God in politics: Time for a lit review.

Today Michele Bachmann made some comments about a possible relationship between America's well-being and the disapproval of Abraham's God.  To quote her: "I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."

Since Mrs. Bachmann is a candidate for our highest office it behooves scholars to subject her analysis to rigorous theological scrutiny.  International relations scholar Dan Drezner has done his duty in this to the best of his ability.  But despite my respect for his IR qualifications I have to question his methods in this case.  Most egregiously, Drezner has omitted any literature review from his analysis.  We shouldn't forget that eminent scholars have long studied the relationship between deities and nation states. If we want to take this argument further we ought to take into account the debates that have already been had. While we could take this back to the ancient world, we should start elsewhere if we're accepting that the relevant deity is Abrahamic.

I submit for consideration the writings of King James I, specifically his True Law of Free Monarchies.

Here is a conclusive passage: "I grant, indeed, that a wicked king is sent by God for a curse to his people and a plague for their sins; but that it is lawful to them to shake off that curse at their own hand, which God hath laid on them, that I deny and may do so justly. Will any deny that the king of Babel was a curse to the people of God, as was plainly forespoken and threatened unto them in the prophesy of their captivity? And what was Nero to the Christian church in his time? And yet Jeremiah and Paul (as ye have else heard) commanded them not only to obey them but heartily to pray for their welfare.  It is certain, then (as I have already by the law of God sufficiently proved), that patience, earnest prayers to God, and amendment of their lives are the only lawful means to move God to relieve them of their heavy curse."

We see here that the proper response to heavenly censure is not further rebellion against the authorities God has installed but patient submission and repentance. Rebels like the woman Bachmann may think that they can do better in governing than the authority God has chosen, but as King James tells us that "in place of relieving the commonwealth out of distress (which is their only excuse and color), they shall heap double distress and desolation upon it; and so their rebellion shall procure the contrary effects that they pretend it for."

It is a grave danger that our leaders are so lacking in theological education that they call Godly things which are only hateful treasons. I propose that all such malignants be sent to monasteries, so that they might learn and contemplate quietly the true meaning of the Scriptures.

Libya: Now for the difficult stuff

Hugo Chavez might miss him, but most people have been pleased to hear that the Gaddafi family is on its way out in Libya.  While there's no doubt that Gaddafi was an erratic and violent tyrant, there are also plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the triumphalism of those who called for NATO intervention.  To put it simply: getting rid of Gaddafi was the easy part, and whatever happens next will be messier than the interventionists expect.

Once NATO intervened no one doubted that the regime's days were numbered.  Mercenaries just don't have much of a chance against coordinated air power.  But as we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military component of regime change is the easiest part; the aftermath is where policy making becomes uncertain.  This isn't to suggest that post-Gaddafi Libya is doomed to state failure, but commentators need to keep in mind that recent events are a beginning rather than an end.  Whether rebels are overthrowing a king or a Brotherly Guide the removal of the autocrat they united against leads to a splintering of political unity. 

This instability can be exacerbated by a lack of preexisting institutions, as is the case in Libya.  In the coming months the TNC will be required to come up with an entirely new constitution.  If they do so too quickly they will risk creating leaving out key groups, but if they do not act quickly enough then they allow a power vacuum to fester.  Either way creates opportunities for charismatic leaders, warlords, and radicals to derail the political process.  Add the widespread availability of advanced weapons and a provisional government already showing divisions and you have a recipe for political violence.

NATO has been uncharacteristically wise in rejecting committment to any open-ended presence in Libya.  Nonetheless, there is a continuing danger that sufficient instability would require robust military intervention.  Gaddafi's former arms stockpiles present a real terrorism threat.  If shoulder launched anti-aircraft missiles like the SA-7 become widely available on the international market they will undoubtedly end up in the hands of Jihadists, providing militants an unprecedented capacity for endangering commercial aircraft.  If prevailing instability resulted in Libya's becoming a terrorist staging ground it is difficult to see how a new occupation could be avoided.  Bad as Gaddafi was, this outcome would likely be worse for both the occupying coalition and the people of Libya.

Rick Perry wants to lynch Bernanke?

Monetarism is now 'almost treasonous' according to candidate Rick Perry.  His comments on Fed Chairman (and Bush appointee) continued: "[if he] prints more money between now and the election, I don't know what y'all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas."

Is that an endorsement of lynching?  We've come a long way if the brainchild of Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan has now become so anathema to Tea Partiers that elected officials are musing about mob justice.