2012 Republican hopefuls court religious right

[SpankMe]

Source: msnbc.com

A gathering of religious conservatives drew nearly all the GOP presidential hopefuls to a single stage, a claim that a South Carolina debate and a well-publicized forum in New Hampshire couldn't make about their recent events.

Pawlenty, a Catholic-turned-Protestant evangelical, opened and closed his remarks with biblical quotes. His said his top four "commonsense principles" for the nation are to turn toward God, protect the unborn, support traditional marriage and keep Americans secure.

{Romney} As a Senate candidate and one-term governor in Massachusetts, he supported legalized abortion, gay rights and gun control...Romney has reversed his stands on those positions.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43279262/ns/politics/

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So, to translate Pawlenty's top four principles into their real meaning: 1. Become the nation's proselytizer-in-chief; 2. Criminalize abortion; 3. Ban marriage equality; and 4. Keep America in a state of perpetual war. All take-aways from society.

Absent from his top priorities are: Helping the homeless; feeding the poor; job creation; improving educational opportunities for Americans; regulating against bank fraud; reverse the declining status of women in the country; anything whatsoever to help the environment; etc.; etc.

The morally bankrupt, short-sighted, out-of-touch-with-reality bible thumpers will propel one of these Jesus posers to within a percent of the Whitehouse.

Will the real America please stand up? Please?

[elocs]

1. Good luck to Romney in courting the religious right.

Millions of evangelicals view Mormonism as being a cult. They would never vote for him.

[customerserviceguy]

17. Not only do they view it as a cult

They view it as a cult that wants to poach their flock. The fundies don't want to give the LDS missionaries even one more talking point about who's a famous Mormon.

[No Elephants]

25. I think that was a greater issue in 2007. At this point, Republicans are so desperate to dump Obama

they'd vote for almost anyone, including multiple marriage Newt.

However, when Romney ran against Kennedy for the Senate and also when Romney ran for Governor of Massachusetts, Romney portrayed himself (falsely so, I believe) as pro-choice, pro-gay rights, lukewarm, at best, on guns, etc.

When Romney ran in 2007, all that came back to haunt him and may today be so damaging to his religious right cred as to be insurrmountable. (Not to mention his NRA cred.)

I do, however, believe Michelle Bachman may well lock up the religious right.

[texshelters]

26. All Romney is doing is increasing his chances

that he loses to Obama in the general election in 2012.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[CBHagman]

2. Frankly I think the 'cans are beyond "courting" the religious right.

It's more pandering than wooing. In fact anyone who follows politics at all could write the text of the standard stump speech of today's Republican presidential candidates.

What I don't understand how spite is held up as such a virtue. At yesterday's F&F conference speech, Michele Bachmann promised, to cheers and applause of conference attendees, that "Obamacare" would be repealed.

Bachmann is in favor of allowing the market to decide the price of health care. See this link:

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/Michele_Bachmann_Health_Care.htm

However, I'd remind her that Jesus went around healing people (apparently at no charge) and moreover cautioned that you couldn't serve God and Mammon.

http://bible.cc/matthew/6-24.htm

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

I'm always amazed that so many Americans seem to be in total denial about what's happening here: devotion afflicting the afflicted and comforting the comfortable.

[JoePhilly]

4. "courting" ?? ... I'd say "dry humping" or worse.

Bet I go straight to Hell for that.

[Duppers]

9. LOL ! Love it.

[JoePhilly]

12. Great image!

[Duppers]

19. thanks. Spread it around.

I got it going on FB today. ;)

[CBHagman]

21. No, you just told the truth.

That's precisely what's happening at the F&F conference. I just didn't have the chutzpah to express it that way. :blush:

[bluestateguy]

3. Evangelicals will be persistently reminded of Romney's Mormonism

Other Republican candidates, or their operatives, will do that. If Romney somehow makes it out of the primaries, then the Obama team needs to have a strategy to remind evangelicals that Romney is not (in their view) a Christian.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Nixon had his faults, but . . .

you wouldn't have seen him make a religious pilgrimage, sign a pledge to obey someone else's wishlist, and wait for their blessings.

[bluestateguy]

7. He was a Quaker

and correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think the fundies much like Quakers.

Nixon was very buddy buddy with Billy Graham, but Graham limited his involvement in divisive political issues. He was not really part of the organized religious right.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Nixon was a Quaker despite his committing more troops to combat in Vietnam.

Nixon won without the endorsement of the voting block of the religious right. I am sorry he did win but at least it wasn't the way it is now.

[oldhippydude]

13. largely true,, but exceptions did exist..

i don't know how many folks remember the sunday supplements that came inside the funnies...If I remember most widespread one was Family Weekly... Billy Graham was asked about Vietnam.. his reply was favorable because we were killing "Godless Communists".. i haven't listened to him since, and his son is much worse..

[VA_Jill]

15. .Nixon *was* a Quaker

Well, he was raised that way but I don't think it took. His mother was a very conservative Friend. During the Vietnam War, Nixon was "read out of meeting" by one of the Philadelphia based groups. I don't think he was connected with them but IMO it was a fine expression of the feelings of Quakers about the war.

[No Elephants]

24. Graham was a registered Democrat, as were many Southerners of his generation. How he actually voted

may be another issue entirely. Maybe he just never bothered to change his registration, or maybe he remained a Democrat.

[Corruption Winz]

6. Pawlenty is a grade A, silver-dollar douche bag...

1. Getting out of the Middle East.
2. Helping the homeless.
3. Dealing with unemployment.
4. Education.
5. Better pay for police officers, fire fighters and teachers.


I can go on. The fact that he feels that the people of God would rather deal with the queers and the abortion-seeking pagans says all you need to know about him. The fact that the religious right does in fact want to hear this says all you need to know about them.

[Thor_MN]

10. Pawlenty's tax policy is "Pay it Backwards"

At the drive through, he says the car behind him will pay for his order...

[SoapBox]

11. The Hail'n, Pray'n and HATE must be so thick that you can hardly breath.

...all interlaced with Birthers, Tenthers, Crazyers, Liars...

All thumping their bibles.

[VA_Jill]

14. Republigelicals

These people are trying to "make an establishment of religion"---i.e. Protestant evangelical Christianity---and that is in direct conflict with the Constitution. I said that on another forum and was told that the Constitution was a God-given document and that twenty of the signers were clergy (the poster called them "preachers"). I went to the Constitution Hall site and checked all the biographies of the signatories, and you know what? Not a preacher among the 39 of them! Not one. I suppose this is the kind of revisionist history that Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman's pastors are feeding them.

[cstanleytech]

16. "3. Ban marriage equality" Thats wrong and you know it.

Its actually just "Ban equality", after all thats what such a ban really is.

[customerserviceguy]

18. The fundies have got to be worried about this one

Only if Pawlenty can sway them with the born-again schtick will he get their support, but they really have no one else to turn to, if Palin decides not to run.

After reviewing this week's news, I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't want to run (likes the Fox gravy train and the ghostwritten book royalties too much), but wants to be in the position of kingmaker. Her bus tour to NH on the same day that Romney announced trounced him in the news, which is a sign to the party that she has the clout to make headlines.

[Nossida]

20. Court?

Don't you mean to say Grovel?

In the republican brain, there
is no separation of Church and
State. And left unchallenged
the Cowards will make the Bible
the Law of the Land. If Romney
believes for a moment the rabid
Fundie's will Vote Mormon in 2012,
he has another thing coming.

Pawlenty will take whatever he
can get, and has a snowballs
chance in Hell of winning.

Rather amusing to watch republicans
pander to Churches, and dribble
Virtue out of their mouths, and then
act as Cheerleaders for bombing the
entire Middle East into subservient
Democracy.

[Zoeisright]

22. The religious right is neither.

And conservative christian is an oxymoron.

[Beartracks]

23. This just in! The sky is blue!

:silly:

==================

[indypaul]

27. Shouldn't we be turning to the founding fathers for their advice?

Thomas Paine, Common Sense 1776 - Epistle to Quakers

"And here, without anger or resentment I bid you farewell, Sincerely wishing, that as men
and Christians, ye may always fully and uninterruptedly enjoy every civil and religious
right; and be, in your turn, the means of securing it to others; but the example which ye
have unwisely set, of mingling religion with politics, may be disavowed and reprobated
by every inhabitant of America."