LuminousVoid

Thomas Franks’ What’s the Matter With Kansas? argues that the right wing pushes conservative economic philosophy but using social issues. Today’s Post, in an article about the troubles of the Ralph Reed campaign, shows the dynamic at work.

Reed sent a mailer to conservative Christians asking that they contact their Congressman and urge him to take a position. The position was to vote against the extension of federal labor laws to the Marianas Islands — a place where “Made in the USA” gear is built with Chinese labor and no US labor protection. But Reed sold it thusly:

“The radical left, the Big Labor Union Bosses, and Bill Clinton want to pass a law preventing Chinese from coming to work on the Marianas Islands,” the mailer from Reed’s firm said. The Chinese workers, it added, “are exposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ” while on the islands, and many “are converted to the Christian faith and return to China with Bibles in hand.”

The really interesting thing here is that Reed’s trouble is not because of this cynical manipulation of Christian voters’ concerns for the plain interest of money. It’s because it turns out there are very un-Christian things going on in the islands:

A [Department of Interior] report found that Chinese women were subject to forced abortions and that women and children were subject to forced prostitution in the local sex-tourism industry.