she faced down Alabama's entrenched network of older conservative Christians.

Ultimately, Petelos said, the party dodged a bullet: "If they had passed this resolution and put restraints on people's ability to speak their opinions, then the press would have been a lot harsher next week than it was last week."

In Alabama Republican politics, the religious right movement doesn't lose often. If for no other reason, it made the weekend's developments pretty fascinating.

Ginsburg reflects on present, future

Associated Press

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat down for a fascinating interview with the New York Times' Adam Liptak, which is generally a departure from the norm. As Liptak noted, "Unless they have a book to sell, Supreme Court justices rarely give interviews."

But Ginsburg, an 80-year-old jurist confirmed to the high court two decades ago, had quite a bit to say about the justices' recent work, Congress' dysfunction, and the recent far-right trend that has made this "one of the most activist courts in history."

Of particular interest to court watchers, though, are Ginsburg's career plans. For many on the left, her retirement before the end of President Obama's second term is critically important to the nation's future, but for now, the justice seems intent on staying on the job.

On Friday, she said repeatedly that the identity of the president who would appoint her replacement did not figure in her retirement planning.

"There will be a president after this one, and I'm hopeful that that president will be a fine president," she said.

Were Mr. Obama to name Justice Ginsburg's successor, it would presumably be a one-for-one liberal swap that would not alter the court's ideological balance. But if a Republican president is elected in 2016 and gets to name her successor, the court would be fundamentally reshaped.

These remarks follow comments Ginsburg made in early July, when she brushed off speculation about stepping down from the bench.

At a certain level, it's tempting to think her age, health, and circumstances are irrelevant -- Ginsburg is still excellent at what she does; she clearly enjoys her work; her passion for the law has not faded; and she'd like to continue to do the job she's already doing well. By some measures, nothing else matters.

There is, however, another way to approach the same question.

Ginsburg is now 80, and has gone through two bouts with cancer. The justice says she doesn't care about who the next president will be, but if President Obama is replaced by a conservative Republican, and Ginsburg leaves the bench between 2017 and 2021, her replacement would almost certainly be a far-right jurist who would reject Ginsburg's views, values, and entire approach to the law.

And in a closely divided court, where 5-4 rulings are the norm, replacing a progressive voice like Ginsburg with yet another conservative would likely shape the court for a generation.

What's more, there's a nominal progressive majority in the U.S. Senate -- which is responsible for confirming justices -- and one never knows how much longer that may last.

In other words, the justice is taking an enormous risk with the nation's future. Maybe the next president will be a center-left Democrat and maybe a Democratic majority in the Senate will last. But maybe not. And if Ginsburg's gamble doesn't work out, how much would she regret being responsible for helping move the Supreme Court even further to the right?

Ginsburg is 80 and Justice Stephen Breyer turned 75 last week. It seems only responsible for them to consider the larger political context when evaluating their future plans.

'We do not have the votes right now'

Getty Images

Proponents of the Republican government-shutdown scheme generally express nothing but optimism -- their support is growing, they say, and the effort continues apace.

There is, however, ample reason to believe the GOP is moving further away from actually executing the shutdown plan.

Late last week, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the #4 member of the House Republican leadership, dismissed the scheme, saying it's "probably not realistic." Around the same time, Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) stressed his hatred for the Affordable Care Act, but nevertheless added that his party should invest its energies elsewhere.

Yesterday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the key ringleaders of the shutdown scheme, conceded, "We do not have the votes right now."

So, it's over, right? Not quite yet.

"We do not have the votes right now," Cruz said, noting that to succeed, he'd need 41 senators or 218 representatives to get behind his legislation.... But the Texas Republican, speaking with CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on "State of the Union," argued a coming "grass-roots tsunami" would bring over fellow conservatives to his side in the next month.

"I'm convinced there's a new paradigm in politics, that actually has Washington very uncomfortable. And it has politicians in both parties very uncomfortable," he said. "And that new paradigm is the rise of the grass roots, the ability of grass-roots activists to demand of their elected officials they do the right thing."

Why taking health care benefits away from millions of Americans would be "the right thing" to do is unclear, but these comments nevertheless tell us quite a bit about the state of play. Indeed, Cruz seems to realize his gambit is failing, but nevertheless has a plan to succeed -- the shutdown plan will get back on track because of a "grass-roots tsunami" that's right around the corner.

But that's not going to happen -- the American mainstream doesn't want a government shutdown. Most Republican voters don't want one, either. Cruz's army of pro-shutdown activists -- integral to his larger initiative -- is made up of fringe extremists who've failed miserably to persuade anyone outside their narrow ideological sphere.

What's more, this isn't Cruz's only venture from reality.

Consider this gem:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Sunday that he is "not convinced" that President Barack Obama wouldn't defund his own signature health care law if Congress gave him the opportunity to do so.

"I am not at all convinced of that," Cruz told Candy Crowley in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."

Oddly enough, the Heritage Foundation's Jim DeMint said something very similar on NPR last week. Asked what the point of the exercise is if President Obama won't gut his own health care law, the former senator replied, "Well, we don't know that, do we?"

Just so we're clear, the leading national proponents of a government shutdown over health care policy are working from an amazing assumption: it's possible, they say, that Obama will voluntarily choose to sabotage Obamacare. Cruz and DeMint aren't just repeating this nonsense out loud, and don't just want Americans to believe it, the assertion is actually part of their floundering legislative strategy.

This should be about the point at which their far-right allies reconsider the wisdom of their plan.

Morning Maddow: August 26

EPA

A convoy of UN chemical weapons inspectors leaves the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus, Syria, on Monday.

UN says snipers shoot at inspectors heading to site of alleged gas attack in Syria.

Pres. Obama met with his national security team about Syria this weekend.

Foreign Policy reports on the U.S.'s role in Iraq's chemical attacks on Iran.

Buffalo clinic that offers abortions is adding a birthing center.

Next months recall elections in Colorado will also be a test of same-day voter registration.

A special election in Texas this week could be the first to enforce the state's new voter ID law. 

Alabama Republicans won't punish a young party leader for publicly defending marriage equality.

The commander of the 341st Missile Wing (which handles nuclear weapons) is relieved of command.

'You cannot stand by; you have to stand up, speak up, speak out, and get in the way'

Keeping the dream alive, 50 years later.

Tens of thousands of people flooded the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall on Saturday, the first stop in a week of events commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s watershed "I Have A Dream" address and the March on Washington.

A chorus of speakers rallied the massive crowd with prayers for peace and calls for justice that were at once testaments to King's historical legacy and nods to contemporary issues, from hotly debated policing tactics to voting rights.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who co-organized Saturday's march with King's son, Martin Luther King III, gave a fiery keynote address that carried out his earlier promise to focus the day's observances on the "issues that have stood in the way" of fulfilling King's goals.

Erin Delmore has more, including several videos and excerpts. Of particular interest was Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights champion and the only surviving speaker from the 1963 march.

"You cannot stand by, you have to stand up, speak up, speak out, and get in the way. Make some noise! The vote is precious; it is almost sacred, the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society and we've got to use it," he said.

This Week in God

First up from the God Machine this week is a provocative debate over houses of worship and tax policy.

Throughout the United States, churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples are considered tax-exempt entities, and the rationale has always been the same: because houses of worship are considered to be charitable institutions, without profit-making goals, government has always given them a pass on any kind of tax burden.

Matt Yglesias raised a few eyebrows this week, arguing that it's time to treat houses of worship like every other tax-eligible entity, which in turn raised a related question: just how much money is at stake?

Researchers at the University of Tampa set out to quantify the answer, and Dylan Matthews summarized the findings.

When people donate to religious groups, it's tax-deductible. Churches don't pay property taxes on their land or buildings. When they buy stuff, they don't pay sales taxes. When they sell stuff at a profit, they don't pay capital gains tax. If they spend less than they take in, they don't pay corporate income taxes. Priests, ministers, rabbis and the like get "parsonage exemptions" that let them deduct mortgage payments, rent and other living expenses when they're doing their income taxes. They also are the only group allowed to opt out of Social Security taxes (and benefits).

So, how much money are we talking about here? The University of Tampa research puts the total at $71 billion, which is obviously an enormous chunk of change. Note, however, that it's on the low end of possible estimates -- as Matthews explained, the figure doesn't include local income and property tax exemptions, or charitable deductions worth additional tens of billions of dollars.

The appetite among policymakers for any kind of changes in this area is practically non-existent, even as a simmering debate over tax reform and a reevaluation of deductions unfolds behind closed doors on Capitol Hill. But given the sheer number of houses of worship, the amount of property they own, and the apparent interest in moving governmental budgets closer to balance, this would, at a minimum, be the basis for an interesting public conversation.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* The Arkansas Christian Academy near Little Rock this week posted signs notifying the public that school staff is now armed. One sign in particular warns, "Any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force."

* The Ridgedale Church of Christ in Tennessee forced Linda Cooper out of the congregation recently, despite her family's membership in the church for the last six decades. Her transgression? She sat with her gay daughter, a local police detective, at an event on same-sex benefits for the local police department.

* BuzzFeed this week published a series of interesting maps, offering a visual breakdown of Congress' religious makeup (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* Given the importance the religious right movement places on a sense of victimization, Amanda Marcotte this week highlighted the "five most absurd, self-pitying gripes of the Christian right."

* And on a related note, the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer was outraged this week about a New Mexico court ruling that said a wedding photographer couldn't discriminate against a same-sex couple. According to Fischer, this means the courts "have turned Christians into Dred Scott." He added, "[T]o me this looks like Jim Crow is alive and well, we've got Jim Crow laws right back in operation, Christians are the new blacks."

Watch on YouTube

Links for the 8/23 TRMS

Citations for Friday's show are listed after the jump.

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King says voice of white moderate needed

Police: Texas Lt. Gov. Dewhurst Asked to Get Relative Out of Jail

Rep. Mike Coffman: Obama in his heart 'not an American'

Coffman won't explain Obama 'not an American' comments

Congressman Peddles Conspiracy Theory On Climate Change: Only 'Radical Environmentalists' Get Grants

Truth Test: Ad pecks at Coffman's record on carbon emissions

Group launches second round of ads targeting climate-change skeptics

Attaching a price to climate denialism

Environmental group launches $2 million ad campaign on climate change

Probe of Keystone Contractor Energizes Pipeline Opponents

Sierra Club: Demand an investigation of the Keystone XL conflict of interest!

Sec. Kerry: Investigate the conflicts of interest in the Keystone review

Decision on Keystone in danger of being delayed until 2014

Newly released tapes show nixon maneuvering as Watergate unfolds

Cruz's Supporters Don't Question His Eligibility

Ted Cruz renounces Canadian citizenship

Ahead on the 8/23 Maddow show

Tonight's guests:

Chris Hayes, host of MSNBC's "All in," weekdays at 8 p.m.
Melissa Harris-Perry, host of MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry," weekend mornings at 10 a.m.

And here's executive producer Bill Wolff who offers some upbeat accompaniment to tonight's preview:

Friday's Mini-Report

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Lebanon: "Car bombs exploded with catastrophic force outside two Sunni mosques in this northern Lebanon city on Friday as many worshipers were leaving prayers, killing dozens of people and wounding hundreds. The bombings were a major escalation of sectarian violence in Lebanon, a country deeply unsettled by the conflict in neighboring Syria, and reinforced fears that the Middle East could be plunging into unbridled Sunni vs. Shiite warfare."

* NSA: "National Security Agency officials deliberately overstepped their legal authority multiple times in the past decade, the agency acknowledged on Friday."

* Fort Hood: "Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who admitted to the 2009 shooting rampage at the military base here, was convicted Friday of 13 counts of premeditated murder -- and could become the first American soldier to be put to death in half a century."

* Sgt. Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier who carried out a massacre of Afghan villlagers last year, "has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole." In Bales' attack last March, 16 Afghan civilians were gunned down in their family compounds. Most of the victims were women and children.

* Syria: "President Barack Obama said reports of a possible chemical weapons attack in Syria this week signal 'a big event of grave concern' and said he has shortened the time frame for the U.S. to decide whether it will act to halt the bloodshed in the country."

* The right is trying to exploit Christopher Lane's murder for ugly racial and political ends. Adam Serwer explains why this is a mistake.

* San Diego: "Mayor Bob Filner has signed a letter of resignation, pending City Council approval of a proposal reached during mediation between his lawyers and the city attorney over a sexual harassment lawsuit against the mayor, city officials said Friday."

* Treasury Secretary Jack Lew wants to help Congress understand the basics of the debt ceiling: "It is important to note that the debt limit has nothing to do with new spending0 It has to do with spending that Congress has already approved and bills that have already been incurred. Failing to raise the debt limit would not make these bills go away. It would, though, have disastrous effects for our nation."

* Good call: "President Obama phoned a Georgia elementary school bookkeeper who talked a 20-year-old armed with an AK-47 assault rifle into surrendering, according to the White House."

* Fifty years after the March.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

Conservative, red-state Republican connects faith, immigration

It hasn't generated much attention, but many American faith communities have been deeply involved in the fight over immigration reform this year, with most religious traditions coming out in strong support for comprehensive, bipartisan legislation.

Watch on YouTube

With this in mind, it's worth noting that this extends outside the pews. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R) of Alabama talked to his constituents this week about how his faith helps shape his perspective on the pending legislation.

"Y'all may think I'm copping out, but with my Christian faith, it's hard for me to say that I'm gonna divide these families up.... Bring 'em into our system. Give them legal status. They will pay Social Security. They'll work hard. [...]

"I'll tell you this, as your Congressman, I am not gonna separate families or send them back."

The larger context is worth keeping in mind. Just last year, Bachus not only faced a primary opponent, he was challenged by the architect of Alabama's state-based anti-immigrant laws.

And Bachus doesn't just represent a red district in a red state, he represents Alabama's 6th -- which has a partisan-voting index rating of R+28, making it the fifth reddest district in the nation.

But Bachus is nevertheless willing to take a constructive and compassionate line on immigration. While so many of his GOP colleagues would eagerly "divide these families up" and "send them back," this Alabama Republican, citing his faith, rejects such cruelty.

If Spencer Bachus can do this in redder-than-red Alabama, plenty of other nervous Republicans can do the same thing.