Dean's Big Mouth

Don't worry about Dean's big mouth.

That he called Republicans a "white, Christian party" is nothing more than the mirror image of the snide, coarse stuff that comes from the mouths of Republican pit bulls.

Too many Democrats are too enlightened to really like what Dean does, but think about it: when right-winger musclemen get bellicose, it energizes the base.

Dean's point -- and everybody knows this -- is that "Christian" doesn't really mean "follower of Christ" anymore. It has an entire political and cultural, even literary identity, and the quicksilver truth of Christ's benevolent lessons are buried deep, deep in the muck of their anger and accusations.

This type of so-called Christian is the one who can wrap their anxieties into a identity that serves them almost as an ethnic group. "Christian bashing is the last form of accepted bigotry" read one bumper sticker that I saw. What kind of self-absorbed boob would trumpet such a message on their vehicle but someone who actually LOVES the persecution, who LOVES self-pity, and -- as it turns out -- is smug about being "saved."

Give me the Christianity that lives in the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, who said, "Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."

Live THAT, and Howard Dean ain't talkin' about YOU.