Posted on 12/14/2007 5:20:40 PM PST by lancer256
Since its emergence as a dominant political force in the '80s, the religious right has been a favorite whipping boy of the mainstream media and political left and a sometimes embarrassment to certain conservative elitists. Yet neither group of critics can deny the electoral power Christian conservatives have wielded.
The group's uncompromising commitment to protecting life and defending America's traditional institutions has been instrumental in beating back the left's relentless assault on our culture. Without its grassroots contributions, we'd be seeing a lot more Ruth Bader Ginsbergs and a lot fewer Antonin Scalias.
But this primary campaign season, because of the competing resumes and platforms of various Republican presidential candidates and the complex interplay of religion and politics that has emerged, I am concerned that Christian conservatives could lose sight of the big picture of conservatism, all of whose principles are vitally important for this nation.
In my view, there's no perfect GOP candidate, but all of the viable Republican candidates are immeasurably preferable to their Democratic counterparts, and we should all support the eventual Republican nominee. But not all Christian conservatives agree.
The venerable Dr. James Dobson, for example, has said he couldn't support Rudy Giuliani. Rudy is not my first choice either, but he's a strong, capable leader who will fervently protect our national security. I pray he'll honor his pledge to appoint constitutionalist judges. Rudy is a far safer bet on life than any Democratic candidate.
(Excerpt) Read more at davidlimbaugh.com ...
So anyone not supporting Rootie is a single issue voter?
Rudy is a cream puff from Lawn Guyland who became a "hero" thanks to making a stump speech in front of a bunch of burning buildings.
Is anyone here under the impression that one cannot be conservative if they are not Christian?
The term Christian Conservative is a pathetic attempt to besmirch both Christians and Conservatives based on any possible association between the two.
It’s junior high level yellow journalism.
Home run! thanks
I think the single issue voter is a mythical beast meant to scare children into doing what they’re told, much like manbearpig.
My candidate of choice is a staunch Christian, far more so than I am. However things like terrorism, the border, jobs, China and sovereignty top my list of reasons for supporting him. His Christian ideals and social conservatism are secondary reasons.
He’s saying anyone not supporting Rudy OVER any of the Democratic candidates is a single issue voter. You know, the people who will vote for a fringe candidate or not vote at all, rather than vote for Rudy if he’s the Republican nominee, thus helping elect Hillary or Obama or Breck-Girl.
So many here seem to be missing the main point...
The point is that Huckabee is not really a conservative at all in multiple key areas....
Big picture... he is Not a conservative political savior, despite the current, temporary euphoria and buzz his persona has generated. Truth in advertising: he is not very conservative overall, and he is not electable next November...
Gotta pick a different horse to win the real race...
that’s a stupid take, becuase I care about multiple issues, and strains of “conservatism” and Rudy Guiliani is at odds with several of.., if not ‘most’ of them.
You make the mistake that conservatives OWE our votes to the Republican party, which isn’t true. Its up the Republicans to earn mine, as well as other fellow Conservatives’ votes!
Of course, nobody “owes” their vote to the Republican Party. But given the reality of the current two-party system, it’s irrational and self-destructive to insist you won’t vote the Republican candidate if it’s Rudy (or any of the other candidates), when that obviously means helping whichever one of the viable Democrat candidates is nominated to ascend to the Presidency. Now if there was a Democrat candidate who was not hell-bent on leading the country down the path to full-blown socialism, it would be a different matter. But the fact is that there’s a 99.9% certainty that the Democrat nominee will be Clinton, Obama, or Edwards. No way would the country be worse off with Rudy than with any of those three.
The GOP would likely cease to exist...splintering into 2 or more parties.
I agree that Rudy has a much greater chance to win in November than Huckabee... and that Huckabee as a nominee would do more damage to the Republican party ...
No disagreement here on those points. I don’t dislike Huckabee, but his winning the nomination would be a very bad thing for conservativism because it would assure a Democrat victory next November and a shift of the supreme court solidly to the left over time ....
“You think Rudy would hurt the GOP, just see what happens if Huck is the nominee.
The GOP would likely cease to exist...splintering into 2 or more parties.”
I agree — with Huck as the GOP nominee the Dems would have such a huge sweep, as to totally dominate government for the next 100 years and turn the US into a real socialist country.
"But I confess, my main anxiety about Christian conservatives is their seeming willingness to turn a blind eye to Christian pastor Mike Huckabee's decidedly liberal instincts and either his acceptance of or desire to pander to politically correct conventional wisdom.
We get mixed signals on his tax policy, with critics saying he was a big taxer in Arkansas and defenders pointing to his support of the Fair Tax. He has exhibited a Jimmy Carteresque naivete on foreign policy issues, suggesting we can solve our problems with other nations solely with better diplomacy -- as if tyrants and terrorist regimes respond to Golden Rule treatment.
He parrots the Democrat propaganda that President Bush did not extend a hand of bipartisanship to Democrats in his first term or since. He has boarded the left's global-warming train. He's an economic populist who seems to favor yet more state involvement in health care. His record on clemencies is troubling. And, he has nanny-state tendencies, from federal smoking bans to advocating a federal clearinghouse to promote the arts in education. Big government conservatism is oxymoronic.
Don't get me wrong. I think Huckabee is a genuine Christian leader and a decent man whom I'll support, if he's nominated. But I think that on many political issues, he sounds a lot more like a liberal theologian and politician than a conservative one.
Liberal ones invariably translate Jesus's heart for the poor as a mandate for massive wealth redistribution, as if state-coerced transfers of other people's money are acts of Christian compassion. There is nothing compassionate about sapping the human spirit to the detriment of all. "
I agree with DL -- I think Christian conservatives need to really look at Huckabee, before jumping on his bandwagon, just because he is a Christian minister. He would be a disaster as a president, but he would never get the chance, because any Dem would beat him with a landslide.
“this is an endorsement of Fred Thompson without literally coming out and saying it! “
I think you are right.
He says good things about Fred, he says Rudy wouldn’t be his first choice.
I think his message is two-fold, one is more “ABH” — “anyone but Huckabee”, and his second point is that once the primary is over, conservatives should unite behind the Republican nominee, whoever that is, to defeat the Dems.
David Limbaugh: “In my view, there’s no perfect GOP candidate, but all of the viable Republican candidates are immeasurably preferable to their Democratic counterparts, and we should all support the eventual Republican nominee.”
Both parties, will support nominees, that neither party is excited about. Each party, will encourage their voters to support their nomination, so the other party doesn’t win. This should be interesting.
And there is no way in hell that Hitlery is not the nominee. I suspect her popularity will start to rise soon, and the media will report how on track she is, recovering from some early trouble, hitting her stride...
I want a leader who will fervently protect our freedom and our rights. Giuliani has a twisted version of that.
"Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every
single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion
about what you do and how you do it."
-- Rudy Giuliani, New York Times, March 17, 1994
DL turns on the heat and dials eight for long distance. This ball will continue to sail until the primaries. Is Limbaugh on the juice, too?
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