Demagogue

You've never heard that phrase from conservatives, have you?

But one can only guess how frustrated the Christian Right must feel to have learned that the Florida circuit court judge who issued the key rulings in the Terri Schiavo case was described this weekend by the Associated Press as “a conservative Christian and longtime Republican.”

The Schiavo case helps to shed additional light on the sort of Christianity that prevails in the land of Red States. As the AP reported:

… (Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George Greer) has become the public face of the judiciary in this internationally watched fight. But despite the mounting pressure, he has been steadfast in his rulings that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state and did not want to be kept alive artificially.

… Protesters now show up at his Clearwater home. The FBI arrested a North Carolina man it said placed a $50,000 bounty on the head of a judge in the case, although officials didn't name the judge.

This past week, [Greer] parted ways with his Southern Baptist church, which had advocated keeping Terri Schiavo alive, after his pastor suggested it would be better if he left.

“You must know that in all likelihood it is this case which will define your career and this case that you will remember in the waning days of life,” Calvary Baptist Pastor William Rice wrote to Greer in a letter than later became public. “I hope you can find a way to side with the angels and become an answer to the prayers of thousands.”

No doubt, the same pastor who showed Greer the door will continue to sprinkle his sermons with feel-good talk about “love,” “acceptance” and “brotherhood.”