Let’s be clear: I am talking about your true-believer wingnut Christians who think the Republican party is the party of God. The people who loved W so much they thought he was the best-ever president. These are people who are focusing mostly on abortion and gay rights and piety when they vote. For us red state folks, these are our neighbors and co-workers (and sometimes family).
Some will not change their minds—but for many, we may have a teachable moment. Promoting a broader discussion may prompt them to question their allegiance to the GOP. We can possibly flip the less rigid ones.
So here’s what I like to ask them—and I pick and choose according to their personal interests, if I know them.
More below the fold...
- Do you think endless war is a good thing? Are you fine with attacking countries—like Iraq—that did not harm us and killing hundreds of thousands? Do you like the Bush Doctrine of invading anywhere, anytime, for any reason, or no reason at all?
- Are you OK with resuming a draft to make the Republican foreign policy happen? Do you think that's a good use of your grandchildren's lives? Or perhaps you think war should be a last resort, not a first?
- Torture--OK with you? We figured out ways to avoid it in WWII—don’t you think we could do that now?
- Do you think God created the natural world and its creatures so we could trash and ultimately destroy it all? Do you want to elect somebody who will change that approach? Or somebody who will make it worse?
- Do you know that McCain received a big fat zero from the LCV? Check their website. And then there's Palin, who only likes the environment when she can drill in it. Are you interested in the "Christian Stewardship" movement?
- Did you know that the number of abortions BEFORE Roe v. Wade was very high in America, in the millions. It is very unlikely that legislation will make abortion go away completely. Don't you think it's time to be constructive and address root causes? Other industrialized countries--even ones with no sex education like Italy and Greece--have miniscule rates of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Could they be doing something right?
- Are gay people the biggest threat in the world? Are you ready to risk nuclear war to elect a party that pretends to care about gays, so they can pursue absolute power?
- Is it OK that YOU could be held indefinitely without being charged? (There are middle-class people that this has happened to since 9/11.) Is it OK that your home and property can be invaded, searched, or seized—with no explanation except "National security, ma'am." Did you know that you could go to trial lacking documentation to defend yourself ("national security" again)?
- Could it be just propaganda that the Dems are bad at economics? Was the economy worse in the 1990s?
- Could it be that the party that hates government might not be able to govern well?
- Worried about taxes? Do you make more than a quarter-million dollars a year? If not, Obama will not raise your taxes. He may raise Bill Gates' taxes—do you worry about Bill, and other million-billionaires, going hungry?
- For the wealthier Christian who will be in the +$250K group—Do you worship God, or are you a "free market fundamentalist"? Are you OK with worshipping the "free market" so much that there is no regulation, so scammers and speculators go undetected. (Until recently, that is.)
- Is your money REALLY the most important thing in the world? Are you comfortable with the radical increase in income disparity--meaning, that the middle class is going away? Democratic, capitalist societies rest on this demographic. Do you want the US to be more like Guatamala?
- Are you happy with the way the Republicans have been spending your tax dollars? Is it OK that they stood by and let an American city drown in 2005?
- Is it OK to fire experts and replace them with pals, relatives, and campaign contributors? After 8 years, we know that "less government" means firing anybody who's knowledgable and leading their friends to the public trough of tax dollars. Is that cool?
- Hate those immigrants? Are you willing to do without lettuce, spinach, berries for most of the year? Are you ready to pay MUCH higher prices for your food, because of a shortage of labor to pick it? Want to clean your own room at the hotel?
- Of course, if you're not descended from native tribes, your folks were immigrants and were treated like garbage too. Think Jesus would like this? Maybe we should change our 19th century immigration policies to fit the way the world works now.
- Is it OK that the US is falling behind in many scientific and technological areas because of Republican extremists' hostility to science? Though you may disagree with some science, in the 1980s-90s, these were primary generators of jobs here. Other nations, our competitors, have not been ditching science. Is it OK that your grandchildren may need to go where the jobs are and clean the homes of the middle class technocrats in Bangalore or Beijing someday?
Bottom Line: Do we want more of the last 8 years, basically? There are so many good Christian groups out there, not religious right, but religious people doing good work for those in need. Many places to focus that Christian zeal. So many things for churches to do—and let the party of good government do its job and govern.