Iowa Caucus Shows Dangerous Rise of Religious Right
MARINA DEL REY, CA - Of his second place finish at Monday's Iowa Caucus, Conservative presidential hopeful Steve Forbes said, "I think it shows that real conservative principles still dominate the Republican Party."
This is not true, said a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.
"Although inconsistent, conservatism once stood for limited government, the separation of church and state and sovereignty of the individual," said Andrew Bernstein. "By contrast, the 'new' conservative, like Forbes, Bauer and the other Republican presidential hopefuls, believe in big government, the mixing of politics and religion and limits on personal freedom. For example, Gary Bauer advocates censorship of the Internet, and George W. Bush has reportedly promised to pursue a Constitutional amendment banning abortion and has proposed that tax dollars fund church charitable activities."
The Ayn Rand Institute has created a new Religion vs. Morality micro-Web site (http://religion.aynrand.org) which exposes how the religious right and so-called conservatives are threatening the individual rights and freedoms of Americans. The site contains essays by Institute writers, including Bernstein, dissecting the political meaning and danger of these threats. The site also includes essays offering a consistent, rational alternative to the religious right and modern conservatism, Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, which advocates reason, rational self-interest, and individual rights.
ARI senior writer Andrew Bernstein is available for interviews.
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