The Cult of Conservatism. By Eric Smith

There has been a lot of talk lately about John Podesta's having referred to today's Republican Party as a modern day "Jonestown Cult." and his recent retraction of that statement once he became a part of the Obama Administration is under the current circumstances quite understandable. However the fact that he apologized for that statement and retracted it doesn't change the fact that what he said was right and here's how.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines the word cult as the following: "1, a system of religious worship. 2. devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc. 3. a sect." Clearly the first definition does not apply to today's Republican Party and modern day Conservatism but it is just as clear that the latter two definitions do apply; especially as it relates to the word sect which Webster's defines as follows in its second definition of this word: "2. a group of people having a common philosophy, set of beliefs, etc."

Now of course on the surface these definitions of cult & sect can also apply to those of us who are on the Left, who are not Conservative insofar as our being devoted to a person, a principle, a group of people having a common philosophy, set of beliefs, etc., is not exclusive to the Republican Party and Conservatives. Where Podesta's comparison of the Republican Party and Conservatism to the Jonestown is proven accurate is by the following; namely that today's Republican Party and Conservative Movement are as much personality as they are policy driven. In the place of a Reverend Jim Jones we have a Ted Cruz, a Sarah Palin, a Rush Limbaugh, a Glenn Beck, a Sean Hannitty, and a Michele Bachmann.

Like Jim Jones these personalities which are the driving force behind today's Republican Party and Conservative Movement are possessed by a demagogic spirit which has given these self anointed leaders of the GOP & the Far Right a Messiah Complex and like Jim Jones they prey on peoples fears, prejudices, and insecurities; imbuing them a dangerous siege mentality bordering on paranoia where they regard those their leaders define as s different as being their mortal enemies; as posing a clear and present danger to their freedoms and their liberties.

As was the case with Reverend Jim Jones and his followers this state of affairs can only have one result for the Republican Party & the Far Right; suicide; not suicide in the sense of 900 dead at Jonestown in the Fall of 1978 but suicide in the form of the political self destruction of Conservatism in general and the Republican Party in particular. As Jim Jones led his cult to self annihilation so too is this modern Cult of Conservatism driving the Republican Party to oblivion and that in turn will leave a destructive vacuum in this country where the Democratic Party and the Far Left will have no real checks and balances on their power & influence and that my friends will be horrible for the nation for we do not have a monopoly on truth; we make mistakes, we get things wrong, and as such we Democrats in general and America in particular needs a strong and viable Republican Party for as the old saying goes "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

So whenever possible we must be willing to reach out to those moderate voices in the Republican Party who are genuinely wiling to reach out to us who do not consider themselves to be a part of this Cult of Conservatism but rather feel trapped by it like many of those doomed followers of Jim Jones in 1978. We must be willing to save the Republican Party from itself if it is in any way possible to do so. We need each other. We need each other if for no other reason than that we are Americans, we are human beings, and in the words of President Kennedy "we are all mortal."