Quote of the Week: Like a (Re)Virgin

From "Christian Right Labors to Find ’08 Candidate" by David D. Kirkpatrick on the front page of today's New York Times:

[Grover Norquist] argued that with the right promises, any of the four [Republican presidential candidates] could redeem themselves in the eyes of the conservative movement despite their past records, just as some high school students take abstinence pledges even after having had sex.

“It’s called secondary virginity,” Mr. Norquist said. “It is a big movement in high school and also available for politicians.”

Upon reading the headline in the paper, the Boy Wonder commented, "So the liberal media does report good news!" My thought exactly.

The article describes a recent meeting, held at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, FL (do ya love it?!), of about 60 members of the Council for National Policy. The council is a "secretive club" founded 25 years ago by the Rev. Tim LaHaye, author (with much assistance) of the "Left Behind" series, "as a forum for conservative Christians to strategize about turning the country to the right."

Its secrecy was intended to insulate the group from what its members considered the liberal bias of the news media....The council’s bylaws forbid members from publicly disclosing its membership or activities...

The club's "few hundred members" include Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Liberty University, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation.

Although little known outside the conservative movement, the council has become a pivotal stop for Republican presidential primary hopefuls, including George W. Bush on the eve of his 1999 primary campaign....For eight years and four elections, President Bush forged a singular alliance with Christian conservatives — including dispatching administration officials and even cabinet members to address council meetings — that put them at the center of the Republican Party.

So let's see: We have a secret...(ahem)...cabal of coreligionists plotting to control the government. It must have a manifesto, perhaps authored (or at least suggested) by Tim LaHaye.

The manifesto's title?

"Protocols of the Elders of Amelia."