Evangelical Christians

The Ultimate Judgment Day For Evangelical Christians: Romney, Santorum Or Gingrich?

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So it has come down to this: the ultimate judgment day for evangelical Christians, specifically in South Carolina this Saturday, but really nationally, as well.

Evangelicals always talk about the significance of “family values” in their lives, and that is to be applauded.

So now they must decide the future of the Republican Presidential race. They may talk about “redemption”, but can they really back Newt Gingrich after it has been revealed that he asked his second wife to agree to an “open marriage”, after having cheated with her on his first wife? Gingrich talks about “traditional marriage” being upheld against gay marriage, but is his concept of marriage indeed “traditional”?

It seems to the author that the family lives of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum fit the image of what evangelical Christians claim to believe, and already, a large group of evangelical leaders last week endorsed Santorum. To top it off, Santorum ended up ahead of Gingrich in New Hampshire, and now has been declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses over Mitt Romney by a final count of 34 votes, rather than being 8 votes behind.

It will be interesting to see whether evangelical Christians will follow the endorsement of their leaders and support Santorum, or even go beyond their faith and back Romney.

If they back Gingrich, however, it will show their hypocrisy. Opportunism is what it might be called after Saturday.

Newt Gingrich’s Hubris Has No Limits!

Ronald 1 Comment

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, has called upon fellow Presidential contenders Rick Santorum and Rick Perry to withdraw from the race and back him as the alternative to Mitt Romney. What hubris he has beyond belief!

The fact that Rick Santorum may have won Iowa, if not ending up eight votes behind Romney, does not seem to impress Gingrich.

The fact that Rick Santorum came in fourth, ahead of Gingrich, who ended up fifth, in New Hampshire, does not seem to impress Gingrich.

The fact that more than two thirds of evangelical Christian leaders meeting in Texas over the past weekend decided to throw their support to Santorum, does not seem to have impressed Gingrich.

Gingrich sees himself as brilliant, intelligent, far above all other candidates in capabilities, even though a vast majority of former House associates and Republican political leaders nationally have attacked his candidacy on many grounds.

Instead, it is Todd Palin, and now his wife Sarah, either endorsing or speaking up for Gingrich, with Sarah avoiding going as far as her husband.

Is not that involvement by the Palins enough of an answer about the legitimacy of Newt Gingrich? The Palins, particularly Sarah, have loads of hubris like Gingrich, but not even with his intelligence and brilliance! They are the mark of the STUPID group within the GOP, which includes former candidates Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain!

Newt Gingrich has stated that if he does not win South Carolina this coming weekend, that the race is over. Let’s hope that such is the case, and that we will stop having to listen to the braggadocio of this pompous, overbearing, obnoxious, egotistical person who has passed his prime long ago!

The “Bible Belt”, Religion, And The Republican Presidential Race

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After Mitt Romney won the Iowa Caucuses by EIGHT votes over Rick Santorum, some saw it as a victory.

But others pointed out that Romney actually received SIX fewer total votes than he did in 2008 in the Iowa Caucuses!

And Romney did not do well among evangelical Christians, which are a very large portion of the Republican vote in Iowa. Considering also that he received just 25 percent of the vote, the same percentage as in 2008, brought to mind that his Mormon faith MAY have an effect in the Southern primaries and other Midwest primaries where evangelical Christians still look at Mormonism as a religious cult, in areas considered the “Bible Belt”!

So Mitt Romney is not seen as overcoming the religion question as John F. Kennedy did in 1960.

But the problem is that Jon Huntsman is also a Mormon, and Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are Catholic, the problem that existed for Kennedy. Only Rick Perry and Ron Paul are evangelical Christians or Baptists, which is predominant in the South.

The question is whether Rick Santorum, who shares the religious and family values of many Southerners, but is a Catholic, can win them over and have an impact in future primaries. He is already trying to appeal to blue collar whites who are often rural in environment and religious more than the rest of the country. Will Perry and Paul have a better shot, particularly in the South, and can Gingrich, who converted to Catholicism, overcome that fact?

The point is that religion COULD be a factor in the final decision as to who the GOP Presidential nominee will be!

The Tragedy Of The Republican Party: A Split Personality Outside The Mainstream!

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Chris Matthews on MSNBC this evening summarized the tragedy of the Republican Party: that it has been “hijacked” by disparate groups that cause the party grief!

First, we have what Matthews calls the “Dixiecrats”, the Southern segregationists, who left the Democratic Party after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Then, due to the school prayer decision (Engle V Vitale) and abortion rights decision (Roe V Wade) of the Supreme Court, the “Moral Majority” or “Christian Coalition” or “Evangelical Right” went over to the Republican Party in the 1970s.

Finally, conservative “hawkish” Democrats, dissatisfied with the nomination of George McGovern in 1972 and President Jimmy Carter in 1976 also went over to the Republicans as the “neoconservatives”.

The result has been a “split personality” party which has marginalized itself more and more over the years, and moved away from the mainstream of America, as the Republican Party was until the mid 1970s.

Unless Jon Huntsman can, somehow, gain a surge and make a major fight for the GOP nomination, the Republican Party is going to remain outside the mainstream of America!

Evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, And Prejudice Against Women, Gays, Blacks

Ronald 1 Comment

It is a very unpleasant reality that people who claim extreme religiosity, whether evangelical Christians or Orthodox Jews, often have proved to be bigoted and prejudiced against women, gays, and blacks. It is a sad commentary on those who profess to be closest to God!

This reality rears its ugly head when we learn that the leader of an evangelical group in Iowa has called upon Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to withdraw from the Presidential race, even though she is polling better than Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in the state polls before the Iowa Caucuses that occur thirteen days from now. What reason other than being a woman could there be for such a statement? It is well known that evangelical Christians believe in the “traditional” role of women as walking behind men and being subjugated to their husbands. Also, Orthodox Jews see women as not worthy to sit with men at a synagogue service, and separate men from women at weddings. It is time for such discrimination to end in both religious groups!

It is also well known that both groups are anti gay, and both have promoted racist attitudes against African Americans historically, and have not repudiated such attitudes even recently. This is a good explanation why the “n” word has been utilized so often in both evangelical and Orthodox Jewish circles.

All of this is extremely outrageous, and undermines the whole concept of what it means to be religious!

The Negatives Of Mitt Romney Growing, Making His Nomination For President Less Likely Scenario!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has long been thought to be the frontrunner for the Republican Presidential nomination, but as we get closer to the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary, about a month from now, his problems and challenges are growing rapidly!

Romney is now seen as very vulnerable in many different ways, including:

1. Romney may be respected, but is not loved, as Time Magazine reports this week.

2. Romney, being a Mormon, a subject he tries to avoid discussing, is becoming a growing issue to many evangelical Christians and other Protestant religious groups, who feel that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a cult, and not Christian, but instead a phony religion.

3. Romney, being extremely wealthy (estimated $250 million minimum) comes across as part of the elite, the one percent, as one of “them” against the rest of us, and with his comments advocating the destruction of the auto industry in Michigan and elsewhere, his support of accelerating home foreclosures, and his bad joke about being “unemployed” , that image is hard to overcome.

4. Romney, being from the Northeast, and specifically Massachusetts, a Democratic state, is unappealing to a party which gets its major support from the South, Midwest and Mountain West.

5. Romney has an image of being a moderate, in fact to some as liberal, due to his support of a state health care plan in Massachusetts, which became a model for Barack Obama’s push for health care reform, and Romney cannot escape that image and advocacy no matter how hard he tries.

6. Having moved from liberal to moderate viewpoints when first running against Senator Ted Kennedy unsuccessfully in 1994, and then successfully for Governor in 2002, and now claiming to be a conservative who has completely transformed himself and his views, he comes across as a massive “flip flopper”, possibly one of the greatest such cases in American history, and therefore, is seen as not genuine, not honest, not believable, not reliable that he will keep the views he now professes.

7. Romney comes across as arrogant, haughty, not liking to be challenged, snobby, and seemingly believing he is “entitled” to be the next Repubiican nominee as the so called “next in waiting” runner up candidate in the past, just like John McCain in 2008 and Bob Dole in 1996.

So Mitt Romney is in deep trouble, and many are starting to think he may not be the GOP nominee for President in 2012!

Nate Silver Gives Odds For Republican Presidential Candidates A Year Before The Presidential Election

Ronald 1 Comment

Nate Silver of the NEW YORK TIMES on Friday explained, according to his statistical model, the odds of any GOP candidate for President having the opportunity to win the popular vote in the 2012 Presidential Election..

Note he does not say that any of these candidates will win the election, because, of course, the Electoral College will decide who wins the White House, and four times the popular vote loser nationally (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000) has won the election.

According to his model, the best candidate with the most opportunity to win is Jon Huntsman, the former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, who has so far made no dent in the public opinion polls.

And yet, Silver’s argument is that with a 2.5% growth of the economy in 2012, a fairly tepid growth thought to be the most likely and best scenario, Huntsman has a 71 percent chance of winning the popular vote, as compared to 58 percent for Mitt Romney. No other candidate can win under this model, with Herman Cain having a 41 percent chance, Rick Perry a 30 percent chance, and Michele Bachmann having a 12 percent chance.

IF there is a stalled economy with no growth, Huntsman’s chances rise to 90 percent, Romney to 83 percent, Cain to 70 percent, Perry to 59 percent, and Bachmann to 34 percent.

If GDP grows only 2.3 percent instead of 2.5 percent, Huntsman has a 73 percent chance of winning, Romney 60 percent, Cain 44 percent, Perry 32 percent, and Bachmann 14 percent.

If the economy grows by the unexpected amount of 4 percent GDP growth, then Huntsman has a 55 percent chance, Romney 40 percent, Cain 25 percent, Perry 17 percent, and Bachmann 5 percent.

Notice that Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are not even considered in this model drawn up by Nate Silver.

It ultimately comes down to what the author has said many times; that Jon Huntsman, despite his poor performance in polls so far, is by far the best bet for the Republican Party against Barack Obama, BUT the Tea Party does not care for him; evangelical Christians will not like him for being a Mormon; and unless he can win New Hampshire, he will have no opportunity to move ahead, and right now it seems unlikely.

And since Romney has many of the same problems as Huntsman, as listed above, and has actually less of a chance than Huntsman among key GOP groups, it looks likely that the Republican Party will blow the chance they theoretically have to win the White House!

The Anti Romney Campaign In The Republican Party Faltering: From Trump To Bachmann To Perry To Cain And Beyond

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It is very clear to anyone with a political sense that the Republican Party right wing does not wish to see Mitt Romney become President, anymore than they wanted John McCain in 2008.

Both McCain and Romney have been seen as “next in line”, which is exactly why the conservatives in the party hated McCain and now Romney.

The Anti Romney movement has gone from Donald Trump to Michele Bachmann to Rick Perry to Herman Cain, and all have been found wanting in their abilities, their record, and often even their sanity!

The past few days have been a great time for Mitt Romney, with the collapse of Rick Perry and Herman Cain.

Perry put on a weird performance at a speech Friday night in New Hampshire, coming across as possibly drunk or on some kind of prescription pills, but his odd way of acting will certainly harm his campaign, which already is in its death throes by any reasonable standard.

Herman Cain is having problems with financial irregularities and sexual harassment charges, and seems unable to keep a straight story, or even seem aware of anything going on in his past or in his campaign, being a very undisciplined man.

This all benefits Romney, and also allows Barack Obama’s campaign to focus on Romney and his constant changes in position on every issue imaginable. While Romney may look presidential, and on paper is much better qualified than anyone the conservatives want, he will have major trouble in the upcoming campaign because, as David Plouffe, the campaign manager for the President says, if Romney could find a way to say the grass is blue and the sky is green, he would do it!

With the reality that Romney comes across as a fake conservative, much like McCain in 2008, the odds are that many conservatives will refuse to back him if he is the nominee, and will stay home, or look for a third party vehicle. But that would only help President Obama, leading to a divided vote among Republicans.

And then, the evangelicals might not back Romney on religious grounds, as he is a Mormon, and the only other reasonable candidate, Jon Huntsman, also a Mormon, would not be able to gain their backing for the same reason, and would be seen also as insufficiently conservative.

So it is clear many mainstream Republicans see the defeat of Obama as receding every day as their party goes through the disaster of a Tea Party Movement, evangelical Christian, dominantly Southern control of their party, which guarantees its defeat in 2012!

The Implosion Of Herman Cain: Arrogance, Egotism, And Sexual Harassment!

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So the Herman Cain candidacy was “fun” while it lasted, even though it lacked any principle, consistency, or substance!

How anyone could have seen Herman Cain as qualified to be President, when even his business background has been less than Wendell Willkie in 1940, the only businessman with no political experience to be a Presidential nominee, is beyond understanding!

The man has no concept or understanding of what it means to be President, as shown by his 9-9-9 plan, his abortion statements, his comments on a border fence to keep out illegal immigrants, his thoughts on dealing with terrorism, and refusing the idea of any Muslims in his cabinet.

For Herman Cain to believe he was qualified to be President shows a high level of arrogance and egotism, and it is just further proved by the revelation of charges of sexual harassment by two female staffers at the National Restaurant Association back in the 1990s, who were paid financial settlements and signed agreements not to talk about the incidents publicly.

Herman Cain refused to answer when asked four times by a reporter from Politico, and yet it is known such financial arrangements did occur, so it means Herman Cain’s campaign, while it might go on for a while, is not going to survive long term. The issue will dog him on the campaign trail, and it should turn evangelical Christians in Iowa and elsewhere against his candidacy.

To blame liberals for the reports is hypocrisy personified, as it is well known that many liberals have been exposed for sexual harassment, and this is not an issue of ideology. It is an issue of honesty, integrity, ethics, and responsibility for personal behavior, and Herman Cain cannot be allowed to claim he is a victim, what could be called the Clarence Thomas card!

Instead, just as much as John Edwards, Bill Clinton, and others have been pursued, personal behavior for public figures DOES matter, and it has nothing to do with politics!

Why The Republican Party Cannot Defeat Barack Obama In 2012

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican Party is involved in an internal struggle, trying to find someone who can unite the party, and defeat President Obama, but it is all for naught!

Why is this so, despite many prognosticators who think Obama is eminently defeatable in 2012?

1. The Republican Party has come up with a list of candidates who are eminently outrageous and outside the mainstream of America, with the exception of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman.

2. The party stands for making hard times worse for the average American and undermining our relationship with the world, as they take the wrong position on the mortgage crisis, education, infrastructure, first responders, taxation of the wealthy, the environment, illegal immigration, racial matters, Wall Street abuses, labor rights, women’s rights, religious toleration, international organizations, the Iraq War, health care, gay rights–is that list of SIXTEEN policies long enough for you?

3. Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, both being Mormons, have a problem in the primaries and caucuses, and among Southern evangelicals, an important portion of the Republican constituency, as they are seen by many as part of a cult.

4. Mitt Romney has such a reputation as a “flip flopper” on EVERY issue that he loses all credibility! Is there even one issue where he is consistent with his past? The answer is NO!

5. Jon Huntsman is counting too much on New Hampshire, and has so far flopped in public opinion polls, because he is so mainstream and decent, which the Republicans are not looking for this time around, so they are not smart enough, and he is not lucky enough, to be seen, at least at this point, as a serious candidate, and if so later, he is still a Mormon!

6. Since it still seems likely with all his faults that Romney may survive as the nominee, there will be little enthusiasm for him among Southerners and right winger Tea Party types, who will likely stay home, because they see Mitt Romney as not someone who would, in office, support their agenda.

7. In debates between Romney and Obama, Obama would shine, and assault the changing views of Romney, and Romney would wilt under the pressure, as he would be exposed as someone who the American people could not trust on anything he would advocate, and he would have to support ideas that a majority of people would not endorse, on many of the ideas mentioned above.

8. Therefore, the possibility does exist that Barack Obama could win a landslide victory, possibly greater than in 2008, because the American people would see that he has done much of what he wished to, has been stopped by Republican obstructionism on many other issues, and ultimately, can “feel their pain”, which Mitt Romney, the super wealthy corporate type, DOES NOT! The groups that backed Obama in 2008 will see the need to come out and vote, and that will make a dramatic difference in the results!

9. Barack Obama’s outstanding record on national security and foreign relations will have a tremendous effect on his campaign fortunes, just as they did for Harry Truman in 1948 during the Berlin Blockade!

So do not put betting money on the Republicans winning the White House in 2012!