Absurd. Without the Evangelicals the Republican Party would have gone the way of the Whigs in the 1970s.
Face it. Without Evangelical Christian social conservatives, Dems would own both houses of congress and the White House, the 1994 Republican landslide would have never happened, and this forum (if it existed at all) would be filled with speculation as to which Rockefeller/Gerald Ford clone would be most likely to give President Gore a good run before losing in 2004.
That's absolute nonsense.
Too bad for the Whigs they didn't have Pat Robertson, the Christian Coalition, and the National Right to Life Committee telling the Christians to vote for the Whig Party no matter what!
Face it. Without Evangelical Christian social conservatives, Dems would own both houses of congress and the White House, the 1994 Republican landslide would have never happened, and this forum (if it existed at all) would be filled with speculation as to which Rockefeller/Gerald Ford clone would be most likely to give President Gore a good run before losing in 2004.
Amen. I can't even believe I'm reading a post on FR that getting rid of the "religious zealots" from the GOP & conservative movement can be a good thing in any way.
For those of us who believe - and even those who don't, but respect those who do - it's crucial to realize that without this faith, the United States would not have ever been the shining city on the hill to Americans and to the rest of the world. What would a world without America look like? Dark, brutal, and dangerous.
The key difference between a free, Constitutionally based country with a basis in Judeo-Christian ethics and any other country is that we know that man is not perfectible on earth. Other governments that operate by the Rule of Man, not Law, believe that man is perfectible on earth - and that they are the ones to implement, and force, that so-called perfection. It's a recipe for tyranny.
To the OP, I see your profile page seems to equate fundamentalism with "stagnation and disaster." That depends what kind of fundamentalism you're talking about. Islamic fundamentalism? For sure.
But here's the thing. For a long time, there has been a huge difference between pure faith, as intended from the beginning of Christianity, and bad religion - twisting that faith for earthly goals of power, influence, and yes, oppression. But Christianity, as shown by Jesus, is a faith of freedom.
Sadly, many people worldwide have been exposed to bad religion and seem to think that's what Christianity is as well. But it's not. Why is it that Christianity is banned on pain of torture and death in tyrannical countries like North Korea, China, the Middle East, and so on? If it didn't lead people to freedom, despite their earthly oppression, they wouldn't care.
Just think about that for a moment and see if you still think that getting Christians out of the GOP is such as good idea.