As some of you might know, I was a huge Wesley Clark supporter, helping to "draft" him in the summer of 2003. Although he did not win the Democratic nomination (unfortunately), I still support him and strongly agree with his refreshingly progressive and visionary views on domestic issues, plus his strength and smarts on national security. In fact, my 2008 "dream ticket" is one with the names Wes Clark and Virginia's own Mark Warner on it. Clark/Warner 2008 - the General and the Governor -- now THAT'S the ticket to take back our country!For those of you who don't know, General Clark is a southerner (Arkansas), and a Christian (born of a Jewish father and Christian mother, raised Southern Baptist, converted to Roman Catholicism, now attends a Protestant church -- hope I got that right!). Which makes what he had to say last night in Los Angeles about the so-called "Christian Right" even more powerful.
Although I wasn't there, many of my fellow Clark supporters were. Here's one account of Clark's comments on the Christian Right, courtesy of DailyKos:
Clark goes after the Christian right. He says "I'm a Christian. I think I'm right." Then adds that "Bill Frist going on that TV show, that's not the Christian right. That's the Christian wrong. They're extremists. They're wrong."Ok General, don't be shy. Tell us what you really think. He's says wrong like a preacherman, with a little hellfire and brimstone creeping in around the edges.
He adds, "The Christianity I know is about love. It's about lifting every person up." The Christian right is "taking the word of the Good Lord and twisting it to political purposes."
Wow. I didn't know Clark would be so effective against the [Christian Wrong] crowd, but damn! He's got it down, he's totally authentic with it. That Arkansas! It just breeds them don't you think? They probably have more Christians per square mile there than the Vatican.
Even better, Clark hinted strongly that he is thinking of running again for President in 2008:
He asks for our help. He says that last time, he had no political experience, no political strategy, no money when he started and no staff. This time, he promises that if we help, he'll have the money, he has the strategy, he'll have the staff, and he has the experience.Folks, I'm sitting next to General Clark's media consultant who doesn't want me to say this so blatantly, but what I heard is that General Clark is running in '08. He explained to us that he intends to spend the next few years building the strategy, working the language and connecting the grassroots together for, as he calls it, "a giant march on Washington."
In other words, the right-wing Republicans -- Tom DeLay, John Thune, Rick Santorum, Jerry Kilgore, the whole corrupt crowd of "extremists" and "Christian wrongs" -- had better watch out, because General Clark is about to lead an army of angry Democrats back to Washington DC. And I, for one, can't wait to sign up for THIS "draft." Go Clark!
PS If any Clark supporters would like to help "Raise Kaine" here in Virginia this year, please contact me at lowell@raisingkaine.com Thanks!