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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: WERE EVANGELICALS PLAYED FOR SUCKERS? By Pastor Chuck Baldwin No president in American history played the "God card" any better than George W. Bush. Early in his 2000 presidential campaign, Bush convinced fundamentalist/evangelical Christian leaders that he was "their" man. Those Christian leaders went on to promote and support Mr. Bush to the tune of two successful presidential election victories. To this day, they comprise his most loyal base of support. But was it all a sham? Did G.W. Bush and Karl Rove simply dupe the Religious Right? A Bush insider now says that is exactly what happened: GOP strategists played evangelical believers for suckers. David Kuo has a long record of Christian conservatism. His resume includes tenure with such notable Republican leaders as William Bennett, John Ashcroft, Bob Dole, and Congressman J.C. Watts. Most recently, he served as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In his column, Shooting from the Heart, Kuo wrote that receiving President Bush's invitation to become Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives "was a dream come true for me." Kuo believed he had teamed with a man who sincerely intended to promote Christian conservatism in and through his administration. Now Kuo believes that he (and the entire evangelical community) had been duped. Kuo has written a new book entitled Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction. He also sat down with CBS reporter Lesley Stahl for a 60 Minutes interview that aired this past Sunday. Kuo writes in his book that White House staffers would roll their eyes at evangelicals, calling them "nuts" and "goofy." Asked if that was really their attitude, Kuo told Stahl, "Oh, absolutely. You name the important Christian leader and I have heard them mocked by serious people in serious places." Kuo said that people in the White House referred to Pat Robertson as "insane," Jerry Falwell as "ridiculous," and James Dobson as having "to be controlled." Kuo believes that GOP strategists successfully convinced Christian leaders "that Jesus came primarily for a political agenda, and recently primarily a right-wing political agenda-as if this culture war is a war for God. And it's not a war for God, it's a war for politics. And that's a huge difference." Kuo points out that President Bush would use catch-phrases to convince believers. For example, in one speech Bush said, "There's power, wonder-working power in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people." The phrase "wonder working power" sailed over the heads of the media, but most evangelical Christians recognized it immediately from the great old hymn, Power In The Blood. Kuo went on to say that "God and politics had become very much fused together into a sort of a single entity. Where, in a way, politics was the fourth part of the trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the politician." Kuo now feels badly for allowing politicians to use Christians (and the issues they embrace) as they did. He said, "I feel like it was more spiritually wrong. You're taking the sacred and you're making it profane. You're taking Jesus and reducing him to some precinct captain, to some get-out-the-vote guy." Kuo added, "[T]he name of God is just being destroyed in the name of politics." Kuo is calling evangelical Christians to take a "fast" from politics. He said, "People are being manipulated. Good, well-meaning people are being told, 'Send your money to this Christian advocacy group or that.' And that's the answer. It's just not the answer. It's not the answer." Kuo expects strong attacks from the White House and its supporters. He knows he will be viewed as a betrayer and that they will "go after him." He expects that he will be labeled as a "liberal" or an "idealist." But David Kuo says he is fine with that. He said, "I felt like I had to write this." David Kuo's book should serve as a wake up call for America's evangelical community. We have been had. It's time to admit it. From the cover-up of Congressman Mark Foley's debauchery (a cover-up that continues), to federal spending that is out-of-control, to an unprovoked, preemptive invasion against Iraq, to the "No Child Left Behind" education monstrosity, to the Patriot Act's decimation of the Fourth Amendment, to the building of an Orwellian surveillance society, the Bush administration has trampled on virtually every principle upon which America was founded. No matter how badly evangelical Christians want to believe President Bush, no matter how desperately they want to enjoy access to the White House, no matter how deeply they feel obligated to support the Republican Party, it is time to face the truth that the GOP's only interest has been to use them for the simple purpose of winning elections. Yet, there is an even greater lesson that evangelical Christians need to learn, and that is the lesson taught us in our own history. America's founders fought this battle more than 200 years ago and found that the greatest protection for religious liberty and principle was the implementation of, and loyalty to, the U.S. Constitution. As Thomas Jefferson said, "In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." Christians need to be less enamored with the religious professions and promises of politicians and much more committed to making sure that their elected representatives uphold their oaths of office to the Constitution. Fidelity to the Constitution will successfully address most of the issues evangelical Christians care about. It will even address the ones they don't care about, but should. It's not a "fast" from politics that Christians need, it's a rededication to constitutional government.
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#1. To: BTP Holdings, burkeman1 (#0)
Could it be that the American shadow govt - the so called 'powers that be' (who ever they be) are telling us in a subtle way that they are passing the 'mandate of heaven' to the Democrats? They have used Bush and the GOP as much as they could and Bush screwed up their agenda in Iraq and Iran so they are willing to let the Democrats come to power. Make no mistake - the Democrats would just as easily attack Iran as would the GOP - maybe they want a competent Democrat who will rule for 4 years restoring our military and then after that war with Iran?
Make no mistake - the Democrats would just as easily attack Iran as would the GOP - maybe they want a competent Democrat who will rule for 4 years restoring our military and then after that war with Iran? I agree with some of what you stated but not entirely. Agree: The Democrats have been definitely annointed as "winners" in the 2006 bi- election which in turn will raise the Democrats' profile for 2008 and yes, a Dimwit President will definitely be elected. Disagree: As for waiting for a "competent" Democrat to rule for 4 years to "restore" the military and thereafter to attack Iran...what have you been smoking? If we have a Dimwit President elected in 2008, there will be no restoration of anything but social welfare benefits for the Dimwit voter constituency. As for the military, previous Dimwit Presidents have not shyed away from using conscription to fight 2 world wars and Vietnam on the cheap. As for your contention that the Democrats would just as easily attack Iran as the GOP - I'd say, Dimwits are MORE likely to want to do so. The GOP have been bitten soundly in the butt for their recent ME Iraq war misadventure. That's why Rice is standing on her head trying to have diplomatic solutions brokered re:Iran - she's doing GWB's bidding in that regard. That's why it has been decided that the Iran War needs a fresh set of knaves at the wheel of the good ship Titanic, because not only have the GOP'ers lost credibility in the making wars department, but the GOP'ers,including GWB, are dragging their feet on wading into a war with Iran. The GOPer's blustery rhetoric all the while delaying any concrete "bombs away" action re: Iran has not gone un-noticed by certain special interests' groups. The only fly in the ointment for those who are eager to have us go to war with Iran is that pesky unpredictable lunatic in NK getting himself into the news headlines this week, so now the sheeple are asking themselves - "Why have we been bullying countries in the ME (who only threaten Israel?)that have no nukes at this time, but we've not dealt with NK, a country that is specifically and threat to America and a country which definitely has nukes?"
and enactment of HATE CRIMES laws.
#10. To: christine, scrapper2 (#9)
And "public decency" laws.
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