Self-Described Xtian Mafia

From our friends (Huh?) at NBC News, as brought to our attention by War in Context (scroll to the Editor's Comment) a fine site brought to our attention by our Senior Executive Consultant Peabody, we hear a bit more about "The Fellowship," an apparently religio-fascist organization probably even more threatening, vicious & powerful than McCain's endorsers Hagee & Parsley combined, which seems to have its tentacles into almost every pol on The Hill. Jeff Sharlet's Harper's Magazine piece on "The Fellowship" (a/k/a "The Family") is here & here's an interview w/ him from AlterNet. And a "Q&A" from mediabistro on the article. Last two Q&As from mediabistro:

What is the Family's take on—or remake of—Christianity? The beginning began with this vision that Christianity had wrongly focused on the "down and out." And the founder, in 1935, said that's not the point; we need to focus on the "up and out." The elite are the ones who can change the world. And this group has been at odds at times with other more traditional and conservative Christian groups because they don't really care about converting the masses. They just want to convert the leaders who will instate a Christian-led government. Does it matter whether you or I share their vision of Christ? No, not at all. As long as the leaders who support the Family are making the laws that we have to follow. So what do you think is the end result that they're after? Is it only "power" in the abstract sense? They state their goals in their private documents pretty explicitly. A world leadership led by Christ. Every single world leader and politician making every decision under Christ's will. And you could quibble over semantics, but I would say that worldwide theocracy is their goal.

More frightening than the Yellow Peril/Red Menace mentioned below.