Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

–UPDATED BELOW: Second Blogger Also Resigns–

Okay, so how do you cover this story, be honest and not hurt the brand or the
big guy behind it? You can\’t. Period.

After last week\’s attack by Mr. Donahue of the Catholic League, Amanda Marcotte
got into it again yesterday and in the end she stood up and did the right thing.
Resigned. One of
the reasons was the complete remaking people have to undergo to work for a high
profile campaign. Therein lies the rub. People are who they are, just read his/her
blog for the clues. I respect Ms. Marcotte\’s decision, because it was the right
one given that she\’d become the story and Edwards was basically in bunker mode
because of it.

However, this one hurts Edwards. He screwed up and so did whoever is in charge
of managing his online campaign. I know everyone has a tendency to huddle together
and hope this all goes away or spin the reality, but I just can\’t see this any
other way.

I am also religious or maybe I should say spiritual, which ticks some people
off regularly out here in the blogosphere. Not to worry, because when I say
I\’m a \”rebel Christian\” and an Episcopalian who is proud of our gay
bishop and the WOMAN who runs the church, I get emails for that, too. I can
never satisfy the hyper pious (which I am not) or the agnostic, atheists and secularists, all of whom I have in my life. I got emails when I chastised Barack
Obama for lecturing the Democratic faithful as well. I\’m sure I\’ll get emails
about this post too. So be it.

The Episcopal church seems to have no such delusions about women\’s perfection,
or for that matter, a person\’s sexual reality, so it\’s my home. But I
meditate every day, including Sunday, because I can\’t go to just any church
for Sunday worship, especially just to please the public\’s version of religiosity.
A church is personal to me so not just any one will do. My home church is in L.A.
and we went to service on a weekday when we visited New York last fall, because
Trinity is just too beautiful and sacred a place not to visit. That\’s me. But
being a \”rebel Christian,\” I have also written about what The Church,
which I refer to in capital letters to encompass religion on the whole, has
demanded of modern women. Subservience. Tradition. Perfection. Standards I\’ve
failed to meet. There is little space for modern women in most religions today.
So I can appreciate a feminist\’s rage at The Church. However, I have never
been able to understand the abject disrespect of what The Church symbolizes
to some of us and the harsh language used to lash out at the traditional sanctuaries and the God that I hold dear, none of which are to blame for the ignorant insults hurled through supposedly pious people\’s words or deeds. I\’ve also had guest bloggers rip into right-wing religious
hypocrites, but that hardly seems unfair since they talk about God and torture
and war all in the same breath, while the policies they support harm the poor.
What is \”Christian\” about that I will never know. Same goes for this
beauty…

\”Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity.\” – William Donahue, the Catholic League

If that statement isn\’t antisemitic, un-Christian hate
speech, to quote Mr. Donahue, nothing is.

That said, reading this movie review by Amanda Marcotte\’s late yesterday, I
couldn\’t believe my eyes, especially after what happened last week. It goes too far.

The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal, where god is viewed as so powerful he can impregnate without befouling himself by touching a woman, and women are nothing but vessels. Review of Children of Men

It renders me speechless. Well, almost, obviously. Talk about handing your
opponents the knife. Ms. Marcotte was right to resign. However, she\’s not the
only one to blame for this one, because she remained true to herself throughout.
It\’s Edwards who was clueless about whom he\’d hired.

Hotline
has the bottom line.

Oh and by the way, has anyone seen John Edwards lately?

UPDATE: Melissa McEwan has now resigned as well.