by Richard Lewis

The Tea Party for the GOP is now essential
for keeping the Republican Party influential
with ultraconservatives—the far, far right—
who coincidentally are nearly all white.
This racial imbalance leads many to wonder
if the GOP has committed a blunder.
Along with their conservative Christian kin,
they each seem hell-bent to outlaw all sin.

This will be the third consecutive election
in which the Tea Party has provided direction
to Republicans to turn so far to the right
that they may redress America’s plight
as a sinful and morally bankrupt nation
in need of God’s guidance for its salvation.

To determine what is their ultimate goal
in addition to saving America’s soul,
I listened to all of their campaign speeches,
from the city centers to the country’s far reaches,
invoking God often to guide their crusade
to turn their meager efforts into a cascade
of average Americans joining their fight,
having never a doubt they were in the right.

I decided to watch their proposed legislation
to see if sin’s ouster was their destination.
I needed a standard by which I could judge
and also discern any efforts to fudge.
I used the seven deadly sins as a place to begin
to watch their assault on each deadly sin.
Only equal attention would be accepted as just,
so including all seven was an absolute must.

They saw if they banned greed, envy, and pride,
the nation’s economy would be totally fried
as these three form the stable foundation
of economic activity in our capitalist nation.
If outlawed, many rich would no longer be so,
and political donors would be short of dough,
so they decided to leave these three sins alone
and proceeded to carve this exception in stone.

When gluttony and sloth they next came to ponder,
their bases good will they wished not to squander.
Since Christians are the fattest of all the religions,
these sins were not mentioned, not even a smidgen.
Then to soothe and to comfort their political base
and allow them to push Obama out in disgrace,
they abetted dethronement in clearing the path
by avoiding the censure of the sin of wrath.

With six of the seven now viewed with impunity,
the seventh sin presented a grand opportunity.
They now set to work and, while feigning disgust,
focused their attention on the last sin, called lust.
They wrote bills banning prostitution and porn,
homosexuality, gay marriage, harm to the unborn.
Instead of all people, they scratched only the itch
of their base, and especially the pious and rich.

The righteous view lustful sinners with glowers;
for sin their countenance increasingly sours.
They believe—no, they know—it’s an absolute must
to make no exceptions: they must outlaw all lust.
With this seventh deadly sin they must draw the line.
It’s not their lust they target, but it is yours and mine.