One of the Republican candidates' recent circle-jerks, the “Family Leader Thanksgiving Family Forum” was an embarrassing display of groveling to win an endorsement from Bob Vander Plaats and his pals. It was sponsored by Focus on the Family, the National Organization for Marriage, and Vander Plaats’ own group, The Family Leader; all of which wield some inexplicable authority in Republican politics.
Two candidates did not participate, Huntsman who was not invited, and Romney who to his credit, declined the invitation; he’d already gotten his dose of religious bigotry at the “Values Voters Summit”.
That got Vander Plaats’ nose a little out of joint - Romney not sucking up to pseudo-Christian phonies - and according to Right Wing Watch Vander Plaats declared,
“Mitt Romney has dissed this base in Iowa and this diss will not stay in Iowa,” “This has national tentacles. … This might prove that he is not smart enough to be president.”
What it proved was at least one candidate has a backbone.
While The Family Leader claims,
"Our goal at The Family Leader is to honor and glorify God – not a political party, not a candidate, and not a program. The Family Leader is a Christ-centered organization that will lead with humility and service to strengthen and protect the family."
most people recognize this group’s worship of the Republican Party over God, and Vander Plaats as a failed political wanna-be who not only doesn’t know the definition of humility, but fancies himself a political kingmaker.
The forum’s moderator, for lack of a better name, was Frank Luntz who The Family Leader describes as , and I’m confused by this,
“…one of the most respected communication professionals in America today and regularly appears on FOX News.”
I mean, which is it; is he a respected professional or does he appear on Fox News?
Anyway-
He tossed softball questions, and each candidate did their best to convince the audience they were the best “Christian” of all, but how “Christian” are they?
With the exception of Ron Paul and John Huntsman, all of the candidates condone inflicting suffering and torture on other human beings in the name of war.
Rick Santorum, one of the holiest of the holy, and Newt Gingrich, the least holy of all, endorsed assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran, as if those scientists have the option to defy their government.
The fact that we have nuclear scientists is evidently okay though, because this is America, except that the biggest crazy in the group, Michele Bachmann, advocates using our nuclear weapons against Iran if "necessary", innocent men, women, and children be damned.
They all drink Shari’a Kool-aid, and Herman Cain, who finally had the good sense to take his ineptitude and go home, condoned the denial of religious freedom, actually freedom in general, for Muslims. He doesn't feel American Muslims have the same right to build their mosques as all those “good Christians” do to build their churches because, (citing the Tennessee mosque battle)
"Islam combines church and state. They're using the church part of our First Amendment to infuse their morals in that community, and the people of that community do not like it.”
Boy, irony is just lost on idiots.
The candidates talked states’ rights, and less federal government, then in the next breath explained that the federal government should usurp those rights if it disagrees with a state’s decision. The closest thing to a voice of reason at the forum was Ron Paul, who tried to explain the Constitution to the fools around him, but there is no reasoning with zealots.
That brings me to the real issue- do these “Christian” GOP candidates truly represent America’s Christian population? The answer is absolutely not.
Candidates talk of either eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency, or in Newt Gingrich’s case, making it a government arm controlled by the polluters; but contrary to what these candidates call junk science, religious leaders see it differently, according to a report by Catholic Culture:
"In a rare sign of accord, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders in the Holy Land will unite behind a call for action on climate change, Vatican Insider reports.
The "Holy Land Declaration on Climate Change" will be launched on July 25 in Jerusalem, with endorsements from prominent leaders of each of the three monotheistic faiths. The statement reads:
“We recognize the scientific evidence of climate change caused by man and the threat it poses to human societies and the planet…and we also recognize the spiritual roots of this crisis and the importance of providing a religious response.”"
Talk of eliminating “entitlements” scores big points with the GOP base, but this too is in direct conflict with mainstream religious leaders.
Catholic News quoted Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., a member of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development,
"...as religious leaders, our concern is not which party wins the current political battles," but rather that "if we all don't speak up, who is likely to lose: the families trying to feed their kids, the jobless looking for work, the children who need health care, the hungry and sick and hopeless around the world...
"The poor have no powerful lobbyists,…But they have the most powerful moral claim on this process."
An article at
Faith in Public Life quoted Father Clete Kiley as saying,
"For us Catholics, the ethics of Ayn Rand and the teachings of our faith are completely incompatible. We urge our political leaders to drop Ayn Rand's books and pick up their sacred texts. We need leaders with a moral compass that promotes the common good and creates a better society - a better nation - for everyone. "
In the same article, Jim Wallis, president and CEO of Sojourners declared,
"The real faith and values voters in this next election will be heeding God's call to protect the poor and vulnerable, children and the elderly, and not just serve the interests of campaign donors and corporations...
They will uphold the principle that a budget is a moral document. While some people …still seem confused, the faith community has now recognized that God is not a Republican or a Democrat."
In addition, more than 30 Protestant Bishops recently signed a statement calling budget cuts that harm seniors, women, and children "
morally indefensible."
Not only do the GOP candidates not represent mainstream Christians or mainstream America, they often don’t even represent the attitudes of their own party.
Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain have questioned keeping the minimum wage, even though
“Fully two-thirds of Americans (67%) favor increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.00 an hour.”
"...which includes 52% of Republicans, according to the Public Religion Research Institute."
In addition, GOP candidates continue to campaign on governing by Bible over Constitution, even though, according to a
Brookings Institute/Public Religion Research Institute report:
“…66 percent of Americans agree that we must maintain a strict separation of church
and state.”
As for the fear mongering over Shari’a Law infiltrating the American justice system, the same report finds
“By a margin of 2-to-1, the general public rejects the notion that American Muslims ultimately want to establish Shari’a law as the law of the land in the U.S.”…
Finally, regarding that go-to topic for scoring conservative points, gay rights - according to The PRRI Religion & Politics Tracking
Survey:
“A majority of Americans (51%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry.”
“…a majority Americans (56%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt children.”
this includes,
"A solid majority of Catholics and white mainline Protestants (56% and 55% respectively)
as well as
37% of Republicans and …34% of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement"
The divisive GOP mantra that we’re becoming a “secular society” is idiocy. Eighty-three percent of Americans claim a religious affiliation; and while Christians may be the largest religious denomination in the country, that does not make us a Christian nation. It makes us a nation with a large Christian population, along with many other smaller religious, atheist, and agnostic populations.
The GOP candidates have chosen to appease one small part of the electorate, the extreme religious right, and are campaigning on fringe rhetoric. The truth is, they don’t represent the majority of Christians or Americans by any stretch of the imagination.