For fourteen years we’ve sat on our hands in abject fear, allowing one party to dictate a far whacked-out right wing agenda watching a corrupt Administration lie its way into war, destroy the economy, tear up our treaties and relationships abroad, allow torture and hide behind so-called Patriotic fundamentalist Christian values.

The Republican Party refuses to acknowledge or own the failures of the last 8-years. This election shows they must own them. They instead bloviate, lie, cheat and tear down any opponents in any way possible. The e-mails campaigns are horrific in their charges and each one further brainwashes their Kool-Aid drinking cult members into an “Ohmigod, every Democrat is the bogeyman and we can just get through this with more tax cuts, boots on the ground in Iraq (except my kid), hiding behind flag pins and ‘demanding’ that God Bless America!”

The Democratic Party finally develops a spine and fights back whilst the Republican base rolls out fossils like ‘Law and Order’ actor Fred Thompson to deliver a Shakespearean soliloquy (was he channelling the late Don LaFontaine… “in a world…”?), Joe Lieberman committing on-camera political suicide by throwing his support behind a woman whose positions he fundamentally opposes in order to support his pal John McCain and since her announcement as Veep candidate, Sarah Palin has energised the base and immolated the Party’s chances.

Yesterday was another record volume day here at the Post because of an article I wrote about the Republican Party’s insistence on teaching abstinence and creationism (now called intelligent design) over sex education and evolution. You should read the letters on that one, most attacking me because they teach their young daughters the exact same thing.

Let’s get real for a moment people.

Juneau, Alaska has one of the highest rates of teenage unprotected sex in the USA. Of course being so far north, the 18-hours of darkness during the winter has nothing to do with the choice of indoor sport, right. So just say ‘No’ to contraception, ‘No’ to condoms to stop STDs and ‘NOOOO’ to abortion. Is this Nancy Reagan all over again? Just say no? Come on people. Does anyone reading this remember what it was like to be a teenager as puberty hormones exploded everywhere?

Living in Europe, the attitude is quite refreshing (and I speak of the continent, not the UK where Queen Victoria still influences, teen pregnancy rates are unacceptably high and parents are afraid to talk about sex, not wanting their kids to do what they did…). My amazing Dutch wife and her two sisters worked and travelled the globe experiencing life before having their first children in their 30s.

I’ve watched several of our friends raise children in Holland over the last decade and am heartened by the open attitude towards talking about sex and emotions ensuring children are self-responsible and fully informed. Rather than accepting some quaint puritanical notion, these parents are realists and prefer education and protection so kids make informed choices in this area when hormones start running out of control.

When I attended a mixer at a Catholic girls High School as a teen, I was bounced when the sister tapped me on the shoulder for dancing too closely. Well not for that but my reaction, “leave room for the Holy Ghost” was her strict utterance, to which I replied, “let the Holy Ghost find his own girl.”

If any so-called adult fails to remember how strong physical attractions were as a teen and how real it felt, then you are in denial. Young love/infatuation is very powerful so instead of teaching kids to make self-responsible choices we instead, beat them up with guilt, dogma and judgement? That’s very mature.

But when you get to age 44 with five kids, want to deny a woman’s right to choose, flip-flop on issues, show your true colours as lobbyist loving politician, stand in a militantly Christian church asking God for all kinds of things and exact vows of chastity from your kids and one strays… how do you justify the failure of your own dogma and teachings? See your party’s wing has sold themselves out that they forgive you before you even ask because they are behind you right or wrong. Our Sarah is doing just great, isn’t she?

Let me ask, do you think the right wing of your party would forgive or absolutely, positively crucify Senator Obama if one of his kids (obviously at a much older age) similarly strayed and became pregnant? Would your party say ‘hands off’ his kids or “It’s OK Barack”? If you answer yes, you are a complete hypocrite.

Therein lies the rub. When a Republican slips, it’s explainable, understandable, a momentary lapse. When a Democrat slips, it hellfire, damnation and the end of the world as we know it!

Yeah, that sounds like the words and teachings of the tolerant Carpenter of Galilee. You want forgiveness, balance your own teachings and find forgiveness for the other side as well instead of using every minor failing and flaw as a sound byte for an attack advert. You can’t use partisan politics to tear the country apart for 14-years then use ‘Country First’ as a holier than thou platform. Most people see through it as we do your trophy VP.

Garrison Keillor’s old Lake Woebegone sketch says it best. A feverish young girl grabs a phony proselytising preacher by the collar, pulls him close and in a menacing voice says, “God says to cut the crap.”

I’m with her. Just… stop. Please. Give us back our country and stop taking ownership of God. She sure doesn’t look or sound to me like your convenient version. I won’t shove my version down your throat if you promise to do the same and live and let live. OK?