With Focus on the Family's James Dobson going public yesterday with his threat to back a third-party candidate against Rudy Giuliani, the press corps accompanying the ex-Mayor is obsessively asking him about his troubles with the Christian Right. Giuliani appeared to brush them aside: “I don’t worry a lot.... Political pluses and minuses are not one of the things to worry about." Asked whether evangelicals would be as important in the '08 presidential race as in previous cycles, Giuliani turned Yogi Berra philosophical: "You know when we’ll find out who is going to be influential in this year’s election? When it’s over.”
But Giulianis' more telling remark, the one that's become his familiar refrain, appears calibrated for Christian ears. "[M]aybe people of faith can respect someone who is honest with them," he told reporters. "With me, you know what you’re going to get.” After the alleged deceptions of Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley--God-o-Meter could go on (and on) but its space is limited--could this simple pledge of honesty have special resonance among religious voters? God-o-Meter is not naive; it knows the message's appeal will be somewhat limited. But it also knows that the Giuliani doesn't have to win the evangelical vote to seal up his party's nomination. He just has to not lose it entirely.
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I don't trust a guy who marrys his cousin, then goes through 2 divorces to marry yet a 3rd time. For gay rights too. Most liberal person from either party!!! He's an embarassment to the Republican Party, just like Bush.
Why The Faith & Values of Presidential & Congressional Candidates Matters
-Theresa Fleming, Moms For America
Family, faith and freedom are the foundation upon which this country has been built and they are the reasons for its enduring success. It is these core beliefs that have become the very heart of the American spirit. And it is these beliefs and values, along with the courageous service and sacrifice of so many, that has made America the kind of country that millions all over the world wish to come to, and millions thank God every day to be a part of.
Having the courage and taking time to honor God’s place in our country and our country’s history doesn’t take away from the fact that we also care deeply about other important issues such as national security, the economy, education, health care and social security. Throughout our country's history, we have faced many such challenges, but because our country has been built upon a foundation of faith, family, and freedom; and blessed with people who care far more about the welfare of others than they do for themselves, we have always managed to find solutions to the challenges that we face. And that's why, if we hope to find solutions to the challenges that we face both today and in the future, we must work together to preserve and protect the values and traditions that have served us so well in the past.
Although there are a few people who would like to remove God from every facet of our society, the vast majority of Americans do believe in God. God has always been a part of our country, and our country's history and culture.
God is in the Declaration of Independence, The Star Spangled Banner, The Gettysburg Address, and on every single dollar bill.
God was there on the day so many gave their lives fighting so that we might be free and He was there the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
God was there the day our boys stormed the beaches of Normandy and He was there the day the Twin Towers came down.
Without a doubt, our country has seen some very difficult times, and yet we have always been able to find a way to stand together in times of need, as one people, “One Nation Under God”, to meet the challenges that we faced.
And what has always brought Americans together, what has given us the courage and strength to face the tough times and the terrible tragedies that sometimes occur in our world, is Faith.
Faith in God, Faith in Each Other, Faith in the Values and Traditions that have so well stood the test of time. And that’s exactly why, as Moms, we do feel that the faith and character of Presidential and Congressional candidates matter. And, in fact, it matters more than any other issue.
For if a man or women wishes to lead this nation, they must first be able to show the American people that they understand and support the American values and traditions that have for so long stood the test of time and that they are as committed as we are to ensuring that America remains what it has always been-"the land of the free and home of the brave".
I so disagree with you that a god has to be in the public domain. This nation is not, fortunately, a Christian nation as much as you tried to prove it with all your examples above. Religion is a private matter, not to be worn on the sleeves of the candidates for president or any other office. An example of a god fearing president is the one who is currently in office and his cronies. Thanks to him and his buddies we are in a totally wrong war, getting our soldiers killed for WHAT? Other countries have lost respect for us due to "W" and his policies.
Wars are fought in the name of some divine being. After all, some in the USA think God is on our side, and the militant Muslims thing Allah is on their side and every country that has a religion thinks that their god is on their side. How rediculas.
This country doesn't need religon to be a unified country. I support my country without a belief in a supreme being who even has to have his/her name on the money and in the flag pledge (which was done in the '50s, which I remember). Personally when I say the pledge, I leave out the under god part. It is so not necessary. Do I support everything our country does? of course not, we are a democracy and we are allowed to dissent or support, but god has nothing to do with it.
Theresa - you keep cutting-and-pasting these eloquent sermons which are fundamentally flawed not in what you are saying but in what you seem to be suggesting between the lines. Consider the possibility that "God" has nothing to do with belief or any particular religion. "God" simply is the energy that flows through all of life - whether one professes a belief or not. It is there in science as much as spirituality. Just as a child needs parental supervision when young, then grows increasingly independent, so too do humans need a spiritual "father figure" less and less as they mature spiritually. Eventually, humans evolve to realize they are God - that all is One.
The Founding Fathers were by and large Deists, who professed time and again that "Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law" (Thomas Jefferson). Or, if you will, John Adams: "I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved -- the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!"
Even those who were Christians for the most part understood the grave danger in allowing a nation to be founded upon the principles of one religion, no matter the percentage of individuals who support that religion. "One nation, under God" was added in the 1950s during a period of excessive oppression not unlike the past 8 years.
So, yes, of course God was there on Normandy and 9/11 and all those times. And God's there when you buy your bagel in the morning and spill your coffee on your lap. And God is there when you dig wax out of your ears. God is always there, whether one has faith in that "God" or not.
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