The Dance Of Religion and Politics . . .
. . . continues even if it has changed from a rumba to the twist, he said making an incredibly lame analogy with no real substance. But there is some interesting stuff to read:
On The Other Side Of The Aisle…
Democrats believe evangelicals could deliver presidency
Not at all really. Not if the strategy is, as the article discusses, simply to keep Evangelicals at home, or otherwise dissatisfied with the Republicans, even if they don’t vote for the Democrats. [Insert Mike Huckabee rant here- I don’t really need to lay it out for readers of this blog, do I?]
Although Amy Sullivan extols being Democrat amd Evangelical. Of course, Amy was one of the first to ask The Question which says she has a rather low opinion of conservative Evangelicals and this article is no exception. Sadly, our behavior recently has fed her argument more than contradicted it.
Remember how Lowell and I always said that if Romney were the nominee, the anti-Mormon stuff would get much, much worse? Hillary proved our point yesterday. Sometimes a guy regrets being right.
Speaking of Hillary, Jim Geraghty can be LOL funny.
About Code…
Yet another Evangelical contends that it was the flip-flops, not the religion. OK, we have worn out the Vanderbilt study at this point. This point can no longer be asserted and accepted at face value. Even if I take the flip-flop argument at face value, the psychology underlying its effectiveness remains troubling. Name me a single candidate that has not changed their mind of some important issue. Can’t do it. The “traction” for this argument lies in the presumption that Mormon theological thought is somehow dishonest.
Mormonism is a prophetically revealed religion, quite different from the general revelation we creedal Christians deal in. Think about it and get back to me on why you think the flip-flop thing has traction . . . .
About Mormons . . .
The latter-day saints are angry with the Republicans
OK, that’s the “no-duh” of the month, and they have good reason to be. They need to get over it, but they have good reason to be.
Major universities are turning their eyes on the CJCLDS and its history. This ought to be interesting.
Generally…
Identity politics are problematic. But we already knew that, didn’t we.
And, this explains a lot. According to a Pew study released Monday:
More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.
Do you think that might explain some of the panic responses to a successful Mormon candidate? I do, but I still do not understand it - I have enough faith in my faith to rely on it rather than beating up on the other guy.
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3 Responses to “The Dance Of Religion and Politics . . .”
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fitzwdarcey on 27 Feb 2008 at 11:29 am #
The idea that flip flops were the problem troubles me, because if that were the case, these same people should have had a significant problem with Mike Huckabee. His mid primary season switch from chastizing others for their firm stance on immigration to signing the no amnesty pledge and vowing to amend the Constitution to prohibit birthright citizenship is staggering. Furthermore, no so-called flip flop smacked more of political expediency with nothing in his record to back it up, than any other candidate’s change in position in this primary season.
The flip flop charge was leveled at Romney enough times that it became “truth.” This reader wonders how many people found it a convenient excuse to not consider his candidacy. If it were really that big of an issue, it should have hurt other candidates as well.
JLFuller on 27 Feb 2008 at 11:35 am #
John says “OK, that’s the “no-duh” of the month, and they have good reason to be. They need to get over it, but they have good reason to be.” I don’t think so old buddy. At least the Mormons I know aren’t put out at the party. Speaking for myself, I recognize Huckabee, Gary Glenn and his fellow travelers do not represent the majority of Republicans. In fact, they are a small minority. There were enough Evangelicals and traditional Christians who voted for Mitt to keep my faith alive that Republicans want to be inclusive not exclusive. Republicans do not like loosing. We are not ideologues, masochists or suicidal. We are pragmatists. We will come together because not doing so works against our best interest. Occasionally we have to experience our weaknesses in order to recognize our strengths. This election cycle may be one of those times. If we loose in November I think even the arch conservatives - who are smart enough to know when their way doesn’t work - will come back on board. Even they understand having no input is worse than having some input.
If anti-Mormonism was an important factor in this election, and I think it was, then continued exposure to what we actually believe theologically, and as citizens, will drown out the misinformation being spread about us. Our friends still take exception to some of our religious beliefs but they are beginning to understand we are very much in line with traditional Christian values. And more and more traditional Christians recognize what they have been lead to believe about us is hyperbole and opinion and not justified. This experience has been a good thing for our party. This period of introspection helps us recognize who were are and what we have become. The purveyors of dishonesty and division will without doubt find less and less acceptance among thinking Republicans. In the end, the conservative movement will be strengthened and more successful. Overall I am quite hopeful for the future.
CarlH on 28 Feb 2008 at 6:05 pm #
Matthew Dowd, writing on his ABC News Blog, tries to be optimistic (that is a truly American perspective), while overstating things more than a little by suggesting that “Race, Religion, Gender Didn’t Matter”. The comments section duly takes him to task, with varying levels of sanity intermixed with vitriol–with a big dose of shrieking from Hillary supporters. Is that “identity politics” too?
Does point out evidence demonstrating that The Question wasn’t as determinative in the voters minds (at least a lot of them) as the pundits and chattering class seemed to think it would. But he glosses over all the evidence suggesting that, in many ways, each of those categories did and continues to matter. I wish I could agree with his merry assertion that
Interestingly enough, Dowd falls in with the Romney-wasn’t-perceived-as-authentic crowd.