Posted on 03/18/2007 10:40:22 AM PDT by Unmarked Package
In any church, the person who does the most work and is most dedicated to the cause is the convert or the prodigal member who has come back to faith. Have a meeting and he will come . . . ask for help and he is there. In short order, the convert is soon a leader . . . often blowing past more stable older brothers who have become a bit tired in their dedication to the cause.
It sometimes causes resentment in the older brothers, but the prodigal who returns often makes the best new leader. Nobody has to tell them the value of Father’s house . . . and nobody has to worry that they will be seduced by the other side. They have eaten pig food and don’t want to go back!
Good churches also attract friends and allies that are not members, could never be members, but who help it talk to the outside world.
These allies can never join or lead the church, but keep it from becoming cult-like and too insulated.
I believe in the power of the convert . . . and am always looking for allies. What applies to a church or club also is true in politics . . . and in this race we are blessed with one candidate who is a very attractive social conservative prodigal son and a liberal ally both of whom want the Republican nomination.
We are also stuck with an older brother whose main reason for running seems to be that he has run before and feels due.
Far from worrying about our prodigal Romney who has come home to social conservative values . . . I worry about him least on these issues.
Why? Romney has over time come to traditional points of view on culture of life and family issues. This is not surprising given his religious and social background. Romney is a man of profound faith (though it is not my own) and of deep and abiding traditional values in his personal life. As he has grown older, it is no surprise that a maturing statesman would bring his personal life into closer consistency with his political life.
Romney has the zeal of a new convert tempered by the pragmatic wisdom of one who knows the strengths and weaknesses of his old views.
Even on pragmatic grounds, the convert can be trusted more than the older member. He cannot afford to switch again without looking like a disaster and will work hard to keep his new allies.
The prodigal Romney has come back to his conservative roots having tried to eat the pig food of Harvard and the secular left. I am not going to be an older brother who sniffs when he is invited to the party. . . and if he is given the fatted calf of the nomination . . .well every analogy breaks down at some point!
His main foe for the nomination does not even pretend to agree with traditional religious folk. He is an ally in many ways . . . and a noble pagan. . . the guy who might have kept the prodigal safe when far from Father’s house, but not a member of the team.
Rudy is a great, though flawed man. He has a personal life that is beyond a mess . . . and that most Americans do not know about yet. When queried whether they will support a person with three (count-them) divorces, a big majority say “no.” Most Americans don’t know his views on gay marriage, abortion, or gun control, and these issues are as big as Iraq to Republican primary voters. If he gets the nomination, we can expect a prolonged investigation into finances that have in the past looked confusing at best.
I like Rudy . . . and admire him on many levels. I would love to see him as an attorney general chasing the Mob or Terrorists. He is a liberal of the old school . . . willing to work with conservatives for the good of the nation. We need more liberals like him, but he is a liberal and the Republican party is the conservative party in America.
Rudy is a friend of the conservative movement . . . and an ally, but he should not lead that movement. The Romans were finished when they picked Germans to lead them . . . and the Republicans do not need a friendly foe to head their cause.
Romney, the social conservative convert, has the friends, traditional back ground, and pragmatic political will needed to stick to his new found positions. He is also a highly skilled communicator without Rudy’s temper . . . and has been a successful governor of a blue state.
Conservatives may dream of the perfect candidate. I often ponder some person with the mind of Burke, the communication skills of Reagan, and the back bone of George W. Bush . . . but this man or woman does not exist so far as I know.
There is seldom room in a primary season for more than three viable candidates. Like it or not, the choice is Rudy, Romney, or the Retread. McCain is too tired to win . . . the Bob Dole of this race. It seems better at this point to trust the Prodigal Convert over the noble Ally.
John Mark Reynolds is the founder and director of the Torrey Honors Institute, and Associate Professor of Philosophy, at Biola University.
Wikipedia: "Biola University is a private Christian college, located in Southern California that is noted for its conservative evangelical theology. Biola's main campus is located in the city of La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California and has satellite campuses in Chino, Inglewood, Thousand Oaks, San Diego, San Bernardino and as of May 6, 2006 a new facility in Laguna Hills, Orange County."
• Send FReep Mail to Unmarked Package to get [ ON ] or [ OFF ] the Mitt Romney Ping List •
Rudy, McCain and Romney are all too liberal, and I was disaapointed when Romney said it was wrong for the govt. to try to save Terri Schiavo's life.
And about the health care plan that Romney signed:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1797647/posts
I was once quite open to a Romney presidency but he has pretty much struck out with me for that reason and a few others. Attacking Gen. Pace and, from what I understand, violating freedom of conscience of Catholic hospitals are among the others.
"I was once quite open to a Romney presidency but he has pretty much struck out with me for that reason and a few others. Attacking Gen. Pace and, from what I understand, violating freedom of conscience of Catholic hospitals are among the others."
His true colors are coming out.
Oh, boy. I better not touch that one! :-)
Given the primary schedule I think any one candidate will have trouble reaching >50% after 2-5-08.
Heard Romney the other day on the Hannity show. He's the man as far as I am concerned unless someone better comes along. Wow, a former governor and Republican candidate who can actually speak intelligently. What a novel change.
I wouldn't characterize Mitt Romney's comments about Gen. Pace an "attack" especially considering Mitt's demeanor while making the comments, but judge for yourself. The comments come at 09:35 into this video of the CNN interview on Larry King Live. Hold the mouse button down on the fast forward button of the viewer to skip ahead.
Regarding freedom of conscience for religious groups, there is this example from Gov. Romney's record:
Governor Romney strongly defended the right of Catholic Charities in Massachusetts to deny placing adoptive children in the homes of gay couples; saying it was unjust to require a religious agency to violate the tenets of its faith in order to satisfy a special-interest group. Romney filed "An Act Protecting Religious Freedom" in the Legislature, a bill to exempt Catholic Charities of Boston and other religious groups from the state anti-discrimination law.
(Romney files 'religious freedom' bill on church and gay adoption, Boston Globe, March 15, 2006)
His attack on General Pace was not intelligent.
These people have shown that they are liberals and have already muddied up their own waters and themselves. I want a person who will do the right thing for America and will stick to it. Not more of the same; so America can continue down the road to hell. No thanks.
No electable intelligent President candidate is going to bash homos. I can live with it. So I disagree.
More recently the state has said that plans have been negotiated lower, with one bid coming in at $153 a month. But what sort of coverage will that provide?All I can say is, where do I sign up? I pay more than $153 a month for an individual, $5,000-deductible plan in Texas.In Tuesday's IBD, staff writer Sean Higgins reported that deductibles for the cheapest plans could be as high as $2,000 for an individual, $4,000 for a family.
The fact that he doesn't have that zeal is not necessarily a weakness. The conservative movement will be fine with anyone who will move the ball for us. There's the famous clip of Hank Stram exhorting his players to "matriculate the ball down the field." The conservative movement doesn't have to have someone who will score a touchdown in the first 100 days in office. We just need someone who will matriculate the ball in the right direction. Mr. Romney may fit this description. Mr. Giuliani does not.
I disagree with the implication that the race is down to three candidates. Maybe the attention will always be focused on no more than three candidates, but those three candidates are not established. The commentary admits that Senator McCain's campaign seems to be fading already. By the fall of this year, he may no longer be in that top three, and another candidate will fill that position. If Fred Thompson enters the race, he'll likely displace one of the top three candidates. I suspect an early entry will displace Mr. Romney. A later entry will likely displace Mr. McCain. The hard-core Rudy Giuliani supporters will have a hard time admitting that he can't win, but if his poll numbers drop dramatically as voters realize that he has extreme views on some issues, pragmatic Republicans will abandon him completely. By the time they put up Christmas lights in New Hampshire, the top three candidates could be completely different.
Bill
I'm concerned that it took him 40 years, almost half a century to start to say that he's prolife. I'm still hoping for a conservative like Hunter or Thomas.
Hi Unmarked,
Can't you see how disengenuous Mitt is. He has deceived conservatives all of his public life. I think we should give the people a little more credit than to assume they can't see through his selfish left-leaning goals (gay agenda, etc.). We need someone who stands for PRINCIPLES that will further the conservative movement.
Technically, Jesus doesn't say that the prodigal son spent his money on prostitutes. Jesus said that he spent the money on "loose living" or some similar term depending on your translation. The older brother jumped to the conclusion of prostitutes in his anger and desire to put his brother in the worst possible light. Plenty of people live foolishly without actually hiring prostitutes or using drugs.
Rudy has better resume.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.