In a Tuesday post for Slate, lefty pundit Amanda Marcotte explored the religious right’s fascination with (and perhaps exploitation of) the Duggar family and how it might change in light of the Josh Duggar sexual-abuse scandal. “The Duggars' [religious] extremism elicited admiration and maybe a little envy among the ranks” of Christian conservatives, Marcotte commented, “but perhaps now Republicans will learn a lesson about the dangers of embracing religious extremists.”
Marcotte thinks the GOP’s affinity for the Duggars exemplifies the religious right’s misogynistic race to the bottom: “Just as urban liberals compete to see who can eat the most organic food and libertarian types race to see who can have the most polluting truck, Christian conservatives compete to see who can deny women's autonomy the hardest.”
From Marcotte’s post (bolding added):
[T]he Duggars are important figures in the world of religious-right activism and Republican politics…
…Some of the more far-right Republicans [have] used the Duggars to signal how down they are with the religious right. Rick Santorum, in particular, loved the clan and put them front and center in his campaign efforts…
…While TLC's 19 Kids and Counting show spins [the Duggars] as a kooky but ultimately loving family, the reality is that they're part of a far-right Quiverfull slice of the already far-right cult of Christian patriarchy. A big part of their religion is the belief that a woman should, to be blunt, never exercise a moment of sexual agency in her entire life. Prior to marriage, she is not allowed to have sex or even kiss or hold hands with someone. After marriage, she is not allowed to decline sex if her husband wants it. She is not allowed birth control, even if giving birth will kill her.
Now some Republicans are trying to protect the Duggars. Mike Huckabee defended Josh Duggar, accusing the press of “sensationalizing the story”…It would seem politically expedient just to cut the Duggars loose and, if possible, pretend never to have met them, but such is the love that the Duggars inspire in the Christian right that diehards are still out there going to bat for them.
Such is the nature of culture-war politics. While most Christian conservatives reject the Quiverfull lifestyle for themselves, the Duggars' extremism elicited admiration and maybe a little envy among the ranks. Fundamentalism, regardless of the religion, always has a whiff of competition to it. Just as urban liberals compete to see who can eat the most organic food and libertarian types race to see who can have the most polluting truck, Christian conservatives compete to see who can deny women's autonomy the hardest. But perhaps now Republicans will learn a lesson about the dangers of embracing religious extremists.
