Today's Republican Party

It's being more and more influenced by adherents and fans of groups like the Constitution Party and its Christian Reconstructionist ideology, as Adele Stan explains in What Rand Paul and Sharron Angle Have in Common: A Far-Right "Biblical Law" Political Party Alternet 06/15/2010.

If the Tea Party could be said to have a founding father, I'd name him as Constitution Party founder Howard Phillips. Deeply influenced by the Christian Reconstructionist theology of Rousas John Rushdoony, Phillips not only helped found the religious right, but created a political party that has served as a haven for such figures as Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry and neo-militia leader Matthew Trewhella. (Founded in 1992 as the U.S. Taxpayers Party, the organization adopted the name "Constitution Party" in 1999.)

Phillips also chairs the Conservative Caucus, a political organization that served, during the presidential campaign, as a virtual clearinghouse for anti-Obama messaging — the very messaging that would find itself amplified by the Tea Party movement. It was from Phillips' shop that I first heard the trope about Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and heard tales of the future president's socialist past.

The Caucus works closely with the John Birch Society, and has featured Ron Paul as a speaker at several of its events. It is a tireless crusader against something called the North American Union, which it claims nefarious forces are trying to create after the model of the European Union. [my emphasis]

Tags: christian dominionism, radical right, republican party