Jindal's "Response" A No-Go Zone For Athiests, Gays, And Forms Of Intelligent Life

Gov. Bobby Jindal's prayer rally at Louisiana State University was a pallid political attempt by a Presidential wannabe to curry the favor of the Christian Right.

And that was the serious side of it.



With people like Cindy ("Japan Is Shaped Like A Dragon") Jacobs and E.W. Jackson, it was the Christian Right's answer to the clown car in Iowa.* (See Rachel Maddow's take below). But it was Jindal who took center stage, declaring all the while that this was an event of "faith, not politics."

Yes, the suspension of disbelief ran very high.

Pastors on stage repeatedly asked for God, in general, to provide elected officials with guidance. Homosexuality, abortion and other hot political issues were also discussed by speakers throughout the event.

“You could see the people praying and breaking down, from the little kids all the way up,” said one participant. “It was God touching the nation.” Little kids breaking down is not inspirational. It's just plain too theatrical ... and a little sick. 
Anti-Gay, Anti-Catholic, Pro Theocracy

Cindy Jacobs was admittedly the oddest attendee, not because she has said that the death of birds in Arkansas was the cause of the repeal of Don't Ak Don't Tell, but because she has been the most anti-Catholic "prophetess" the country has ever seen.  (She has been known to go around smashing statues of Catholic saints). She has also called for Native Americans to renounce the sins of their forefathers who were, of course "cannibals." Pope Francis would have been disappointed that Jindal would ever promote such a fringe "batsh*t crazy" person. The reasoning pontiff might even laugh at Jindal. But Jindal, a self-avowed "Evangelical Catholic", has shrugged off Vatican views before.

Louisiana's Catholic bishops felt The Response was too evangelical and too political in tone for them to be comfortable, Rob Tasman, executive director of Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, told The Associated Press.

The Louisiana governor pointed out that "a majority of our people are Christians, but we don't discriminate against anybody. And that's one of the great things about America." Tell that to gays, women, atheists and other religions. Jindal espouses the views of faux-historian David Barton, a Seven Mountains theology man, who envisions an exclusively Christian America, run by God, of course.

And Bobby Jindal, who, in a reference to the rally, compared himself to George Washington.

"I was struck by that final line, 'Our god wins,'" Stephanopoulos noted. "How do you think that lands in a country of 320 million people or many different kids of spirituality, many different kids of faith, many who believe in no god at all."          

"It's a time-honored tradition going back to our nation's founders for our presidents, for our leaders to turn to God for guidance, for wisdom," Jindal insisted. "George Washington did it, Abraham Lincoln did it, Harry Truman did it. So, absolutely, I think this idea of praying to God for wisdom and guidance is as old as our country."

George Washington as Billy Graham with a "prophetess" by his side, now there's a picture of note. The Presidents (note the citing, with a wishful thinking, of course) may have asked God for wisdom, but they didn't collect people in stadiums to pray. Stephanopoulos' question was completely sidetracked. Yes, Jindal's rally was  "No-Go Zone" where a great many Americans were repeatedly reviled. 

Less Than Stellar Outcome

When the rally kicked off at 10 a.m., the PMAC stands were lined with empty seats.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2011 version of “The Response” in Houston drew about 35,000 people, but Gov. Bobby Jindal’s event did not come close to meeting the PMAC’s seating capacity of 13,215.

That could be due to the fact that Louisiana State University students and faculty didn't want the darn thing in the first place. And the fact that it was sponsored by a SPLC-certified hate group didn't help things either. You see, the American Family Association and its founder, Tim Wildman are virulently anti-gay as well as anti-just-about-everything-else. With supreme bigot Bryan Fischer as its chief spokesperson, the group has spoken against African-Americans, Native Americans, gays, Obama, and every entity not mentioned favorably in the Bible. It also promotes Rambo Jesus.

There were protests, of course, but the most notable was actually another prayer rally:

While a prayer rally held at LSU, featuring Gov. Bobby Jindal, received a lot of attention because of the group hosting it, the American Family Association, more than 200 people descended upon Southern University Saturday morning to praise and worship God, and pray for a better education system in Louisiana, healthcare reform, more political involvement, more black men to be fathers to their children and new policies that would decrease the mass incarceration rates of black men.

And then there were the protestors outside the sparsely-attended event:

It was outrageous for the governor to throw a prayer rally on LSU's campus -- an event seemingly aimed at raising his national profile -- while simultaneously asking for state higher education to absorb at least $300 million in budget cuts next year, they said. "He is using it to launch a presidential campaign. ... We are subsidizing his move on to national office on the backs of our students," said Kent Filbel, a LSU professor who attended the protest in his academic robes.

Bogus prophetesses and tearful children aside, the fact that Jindal thought this rally would be effective religiously or politically was the real idiocy: it was a show of righteous arrogance that accomplished very little, except to make people wonder at the political process proffering Jindal as leader.

At the Southern University rally, Pastor Theron Jackson of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport, La. said: "There is no mystery as to why we call on God."We don't elect a God. We have a God that lives high but looks low." 

Bobby Jindal doesn't see it that way: throwing a rally at a university campus that doesn't want you or your sponsors, filling it with fringe religious frauds to give it theatrical appeal, and telling everyone that's it's not really a political event (wink wink) is just what God wants, even if others think it's ridiculous. Now that's real presidential material. 
"The Land Is Starting To Rejoice" hyped a poster for the event. 

Rejoicing that another self-righteous politico has proven himself to be a ridiculous choice for President. 



*Those attendees included Sarah Palin (and her mess of a speech), Mike Huckabee, Scott Walker,Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, all of them trashing Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush.