Jeff Jarvis takes a shot at what he says is the "religious fringe," criticizing conservative Christians and some Republican leaders for working together to criticize Democrats. The criticisim is aimed at the use of filibusters in congress to block conservative judicial nominees, among other things. Says Jeff:

They're trying to play the God card. Only I think it's been played in this hand already.

If he's annoyed at devout Christians now, he'll be pitching a fit within a week or two when the College of Cardinals chooses a new pope. For the first time in a decade or more, the billion-member Roman Catholic Church will have a leader whose voice isn't muted by illness and old age.

Hundreds of millions of Catholics across the world - mostly in poor countries - could see their faith re-ignited at the sight of a new pope who can actually smile, wave and speak in a clear, unhalting voice. And count on that voice to talk about, and reiterate, many traditional and conservative Catholic teachings. There were broad ripple effects all throughout culture when Pope John Paul II took over in 1978. Don't be surprised if it happens again over the course of the next few weeks and months.

Depending on who cardinals choose as the next pope, the "God card" could be everywhere - yes, even in popular American culture. Right now it's pretty easy to pick on a few Republican and religious boogeymen. For social liberals, it's low-hanging fruit. That could be about to change pretty drastically.

MORE: James Joyner thinks it's a bad move for Republicans to position themselves with people who accuse Democrats of "defying Jesus."

If American politics could be covered by a bubble and separated from other cultural issues and world events, that would make complete sense. But in two weeks, all this discussion could very well be forgotten as other events take center stage.