Which Presidential Candidate Leads Among Evangelicals? Right Now It's Donald Trump

Washington Compost ^ | 8/6/2015 | Sarah Bailey

[o2bfree]

Trump is a million times better than Bush, Walker, Huckabee, Rubio, and the other representatives of the Godless GOP Establishment that work in zombie like fashion to fund even the most egregious democrat initiatives.

Planned Parenthood - Check!!!

Amnesty - Check!!!

$18 Trillion USA Debt - Check!!!

[x]

Aren’t most voters low information voters in that they don’t follow political news very closely? That may be true of most Evanglicals — also of most people in other demographics. It’s not necessarily insulting to anybody here, though of course, if you make any statement about a group without qualifying it, somebody somewhere is bound to feel insulted.

[Old Yeller]

It should be Cruz if they inform themselves.

[Guenevere]

The Evangelicals I know.....and I know many many....follow the news very closely.....ARE NOT UNINFORMED

[Responsibility2nd]

There is a true Evangelical in the race ....

___________________________________

There are a number of “true evangelicals”. Huck, Cruz, Walker etc. come to mind right off.

Carson, probably also.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: The vote is for President - not for minister....

Here are the choices for Evangelicals:

1. Someone whose religious beliefs AND political policies consistently mirrors yours

2. Someone whose religious beliefs BUT NOT political policies consistently mirrors yours

3. Someone whose political policies BUT NOT religious beliefs consistently mirrors yours

4. Someone whose religious AND political beliefs DO NOT mirror yours.

I would agree with your statement if we do not have a candidate that meets criteria #1 above. However in 2015, we DO have such a candidate.

So, Why choose #3 (Trump) when you have someone who meets the criteria of #1 above?

[Linda Frances]

God did use Balaam’s ass to stop a preacher for hire.

---

Ass.....hire.....there’s a joke there somewhere.

[Democratic-Republican]

"It looks like many Evangelicals are also LIV’s (Low Information Voters )."

Ouch. Or, it could mean that you are a low-information voter and most evangelicals are actually not. Just sayin'.

I would say a low-information voter fails to see the big picture, and gets baited, hooked and boned like a fish over a single issue, say, the presidential candidates' opinion on abortion or something similar, and makes their decision right then and there, even though it is completely inconsequential with respect to the President's ability to affect it in any way. Some evangelicals are routinely peeled away by this very manipulation.

On the other hand I would say the high-information voter has nuance, especially here, understanding that being manipulated year after year with this same kabuki dance of lip service to evangelicals by candidates whose religion is actually politics-first, is borderline insane. These high information voters might be getting tired of being manipulated. They are wined and dined come voting season and then left to stew as the country descends into a lake of fire.

If Trump stays around, we will soon begin to see if there is a real comparison to Reagan. It wasn't that Reagan was a raging evangelical, he wasn't. He was nominally pro-life, the same as pretty much every Presidential candidate until very recently. He was divorced, signed abortion into law and failed almost every other religious litmus test. But Reagan believed in religious freedom and wasn't afraid to speak up for it.

IMHO, low information evangelicals would forget that they voted themselves a pope-fearing full fledged catholic in JFK, but actually received an empty suit who never even cracked open the good book(s) and violated every tenet they contained. The lesson there is that whatever they portray themselves as is actually an act, and non-determinative.

Evangelicals fared much better with Reagan, who came across as honest and approachable, and closer to the average Joe, than the competition. You know he meant it when he thanked God and asked for blessings for the USA. Kennedy on the other hand was lucky he didn't get struck by lightning every time it crossed his lips.

This is where Trump appears to be ahead as well. It seems strange to see a Reagan and a Trump compared to the average Joe, but compared to the career political liars they ran/run against, they are considered honest and trustworthy. This is the exact consideration that is coalescing his support. An imperfect honest candidate versus a scripted perfect-appearing competitor. The high-information voter likely recognizes virtue in the former, while the low-information voter will fall for the act of the latter.

By the way 'SeekAndFind', if it is in fact true that Evangelicals are breaking for Trump, you should at least take comfort with one very positive aspect ... it means that they are NOT falling for the crap that people like the current Pope are advancing ... It means they are NOT falling for the liberal religious lie about nobility of open borders ... It means they are NOT falling for the liberal religious lie about government being in charge of cradle-to-grave welfare ... It means they are NOT falling for the liberal religious lie about Global Warming ... It means they are NOT falling for the liberal religious Socialist movement. So it's not all bad news for you despite your incredibly cynical opinion of Evangelicals that are apparently breaking for Trump.

[MamaB]

According to the posts on my FB page, most of the Christians support Trump because he is saying what needs to be said. Very few post anything about Huck. Just because someone says he is a Christian does not mean he will do what is needed for this country right now. Huck had his chance and did not get the votes. Most of the others should drop out-—like Bush. Friends love George but not his brother. Have seen many posts about President Bush being called for jury duty and the pictures made with the others who were called. At this point, I do not know which one I will support but like what Trump says.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Or, it could mean that you are a low-information voter and most evangelicals are actually not. Just sayin’.

We can agree to disagree here. If you can prove that I am the one who is low information, then I will agree with you.

Donald Trump?

If Evangelicals simply did their background research on this guy, they will find out that many of his opinions are all over the place and only very recently did they become more “conservative” leaning.

So nope, I try to be a HIGH-INFORMATION voter who prefer to look BEYOND what a candidate says to what he SAID in the past.

Just look at one issue that Evangelicals are most concerned with — ABORTION, Trump was a longtime supporter of abortion rights, saying, “I support a woman’s right to choose, for example, but I am uncomfortable with the procedures. When Tim Russert asked me on Meet the Press if I would ban partial-birth abortion if I were president, my pro-choice instincts led me to say no.”

That was in his book - THE AMERICA WE DESERVE. How many evangelicals BOTHERED to read the book? I DID.

Trump believes that abortion should be banned past a certain point in a pregnancy with an exception for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. He did not, however, specify when that point would be.

See here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzGrSYWAkxg

How many Evangelicals know that?

I knew that because I did my research. So, who’s low information in this case? NOT ME. I take time to do a background check on the person. That BY DEFINITION is trying to garner information.

There are other things that I take issue with Trump even now, but one thing you cannot call me — LOW INFORMATION. I can present information as well as anybody on this man Evangelicals say they would vote for.

[GOPJ]

We could be going into a time of war... having a President who can negotiate ‘toe to toe’ with an enemy might be important. Maybe pulling someone to our side who’s fence sitting is another. Both are war skills.

Trump can think on his feet - that’s another reason. Lindsey did an ad when his phone number was given out. When Trump’s number was given out, he put an ad for his campaign on his phone. That’s ‘thinking on your feet’...

Trump’s not my first choice... but he’s in my top three.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: According to the posts on my FB page, most of the Christians support Trump because he is saying what needs to be said.

I prefer to look BEYOND what a person says NOW in order to ingratiate himself with voters to what he said and supported in the past.

I prefer someone who is CONSISTENT in his beliefs and policies.

And in this, there is ONE MAN in the race who meets the criteria, and it ain’t Trump.

So I would encourage my Evangelical friends to LOOK BEYOND Trump to Ted Cruz.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Trump’s not my first choice... but he’s in my top three.

There is a better candidate out there who can think on his feet and who is CONSISTENTLY Conservative AND Evangelical.

I will consider Ted Cruz ahead of Trump.

[Linda Frances]

The vote is for President - not for minister....

---

Everyone believes in something or someone. The left thinks Mother Earth is God. Others think they are gods. Some believe a politician can save this country. Some people think they are Christians but don't live it. The Christians I know believe we're all imperfect, but God can use a simple man to change the hearts and minds of people. Obama did that in reverse. People who called themselves Christians, atheists and others voted for someone like they were voting on American idol (how true). Compromising our values on the character of a candidate only give us compromised candidates. I truly believe we lost because many compromised and voted for Romney, as well as the fact that the gop and Romney cheated. I confess I trusted my vote on someone I Knew was bad. God doesn't believe in the lesser of true evils. We are to reject all evil period.

[chasio649]

Thank you...this needs to be said!

[huldah1776]

“church is where self-righteous hypocrites gather”

good grief. I have never been a documented member of a church and am a post-tribulationist to boot, but to lump every church together? There are 7 churches and I can worship in a building.

Church is supposed to be for fellowship and worship. I think of it as the VFW bar for Christian warriors.

[Democratic-Republican]

[me] >>>> "I would say a low-information voter fails to see the big picture, and gets baited, hooked and boned like a fish over a single issue, say, the presidential candidates' opinion on abortion or something similar, and makes their decision right then and there, even though it is completely inconsequential with respect to the President's ability to affect it in any way. Some evangelicals are routinely peeled away by this very manipulation."

[you] >> "Just look at one issue that Evangelicals are most concerned with — ABORTION, Trump was a longtime supporter of abortion rights, saying, “I support a woman’s right to choose, for example, but I am uncomfortable with the procedures. When Tim Russert asked me on Meet the Press if I would ban partial-birth abortion if I were president, my pro-choice instincts led me to say no.”"

Now we have established you ignored every word I said about "Abortion" and Presidential Candidates. Let's try something different ...

You are the history or civics teacher. A student raises his hand and asks you a question. Can you answer him? ...

"Sir, exactly what difference does it make if a President is pro-abortion or pro-life?" You are the history or civics teacher. A student raises his hand and asks you a question. Can you answer him? ...

[Democratic-Republican]

Typo above. That last sentence got repeated. The post was supposed to end at the question in bold.

"Sir, exactly what difference does it make if a President is pro-abortion or pro-life?"

[Balding_Eagle]

It’s more than that.

It’s choosing the guy who speaks their issues loudly over man who whispers their issues.

Sometimes hiding a light under a bushel isn’t the thing that attracts others to you.

[LS]

Ok, in love I'm gonna state this and not argue. The Bible is full of examples of God using people that in no way would fit your/our notions of a "moral" man. Moses was a murderer, and very reluctant to do what God told him without adding his own two cents (namely bringing along Caleb); David was an adulterer who sent his lover's husband to be killed; Jonah was disobedient; Cyrus, highly used by God, wasn't even a Jew; Jesus picked as part of the 12 a money-obsessed thief (Judas), a headstrong liar (Peter), two egotists (James and John), and told them all that the greatest faith He witnessed was not from any of them but a Roman (pagan) centurion.

At the time Lincoln rose to the presidency, by his own admission he wasn't even a Christian, and as a young man he had written a tract highly critical of Christianity (not just "church attendance"). He eventually became a full believer, but not until 1863---nearly the end of his life. Alexander Hamilton, a devout man when young, drifted away and was a womanizer, but later returned to the Lord.

I am quite wary of anyone determining who is, or is not, following God's will at a given point. If we had been using our measurements, the Israelites would still be in Egypt.

Rick Santorum gave a great answer tonight on immigration and a "gotcha" about breaking up a family, and he answered that our compassion is IN our laws and you can't have the former without the latter. I believe Trump will restore America to a nation of law, that however he is being led, it is in the right direction. I don't think God requires him to have a spotless personal life any more than He did with Moses. Only that he do what he's called to do.

Feel free to post replies, but I'm done with this thread, because for those who don't have "ears to hear" and who are Pharisees at heart, nothing will make a sound.