David's Daily Diversions

Dangerously Christian

Alarm bells are ringing. Ian Duncan Smith has done it now. Surely the Tory leader has become a puppet of the religious right. He has appointed a new chief political adviser who is a Christian. And not just any sort of Christian, mind you. Oh no, we are talking about the most dangerous kind. Tim Montgomerie is an evangelical Christian.

Montgomerie is the director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, which is not an exclusively evangelical organization. He does however, apparently have "strong links" to University of Texas journalism professor Marvin Olasky. Maybe he's met with Marvin, maybe he's read some of Marvin's books - I don't know. But he's guilty by association, because Olasky has strong links to George W - in fact he taught W most of what he knows about "Compassionate Conservatism". If there is anything you don't want in this country it is any connection W.

After all, that's Tony Blair's biggest liability. It's not that he's let the country fall apart. It's that he gets along with a Republican US President. And now, horror of horrors, if Blair gets along with Bush on foreign policy and IDS gets along with Bush on domestic policy, who are "right-minded" heathen Britons to look to for leadership?

If someone doesn't stop all this crazy radicalism of the religious right, who knows what might happen. They might even put Christians back on Radio 4's Thought for the Day!