When fascism comes to America ...

Jimmy Carter was the last Democratic President of the United States, in my 'humble' opinion. That he remains a maligned man in U.S. history, media, and politics is a function of the same political dynamics that continue today. The dynamics that have led to unprecedented drilling in the name of 'energy independence,' yet allow the sale of oil, gas, and coal to foreign nations, thus ensuring a sooner-rather-than-latter return to dependence on Middle Eastern oil. The dynamics that perpetuate news cycles wherein Obama, in particular, and liberal Democrats in general, are painted as unwilling to talk to and compromise with, a Republican party that states outright that all they want is the demise of true opposition.
Here is a link to the Salon.com article that details the role of "Christians" in the death of decency in American politics.

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/25/jimmy_carters_evangelical_downfall_reagan_religion_and_the_1980_presidential_election/

This is a fascinating excerpt from Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter by Randall Balmer.

For anyone interested in the stranglehold conservative "Christians" have on my country, I recommend the following sources:    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsnzLDNwKcU

In this video you get a short rundown of the takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, narrated by a leader of Texas Baptist Committed, the unfortunate name of a group of Texas churches which refuse the dictatorial leadership of the new Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the denomination President Carter once belonged to. Texas Baptists Committed believes in that quaint concept, the separation of church and state.

http://www.sbctakeover.com/TakeoverBook.pdf

This is a link to about 100 pages of a summary of the SBC's takeover by conservatives with source material.

Why does all this matter? It paints a picture of the most powerful religious group in American politics and where their vast influence is taking us. It matters because these "Christians" and their ilk are the primary movers influencing such issues as the American gulag of private prisons, the ongoing pressure for the Military/Industrial/Secrecy/Prison Complex that is perfectly willing to rob us of civil liberty and, ultimately, will lead to the complete moral and financial bankruptcy of the United States. The SBC provides a framework of totalitarian control, and not simply of their churches, but also of complete submission to government control (whenever the male SBC leadership declares it). The members of the SBC are America's brownshirts - as in this quote attributed to Sinclair Lewis -

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

Yes, and armed with guns thanks to the National Rifle Association. 

actually I KNOW I'd "love to shake the hand of Jimmy Carter!"

"Fritz (Mondale) is just back ... He thinks that Kennedy (Ted) has as a major goal the defeat of the Democratic ticket in November, and I think he's probably right." Jimmy Carter's White House Diary, pp. 431-432. You must read the book to see why President Carter said that in 1980.
I'd love to shake the hand of Jimmy Carter. Who sings that line? Blue Mountain?
Anyway, reading White House Diary is much better than watching the movie, I mean the CBS 60 Minutes show here on YouTube. This 15 or so minute segment is well worth watching as are the comments beneath the video. Reading this book has taken me back to a unique time in American history and my own life. I skipped to 1980-'81 because those were the years I best remember about his Presidency. Lesley Stahl does an excellent presentation in the abominable style of what passes for news in the United States today. This interview was apparently done in 2010, way into our Corporate fascist era in U.S. journalism. She uses the word "snarky" in reference to President Carter's diary. Sorry Lesley, but YOU were the snarky one.
What's so cool about the comments is how they show that so many Americans comprehend Jimmy Carter's presidency despite the snarky press coverage that he received, and still gets. What a cool, collected man. The only President who comes close to matching him in what I would call Christian behavior is President Obama! (The first trick is one must actually WATCH and LISTEN to Pres. Obama.) I do mean behavior, nothing else. The way they stay cool despite having to deal with assholes, to be blunt.
If I were rich enough to hire a personal assistant I'd put them right on researching this theory - Jimmy Carter was President at the exact moment when American democracy was hijacked by the right wing fundamentalist Republican Party and it took an awful lot of coordination from Nixon's presidency until then to accomplish that. Furthermore, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, et. awful, were right there along with the Southern Baptist Convention! More on that "Christian" denomination's role later.
Check out the opening moments when Lesley Stahl's skirt is up around her thighs, she pulls it down, and ... cut to President Carter. Snark can be achieved in post-production as well.