November 2007 Archives

Beliefnet contributor Rabbi Brad Hirschfield , author of You Don't Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right, Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, offers this post on a "What Would Jesus Do?" question about the death penalty at last night's Republican debate:

For any of us who believe that religious convictions can inform our political views, the recent Republican Party debate was a tragedy. The most troubling moment came when a young man asked specifically those candidates who describe themselves as Christian, "What would Jesus do in terms of carrying out the death penalty?" Sadly, he never got an answer to his honest, important, and sincerely preferred question. Governor Huckabee dodged it completely, stating that it must sometimes be done and that it was the hardest thing he had to do as Governor. All well and good perhaps, but where was his answer?

Is it so difficult for someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus, an ordained minister, to directly address the relationship between the beliefs he holds and the policies that he supports? And the answer that followed, offered by Mr. Tancredo, was no better. In fact, it was worse! He simply said that he would seek divine guidance on the matter and expected that he would discover the right thing to do in the case before him. Apparently he doesn't know about the religious past, but is confident that God will tell him the future! Unbelievable!!

And the saddest moment of all came when Governor Huckabee was pushed for a direct answer by the debate moderator, Anderson Cooper, only to be told that "Jesus was far too smart to run for public office." What does that say about the men on stage who hope to lead the most powerful nation in the world? If they are cynical about what they are doing, how are the rest of us supposed to feel?

How refreshing it would have been for them to do any of the following:
admit that Jesus would, like them, support the death penalty (apparently not something they really believe), admit that Jesus would oppose the death penalty and that therefore they too would now re-think their own position (apparently something they are not ready to do), or suggest that while Jesus might have opposed the death penalty, there is room to differ about this given that the world and its public policy challenges are not the same now as they were 2,000 years ago (apparently not something they are bold enough to say).

Religious conviction has an important role to play in American politics, but not if those who claim to be the most religious, are not prepared to tell us what they really believe, or revisit their beliefs in light of new things they learn or new circumstances that they encounter. Last time I checked, that is what real faith is meant to empower us to do.

The most important political question in the Democratic race is whether Barack Obama will win the black vote. We forget that in 1988 Jesse Jackson won 13 primaries and caucuses while appealing to a smaller sector of the white vote than Obama does. If Obama were doing as well among African Americans as Jackson did, he’d now be in the lead. He’d sweep the south and probably the nomination.

Comparing himself to McCain, Thompson and Giuliani on the gay marriage amendment as the only one who is for it but he leaves out Huckabee (who is also for it):

For the first time, Mitt Romney is using direct mail to contrast his record with his GOP rivals. In a piece that has just hit Iowa mailboxes, Romney points out that he's the only of the "leading Republican candidates" to support a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

The former governor pointedly ignores Mike Huckabee, who has emerged as his most serious challenger in the Hawkeye State and who supports the ban.

Romney, whose campaign has debated internally whether or not to draw such direct contrasts with paid media, is clearly trying to set himself apart as the only electable candidate who sides with the conservative GOP base on a key issue.

The piece, sent by a rival campaign, is the classic "side-by-side," used to paint a rival (or rivals) as being on the unpopular side of a policy. Unsaid, of course, is that Romney himself took a much more moderate approach to gay rights issues when he ran for the Senate in 1994 and governor in 2002.

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If I were a presidential candidate in this race I would do a comparison mailing on Romney running for governor of MA and running for president today.

BTW, it still irks me that this has become such a big issue in the race when Romney can't even do anything about it if he were elected president. It's not going anywhere so give it up as an issue, people. It doesn't belong in the presidential race, make it an issue where it will count, in a congressional race.

Why don't you tell us where you stand on drilling in the Gulf or ANWR, that's more important to me. Why don't you tell us what you plan to do about the value of the dollar? Iran? Israel? The deficit, pork filled spending bills? Shrinking the size of government? These are actually issues that the president will be able to do something about. Stop wasting our time on issues that don't really matter.

If the gay marriage amendment comes up tomorrow night, I hope the candidates turn to Romney and say, "Since you're for it, tell us how you're going to make it happen." It's easy to be for something now that you know won't be going anywhere later.

I think it's commendable that the other candidates aren't pandering on this issue just to get more votes, it makes me respect them more.

Yes, politics does make for strange bedfellows, doesn't it?

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, an underdog Texas congressman with a libertarian streak, has picked up an endorsement from a Nevada brothel owner.

Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch near Carson City, said he was so impressed after hearing Paul at a campaign stop in Reno last week that he decided to raise money for him.

"I'll get all the (working girls) together, and we can raise him some money," Hof told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1, $5 contributions."

Should a Christian candidate who advertises the support of a pimp really be getting a 7 on the God-o-Meter?

If this is true and he leads in contributions, it will be a sad day for the Republican party and won't bode well for next year.

In an interview to be aired later today on Bloomberg's Political Capital with Al Hunt, Rep. Ron Paul said he has raised more than $9 million in the past two months and he predicted his presidential campaign will exceed its $12 million fourth-quarter goal.

I guess we need to continue practicing, so say it with me, "President Hillary Clinton." You know, it doesn't get any easier.

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After making a splash by implying that Bush was part of a conspiracy: In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, released Monday on the publisher's web site, McClellan recounts the 2003 news conference in which he told reporters that aides...

On Sunday Huckabee rejects the idea of the states deciding the abortion issue: Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, who is gaining in the polls, said Sunday that he believes that individual states should not be able to decide if abortions...

John Fund asks Romney about giving "the speech" and about what Rep. Bob Inglis is reported to have said to him, "You cannot equate Mormonism with Christianity; you cannot say, 'I am a Christian just like you.'" "I don't recall...

Hugh Hewitt absolutely eviscerated National Right To Life Executive Director, David O'Steen on his show over the committee's endorsement of Fred Thompson: HH: All right, let’s go back…again, that’s bad data on your guys’ part, but I can’t substitute data....

When I read Gail Collins' column I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. It would be amazing to me that a Democrat would be happy that her candidate would rather duck the issue than answer a question as...

It seems to me that God-o-Meter's quote from Paul Weyrich comes pretty close to bearing false witness. He needs to make his proof for such an allegation public or else apologize for slandering both NRLC and Thompson. Thompson's endorsement makes...

Has Howard Dean become the Democrats' chief theologian? Will universalism become a part of the Democrat party platform? Who knew they had a position on salvation: Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean came out for inclusive team prayers in public...

According to Fox: Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has won the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee, the largest U.S. antiabortion group, three sources tell FOX News. The announcement is scheduled to be made Tuesday in Washington D.C....

Cause I would think 25 is a little long in the tooth. I'm referring specifically to David's Amening this: Legacy-minded loyalists of the president, however, need to keep in mind that on children's health insurance, preschool education and other issues,...

Without looking like a flip-flopper and undercutting the message that he's been running on since the beginning of his campaign. If Romney used this part of David's speech, he would seriously be backtracking on the whole social issues he's been...

I was stunned when I heard that the ballot initiative to provide healthcare for children by imposing a cigarette tax had been defeated. We hear all the time how important it is to provide healthcare for the kids and smokers...

From a state that has never met a funding bill it didn't love, NJ voters rejected funding embryonic stem cell research. I was completely shocked because the NJ voters aren't usually that smart. In fact, I was quite bitter when...

The Economist is importing its popular series of London debates to New York on Saturday, November 10. Join Richard Neuhaus, Walter Russell Mead, Barry Lynn, and Irshad Manji as they face off over the question of whether religion and politics...

Sometimes I'll come across a post by an atheist blogger about the need to keep religion out of politics, they want "policies based on scientific findings" and "reality-based government." I'm not sure that science has come up with a solution...

It is absolutely brilliant! He attacks her right where she is most vulnerable, her inability to answer a question with a straight answer. If you haven't seen it, you can watch it at Reformed Chicks. I'm so happy the Democrats...

David (and Jim), it doesn't follow that if we allow torture against terrorists we should also allow it against all manner of domestic criminals. The premise of the best pro-torture argument is: while torture is normally reprehensible, there is one...

As I was reading descriptions of Hillary Clinton's "For Such a Time as This" faith tour in South Carolina over the last few days I got to thinking about the 1990s, and the delight with which United Methodists embraced the...

I'm posting a few back-and-forths from a recent interview I did with Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean about the DNC's stepped-up religious outreach program, called Faith in Action. A couple of the more telling lines, in my opinion, are...

The Economist is importing its popular series of London debates to New York on Saturday, November 10. Join Richard Neuhaus, Walter Russell Mead, Barry Lynn, and Irshad Manji as they face off over the question of whether religion and politics...