Bush White House: Evangelicals are "nuts", "just plain goofy"

[oldbetang]

So what happened?

1) On Capitol Hill, Republican indifference couldn't overcome knee-jerk Democratic opposition.

The moment the president announced the faith-based effort, Democratic opposition was frenzied. Hackneyed church-state scare rhetoric made the rounds; this was "radical" and "dangerous" and merely an "attempt to fund Bob Jones University." One Democratic African-American congressman came to the White House to back the president but was threatened by influential liberal groups that they would withhold funding if he didn't denounce the President. The next day he was forced to retract his statement.


Hmmn!!

 

[Eryk]

So what happened?

1) On Capitol Hill, Republican indifference couldn't overcome knee-jerk Democratic opposition.

The moment the president announced the faith-based effort, Democratic opposition was frenzied. Hackneyed church-state scare rhetoric made the rounds; this was "radical" and "dangerous" and merely an "attempt to fund Bob Jones University." One Democratic African-American congressman came to the White House to back the president but was threatened by influential liberal groups that they would withhold funding if he didn't denounce the President. The next day he was forced to retract his statement.


Hmmn!!

Knee-jerk is right. Charges from Democrats that the faith-based initiative program is creeping theocracy are ridiculous. Al Gore supported the same program when he ran for president in 2000.

This takes nothing away from the fact that the Bush program was primarily used to build political loyalty in the religious right. That's why the director of the program quit:

In August 2001, John J. DiIulio Jr., then-director of the faith-based office, became the first top Bush adviser to quit, after seven months on the job. In an interview with Esquire magazine a year later, DiIulio said the Bush White House was obsessed with the politics of the faith-based initiative but dismissive of the policy itself, and he slammed White House advisers as "Mayberry Machiavellis."

Link

 

[platzapS]

This is horrible. The Republicans have abandoned you, evangelicals. We as conservative Christians must band together and vote for the Constitution Party!

(Then we can have a Democrat for President in 2008.)

 

[Anovah]

More fall-out from 2004 when, as Washington Post reporter E.J. Dionne wrote, Democrats "found God" after Clinton's pollster Stanley Greenberg (husband of Rosa DeLauro, D-CT) crunched the election polling results.

First Jim Wallis and Rabbi Michael Lerner formed a "Network of Spiritual Progressives" to try to regain the religious vote (which had gone in a landslide for Bush). Then Nancy Pelosi had 54 Catholic Democrats sign a statement of faith. Then Senators Obama and Kerry began giving speeches on how important faith is to them. While this was going on, a plethora of liberal books were in the works, detailing how the "religious right" wants to create a theocracy in America. Most recently we have had Democrats astounded that their Foley campaign has not driven, as expected, the religious vote from the GOP. Now we have this book and comments by a few other alledged conservatives which disparage people of faith. All of this has been promoted widely by George Soros and Podesta's "Center for American Progress" (CAP) and reported on extensively by a breathless liberal media.

This latest campaign, which is about 4 days old now, won't be as sucessful as any of the others.

20 or even 15 years ago. when liberals owned the media, Democrats may have peeled off some of the religious vote with these smarmy campaigns.

Not today.

Democrats would be better off running on what they believe.

Whatever that is.

So you're totally willing to question the sincerity of Democrats religion but not the Bush admin?

Partisan hackery at it's finest.

If you're THAT concerned about politicians feigning faith you should be deeply concerned about these allegations.

Yet you're not. Hmmm...

edit: (also I find it disturbing that...as a Christian...you seem to be discouraging Democrats having religion as they would "be better off running on what they believe." What if they actually believe in Christianity?)

 

[WayWord]

Wake up, Christians! You're being deceived, used, and manipulated by those in power. Stop trusting in man and start trusting in Yahweh God.

 

[vitodabona]

Wake up, Christians! You're being deceived, used, and manipulated by those in power. Stop trusting in man and start trusting in Yahweh God.

Better yet stop believing everything you hear, and be especially suspect of anyone pandering to your beliefs whatever they may be.

 

[JoshuaW]

Better yet stop believing everything you hear, and be especially suspect of anyone pandering to your beliefs whatever they may be.

Amen!

 

[Eryk]

Wikipedia:

Private communications revealed as a result of the Congressional enquiry into Scanlon and Abramoff's consulting business demonstrate a contemptuous attitude to both clients and supporters. Indian Clients were referred to as "troglodytes" and "monkeys", Christian Conservatives are considered gullible "wackos" who can be manipulated to vote on demand:

"The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees ... Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them."