who da bitch?

Much like professional wrestling, this would be amusing if it weren't so depressing. Jonathan Chait, editor of the New Republic, writing in the L.A. Times today on the relationship between the Republican party and the religious right, responds to a NYT op-ed piece by former GOP senator John Danforth claiming that the religious element has taken control of the Party. Chait begs to differ. Oh the machinations:

I suspect that, behind closed doors, most Washington Republicans take religious conservatives for suckers. This has been evident from the Washington Post's recent revelations about GOP activist and lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Three years ago, a casino-owning Louisiana Indian tribe called the Coushatta hired Abramoff to help stop another tribe from opening a casino, which the Coushatta feared would dilute their business. Abramoff hired former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, who enlisted Focus on the Family's James Dobson, who spurred his followers to send thousands of letters opposing the new casino. The poor souls riled up to stop legalized gambling had no idea that they were pawns of another casino. It's a perfect metaphor for the relationship between the Republican elite and the voters who put them into office.

Is James Ellroy secretly writing the world? April Fool's day indeed.