Sarah Palin attacks Alan Grayson via twitter and distorts as usual - Controversy highlights radical religious ties of Dan Webster, Grayson's opponent

Sarah Palin today did what she does best: Send out moronic tweets which distort the truth, and which then backfire on her.

In addition, she involuntarily helped to highlight the radical religious connections of Dan Webster, Alan Grayson's Republican opponent in Florida.

This is a case which becomes very interesting, once you look beneath the surface.

Let's take a look at the chronology of what happened:

On September 25, Alan Grayson published a campaign advert in which he accused his opponent Dan Webster of being like the "Taliban" and a "religious fanatic":

In this advert, Dan Webster is repeatedly quoted with a bible verse which says "she should submit to me." The controversy regarding this advert which then followed revolves around the fact that it's doubtful whether the context in which Dan Webster said these words support the claim that he wants wives "to submit" to their husbands. Watch this clip:

While it's unfortunate that the context of these words is ambiguous, Alan Grayson staunchly defends his criticism of Dan Webster's views - and Grayson is fully justified, as we will see later.

It is noteworthy that in the following clip from MSNBC, Alan Grayson is treated by the anchor Contessa Brewer like all politicians and candidates should be treated in media: Being asked highly critical, even aggressive questions, highlighting critical points or statements, so that the audience, the electorate can decide themselves how well the candidate is doing in defending himself and his viewpoint. This should be standard procedure in the media and in the political arena.

However, for reasons which are still hard to understand, Sarah Palin never ever had to endure such treatment by the media. She already struggled hard with the softball questions which Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson asked her, and she would regard this way of being questioned as nothing but an insult. Sarah Palin hides behind twitter and facebook, and only screeches via Fox News, receiving deluxe softball treatment in Murdoch's kingdom.

Here is the interview which Contessa Brewer conducted with Alan Grayson on MSNBC on Tuesday, September 26:

Sarah Palin, who lives in her very small, very narrow-minded world in which MSNBC would count as "extraterrestrial", tweeted out her own version of reality today:

and shortly afterwards

Well, despite her "all of them, any of them" media consumption Sarah Palin failed to spot that the media HAD indeed make a fact check. There was not only the interview on MSNBC on September 28, but already on September 25, PolitiFact checked Alan Grayson's advert. CNN also conducted a fact check of Alan Grayson's advert today before Sarah Palin tweeted, and Anderson Cooper immediately tweeted back at Sarah Palin and told her that this was the case.

Although PolitiFact concluded that Dan Webster's statement was taken out of context, the researchers at PolitiFact took their job seriously and reported some very inconvenient facts about Alan Grayson's opponent:

Grayson spokesman Sam Drzymala said the audio and video of Webster come from a speech he made for the Institute in Basic Life Principles, which Drzymala described as a "right-wing cult."

The Institute in Basic Life Principles describes itself as a Christian teaching organization that provides training and instruction on how to find success by following God’s principles found in Scripture. Some of its specific teachings are controversial. Among them, the Institute teaches that a mother violates Scripture when she works outside the home, that married couples are to abstain from sex 40 days after the birth of a son, 80 days after the birth of a daughter and the evening prior to worship, and that people should avoid rock and even contemporary Christian music because it can be addictive.

Webster has been involved with the group for nearly 30 years and continues to participate in training and also speaks at seminars.

In a 2003 interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Webster said he home-schooled his six children on Institute curricula and said the group's teachings have had a major influence on his life.

One of those Institute beliefs describes the complementary roles of a husband and wife. "The man provides servant leadership and the woman responds with reverent submission and assistance," according to the group's website, which goes on to quote Ephesians 5:22–33 -- Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. . . . Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it . . . . Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

According to the Institute, a wife is never supposed to "take over," writing that "in response to pressures within the family or within a marital relationship, a foolish wife will take matters into her own hands." A wife also is to "stay beautiful for her husband."

"Resistance or indifference to your husband’s need for physical intimacy is the unspoken crushing of his spirit," the Institute says on its website. In other places on the website, the Institute talks about a wife's need to submit to a husband's spiritual leadership.

In his 2003 interview with the Times, Webster declined to discuss specific teachings and whether he disagreed with any of them.

"I believe what I believe," he said in the 2003 interview. "It has not affected the way I've served. I don't think anyone can tell you that I've forced my beliefs on anyone else."

Jed Lewison comments on the Daily Kos regarding this assessment by Politifact:

"Let me just say this: when those who are defending you nonetheless include a detailed accounting of your 30-year membership in a cultish group of religious extremists with radical views on the relationship between men and women, then you are way, way outside the mainstream."

To clarify:

The speech by Dan Webster from the clip which appeared in Grayson's advert was held at a conference of the so called "Advanced Training Institute International" in 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. This Institute was founded by the "Institute for Basic Life Principles."

Screenshots from the website of the "Advanced Training Institute International:

The founder of the "Institute of Basic Life Principles", the organization Dan Websters has been involved with for more than 30 years and for which he conducted for example the speech in 2009, is a man called Bill Gothard.

Dan Webster is undoubtedly a faithful follower of Bill Gothard, as for example the Gainesville Sun reported in August 1996:

Time Magazine reported about Bill Gothard in 1974:

"Gothard's philosophy is that people should recognize the difficulties of life as part of God's plan and use them for their spiritual benefit. His opening lecture on self-acceptance closes with a prayer to "give God a vote of confidence for how he has made us so far." Next comes family life. Children must be totally obedient. A religious teenager, for example, should not attend a church college if atheistic parents order him not to. As for a man's wife, she "has to realize that God accomplishes his ultimate will through the decisions of the husband, even when the husband is wrong." Citing I Thessalonians 5:18 ("In every thing give thanks"), Gothard even advises a wife whose husband chastises her to say, "God, thank you for this beating." And Gothard adds to Christ's words from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But you know what you are doing through them to build character in me."

Besides following the chain of command in the family, Christians should also be obedient to their employers and their government, Gothard asserts. Only if an order from a parent, the state or a boss conflicts with God's explicit commandments may it be disobeyed. But first the Christian is supposed to follow six complex steps, beginning with an examination of his own bad attitudes.

On the side, Gothard dispenses assorted fundamentalist opinions. He favors fasting, tithing and Bible memorization, while opposing liberal Bible criticism, much of higher education, highly rhythmic music, working wives, explicit sex education and any sexual arousal before marriage. As for homosexuality, Gothard says that when it is made "a normal way of life, then it's all over for a society, and we are right at that point."

Since Gothard's impact is just starting to be felt in liberal churches, most criticisms till now have been raised by Evangelicals. Wheaton Bible Professor Alan Johnson protests that Gothard's docile acceptance of life "takes the sting out of evil and even transforms it into a good." Johnson's colleague Gordon Fee thinks that Gothard's approach to Bible interpretation is simpleminded. "You cannot just stamp the 1st century culture onto the 20th century and say it is the divine order," says Fee."

Our friend Leah Burton from "God's own party?" published in a new post a disturbing first-hand account of Bill Gothard's organization:

Vyckie Garrison was involved with Webster ally, Bill Gothard’s teachings for 14 years; after following the fundamentalist teachings of the ‘Quiverfull’ movement, Garrison was subjected to mental abuse and told to ignore medical advice not to have more children because her job as a woman was to obey God by submitting to her husband – an act that allegedly afforded her physical and spiritual protection.
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“On the surface, Bill Gothard’s wholesome message seems to promote happy family life, but in actual practice, the lifestyle perpetuates heavy burdens and unrealistic standards for women.
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“Gothard’s teachings stress that safe and proper, ‘godly’ living comes from submission to authority. A woman must submit to any and all whims of her husband, including all types of domestic abuse,” said Garrison. “Anyone concerned about women’s equality and empowerment should be alarmed by this religious movement.”
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According to Bill Gothard, a man’s wife “has to realize that God accomplishes his ultimate will through the decisions of the husband, even when the husband is wrong.” Citing I Thessalonians 5:18 (“In every thing give thanks”), Gothard even advises a wife whose husband chastises her to say, “God, thank you for this beating.” And Gothard adds to Christ’s words from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But you know what you are doing through them to build character in me.”

In conclusion, there can be hardly any doubt that Dan Webster is extremely closely connected with an organization which teaches exactly what Alan Grayson claims to be the case in the advert. Even if the particular quote might be taken out of context, which I am personally not fully convinced of as we have access only to a very small portion of the speech, Dan Webster has worked for a radical religious organization for more than 30 years which demands the full submission of a wife under her husband. In addition, Bill Gothard's group doesn't even try to hide their views, but openly displays them.

Therefore I side with Alan Grayson 100% on this issue. He has picked the right subject, made the right accusations, just picked an unfortunate excerpt of the speech.

By the way, it didn't take too long to conduct all this research, and I am not even working for MSNBC. Why cannot highly paid anchors like Contessa Brewer do their homework as well, instead of giving the impression that Alan Grayson is a liar, when in fact he was right on target?

Leah Burton emphasizes an additional problem in this case, and I wished that more journalists would take note:

"But here is the problem…most Americans have NO idea how extreme these Christian zealots are!"

Apparently, some journalists have no idea as well, which is sad. It doesn't take a lot of time to research the facts.

I like Alan Grayson and his combative approach a lot. This example shows again that it's necessary to aggressively unmask these religious fundamentalists if they seek higher political office. It also shows that the accusations are more than justified.

Somebody like Sarah Palin would never be able to understand that, as she couldn't think her way out of a box, and Alan Grayson made an additional observation:

In an email and a facebook post to his supporters, Alan Grayson has more to say about Sarah Palin:

"Yesterday, Sarah Palin once again engaged in her chosen form of mortal combat - the tweet - by attacking me, and endeavoring to promote my Republican opponent, Daniel Webster, to Palin's zombie horde."

Her chosen form of mortal combat, indeed. Not giving interviews like real politicians do, because Sarah Palin is a coward and hides behind twitter and facebook.

I wished that the USA had more Democratic politicians like Alan Grayson. Sharp attacks and rebuttals is the only language these right-wing radicals, who have no hesitation to dish out themselves, understand.

Neville Chamberlain already had to learn the hard way long ago that appeasement doesn't work when you deal with political fanatics.

This shall be our lesson for today. ;-)

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As a bonus, I would like to present Joe Miller's tweets from today, which he apparently wrote in a state of hubris and then later tweeleted, obviously after he regained his sanity (for how long?). Wingnuts like Joe Miller can often be annoying and disturbing, but they surely provide a lot of quality entertainment. Screenshots of the tweets have survived:

(Original source of the screenshot: Unofficial "WriteInLisa" twitter)

Mr Miller goes to Washington - and tweets garbage.

Maybe he should employ somebody to manage his tweets, but this concept is not fault proof as well, as the Quitter Queen shows us on a daily basis.

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UPDATE:

We shouldn't forget to have some fun as well! This new clip by Jimmy Kimmel is hilarious and spot-on:

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Sarah Palin Raises Money For Alan Grayson

By Kathleen

Alan Grayson, in his recent fundraising message, took a neat swipe at Sarah Palin’s distorted view of “Real America” when he wrote that she would never understand that America is a country of people who believe in doing “good things for the benefit of all”. In response to her recent visit to Florida,



and her attack on him, he’s hoping to send a resounding message to Sarah by means of a “moneybomb” fundraising extravaganza which ends on March 27th 2010.

The following is the letter that Alan sent out to his supporters on the 17th March asking for their support in order to beat back Sarah Palin. It’s clear from this and from subsequent media interviews that Alan has a very keen awareness of exactly the type of person that Sarah is and what it is she stands for. In his usual erudite yet humorous fashion he even offers to debate with Sarah on the issues.

Last week, Sarah Palin came to Orlando to help defeat me. Palin gave a speech in which she said that the Republicans needed “take me out.” Like she was shooting a moose from a helicopter.

This week, you and I got 75 cosponsors for our Medicare You Can Buy Into Act. 75 co-sponsors, in six days.

We did this together, with People Power. I was talking to members on the floor of the House, and you were sending e-mails and phone calls. My colleagues told me about all the creative ways that you reached them. Many of you forwarded to me the messages you sent.

THAT is what a movement looks like. THAT is the America we believe in, where we help each other, where we do good things for the benefit of all. It is an America that Palin would never understand, despite her formidable powers of comprehension.

And here is something else that we’ve done together. We’ve put together a campaign to beat back Sarah Palin. A campaign not funded by favor-seeking rich people and corporations, but by people like you. Last quarter, you helped me raise $500,000 dollars in one day, an average of $50 at a time. This blew away fundraising for every other House campaign, including people that took money from insurance companies, Wall Street, and defense contractors.

And you sent a message that was heard loud and clear. We like leaders with guts. And now, despite all the right-wing stalling and kvetching, we are going to get things done.

Let’s send that message again. On March 27, we’re going to drop another moneybomb on the special interests.

And what was my response to the Queen of the Quitters? I said that I looked forward to an honest debate with Governor Palin on the issues, in the unlikely event that she ever learns anything about them.

Naturally, Sarah will never accept his invitation to honest debate because Alan would dissolve her in moments and she would be melted into air, into thin air. It would be a perfect Shakespearean moment…

You can donate here.
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You have got healthcare! Now Alan Grayson wants you to have the Public Option as well! - UPDATE! Alan Grayson talks Sarah Palin!

By Kathleen

In a Huffington Post article published today, Alan Grayson, congressman of Florida, describes his own near-death experience and the reasons why he wants to progress a bill, HR 4789, that will be accessible to all citizens and legal residents of the US.

Rep. Grayson writes that as a young boy he was aware that his parents, who were both unemployed at the time, were concerned that they would have to choose between paying the rent or pay for treatment which required him to attend hospital four times a week.

It must have been a stark choice for any parent to have to make and the undue burden of such knowledge by Grayson at such a stressful time likely would have led to a worsening of his condition due to the unnecessary anxiety he must have suffered.

As a result of his own experience, Grayson strongly feels that children should never have to suffer because of situations that their parents may find themselves in. Such suffering he believes is unconscionable and although he supported Sunday’s historic bill he wants to see it extended to open up the provision of Medicare to anyone who wants to pay into the system. He considers his Bill as enhancing the new framework – that it will “complete the job” already started.

Alan Grayson discusses his proposal further in the video:

Can Grayson’s proposal work? I believe that it can, because the Bill that he has put forward is both simple and affordable. Everyone will have a choice – pay into the Medicare system or buy private insurance from a private company. The Bill offers competition to the private providers and no longer would American citizens find themselves at the mercy of private companies when it comes to the choice of health coverage.

Here is Grayson’s Bill which now has 80 co-sponsors in the House and more than 40,000 citizen co-sponsors:

H. R. 4789

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an option for any citizen or permanent resident of the United States to buy into Medicare.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 9, 2010

Mr. GRAYSON (for himself, Mr. FILNER, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Ms. WATSON, and Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an option for any citizen or permanent resident of the United States to buy into Medicare.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Public Option Act’ or the `Medicare You Can Buy Into Act’.

SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL MEDICARE BUY-IN OPTION.
(a) In General- Part A of title XVIII of the Social Security Act is amended–
(1) in section 1818(a), by striking `or 1818A’ and inserting `, 1818A, or 1818B’; and
(2) by inserting after section 1818A the following new section:

`UNIVERSAL BUY-IN
`Sec. 1818B.

`(a) In General- (a) Every individual who–
`(1) is a resident of the United States;
`(2) is either (A) a citizen or national of the United States, or (B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; and
`(3) is not otherwise entitled to benefits under this part or eligible to enroll under this part;
shall be eligible to enroll in the insurance program established by this part. An individual may enroll under this section only in such manner and form as may be prescribed in regulations, and only during an enrollment period prescribed in or under this section.
`(b) Enrollment; Coverage- The Secretary shall establish enrollment periods and coverage under this section consistent with the principles for establishment of enrollment periods and coverage for individuals under section 1818, except that no entitlement to benefits under this part shall be effective before the first day of the first calendar year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
`(c) Premiums-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The provisions of subsections (d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3) of section 1818 insofar as they apply to premiums (including collection of premiums) shall apply to premiums

and collection of premiums under this section, except that–

`(A) paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 1818 shall not be applicable; and
`(B) the estimate of the monthly actuarial rate under section 1818(d) shall be computed and applied under this paragraph based upon costs incurred for individuals within each age cohort specified in paragraph (2) rather than for all individuals age 65 and older.

`(2) AGE COHORTS- The age cohorts specified in this paragraph are as follows:

`(A) Individuals under 19 years of age.
`(B) Individuals at least 19 years of age but not more than 25 years of age.
`(C) Individuals at least 26 years of age and not more than 35 years of age.
`(D) Individuals at least 36 years of age and not more than 45 years of age.
`(E) Individuals at least 46 years of age and not more than 55 years of age.
`(F) Individuals at least 56 years of age and not more than 64 years of age.
`(d) Treatment- An individual enrolled under this part pursuant to this section shall not be treated as enrolled under this part (or any other part of this title) for purposes of obtaining medical assistance for medicare cost-sharing or otherwise under title XIX.’.

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Of course this provision is not headache free. It will be attractive to people who are self-employed, unemployed, part-time workers and those who are uninsurable but it is unlikely that such groups, apart from the self-employed, will be able to pay the full cost of the premiums unless they are subsidised. It is also dependent on the fact that health care providers will have to be willing to provide care to new Medicare patients who are covered by a system which presently pays less for treatment than private companies do.

More important however, what Grayson’s practical Bill provides is an opportunity to open up healthcare provision to all “Real America” citizens. It is not a Bill for the corporations – it is a Bill for the people. Surely, Sarah Palin does not have a problem with that? After all, she did boast that she stood up against the corruption of the oil corporations, didn’t she?

SIGN ALAN GRAYSON'S PETITION FOR THE PUBLIC OPTION - CLICK HERE!

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If you want to read about Sarah Palin's most recent healthcare lies, please read Geoffrey Dunn's and Amanda Coyne’s articles published today.

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UPDATE:

We now have the clip of Alan Grayson talking to Rick Sanchez on CNN.

He talks about his proposal for the Public Option and he also doesn't pull any punches regarding Sarah Palin again!

"My kid was in school that day" - great response! He also invited Sarah to debate the healthcare issues with him, "so that she learns anything about them".

"Sarah Palin is an inspiration for quitters all over the country!" - so true!

"She is an inspiration for every student in school who cheats!"

"She is not even a political figure any more, she is just a reality show personality, she just wants to make money, that's it!"

Please don't hold back, Alan! ;-)

We officially love Alan Grayson!

(h/t to krbmjb05!)

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