RWN Interviews Byron York

Cool stuff:

John Hawkins: I want to ask you another question and you're in a particularly good place to answer this because I know in the book you interviewed and talked to a lot of Democrats, a lot of liberals. One thing conservatives often grapple with is when liberals say things like: "Conservatives want a theocracy," or that "Iraq was a war for oil," or even that "Bush is another Hitler," -- how much of that is something they believe? I mean, do they really think that's the case or is that just the spin they're trying to get out there for the public?

Byron York: One of the things I did in this book was to take these people seriously. I didn't dismiss them as nuts or cyncis. I think that a number of them actually believe the things they're saying and so I take it pretty much at face value. I do have a chapter on this whole idea of a theocracy and the accusation on the Left that Bush is ushering in a theocracy in the country.

I discussed the ideas of a man named Mark Crispin Miller who's a writer and a professor at New York University and the ideas will just kind of blow you away if you listen to them or read them. He really believes that Bush is leading a covert effort to establish a theocracy in the United States based on the first five books of the Old Testament which will include things like death by stoning for adultery and things like that. It seems just kooky; I mean it really seems kooky. On the other hand, I do take him seriously and I believe that part of them actually believe this -- as wild and, you know, unattached from reality as this seems.

You ought to believe it, Byron; that's what I'm waiting for myself. Essentially I'm pining for the day Bush finally grows a pair of balls and imposes a Children of the Corn like existence on the entire country, with Men in Black playing the enforcer role previously filled by Malachai.

Plus, we'll all get to change our names to those cool-ass Biblical handles. I've got my eyes on Ezekiah, but Lot is coming on strong lately, too.