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The proper term would be "a segment of the population self-identified as Christians", because there certainly are self-identified Christians who completely reject the Jerry Falwell interpretation of Christ's message.
The Senator recognizes, if I read him correctly, that the ultimate flaw in the movement's leadership is its complete willingness to join racists, tax-dodgers, militarists, and freedom-hating fascists in a marriage of convenience in order to pursue a set of goals, the overturning of Roe being the premier teaser.
Their followers have been used and abused, but are quite easily led astray due in part to their shared belief that merely questioning the crap they are fed will doom them to eternal damnation. This huge bait and switch scam has still got a stranglehold on a segment of the society, and unfortunately is not being challenged effectively by enough other people of conscience who consider themselves Christians.

I'd personally like to see an effective counter movement within the Churches to expose and reject this unholy alliance, but I don't think that those who run the business of fundamentalist Religious brainwashing are likely to allow their golden goose to get cooked without an ugly fight.

A wealthy minister is not a Christian minister. The televangelists are wealthy ministers. (Billy Graham might be an exception.) What is a flaw in the "Christian" movement can be a flaw in any movement. How does one control the need to have the largest number of people in a movement, to be as effective as possible, yet keep the movement working towards a common goal? Every large movement whether on the left or on the right has had its fringe elements. Those fringe elements are often the most committed and the most active in any movement. Seeing only the fringe elements in the movement you disagree with helps the fringe element in your own movement look respectable.

So is Sandy really leaving this time? Hatrack, that puts you in charge of conservative issues. Please try not to resort to obscenities when some of us fail to agree with you or consider your views to be somewhat hypocritical. In light of what conservative control of congress has produced and a conservative administration has produced I find it hard to listen to conservative views without simply cringing at your ability to be unflinchingly right all of the time despite proof that you are indeed wrong or misinformed or simply too blind to see that the republicans have totally fubarred the US Government. At least Sandy realized what a horrible job Republicans had done and wanted A third party made up of republicans to do exactly the same things that have been done but for it to have worked instead of constantly and consistently failing.

I'll vouch for our worthy Senator from Minnesota. He doesn't call people names and he never cusses. I doubt if he even drinks.

But if you did, Bryan, I'd have a beer with you anytime.

Good man, Senator Hatrack.

Alright, on your recommendation, Steve, I will give a bit more credence to the Senators oppinions. The current administration has forced me into my leftist fringe position and given time perhaps I can again come to believe that there is, indeed, intelligent life on the right.

You know, I have grown up with moderate political views that have changed only a modicum in their centrality over time, but for a very long period, now, I have been accused of being "fringe" by certain people. But, as Reagan noted (hypocritically, I note) when he left the Democratic Party following John F. Kennedy's election, "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me." I never left the mainstream, it's just that the so-called center shifted so far to the right that any "moderate" is now on the fringe. I do wish there were more reasonable "conservatives" to discuss the issues than there currently are here. Unfortunately, there is a general lack of reasonableness on that side of the political spectrum. <sigh>

NW Ponderer has hit the nail on the head when he said:
"I never left the mainstream, it's just that the so-called center shifted so far to the right that any "moderate" is now on the fringe."

The reality is that the corporate media has shifted the entire political spectrum sharply to the right. What was once moderate is now fringe, what was once leftist, is now the "far left", what was once radical is now "terrorism".

Orwell's world of 1984 seems to be taking shape with little notice. It is increasingly dificult to differentiate propaganda from news. Reality becomes simply the commonly accepted prejudice.

Welcome, Roger - and a nice start!

Welcome from me too, Roger!
I hope you'll stick around and play with us here.

I couldn't agree with your statement above more.
I've never been considered fringe or radical until recent years.
In fact, my friend from England says there I would be considered fairly moderate.

Olyve