Steve Waldman, Editor in Chief of Beliefnet has another interesting post on his blog. He is wondering “Is The Ninth Commandment A Lesser One?” and if the McCain camp is practicing moral relativism. You can read his post below:
Several conservatives have been willing to criticize McCain for his dishonest campaign ads. Rod Dreher said the McCain lipstick ad was “totally unfair, and a distortion.” Senator Orrin Hatch agreed that Obama wasn’t calling Palin a pig: “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way.” And Steve Chapman, a conservative/libertarian columnist for the Chicago Tribune declared:
We all expect a certain amount of deceit from people running for office, in the form of fudging, distortion, exaggeration and omission. But the McCain campaign’s approach, as [the "lipstick on a pig"] episode illustrates, is of an entirely different scale and character. It is to normal political attacks what Hurricane Ike is to a drive-through carwash. [...]
He has charged repeatedly that his opponent is willing to lose a war to win an election. What’s McCain willing to lose to become president? Nothing so consequential as a war. Just his soul.
(For those who haven’t been keeping up, here’s the documentation that McCain has lied about: Obama and sex education, Obama and taxes, supposed attacks on Palin Obama’s Messianic complex, the Bridge to Nowhere, Palin’s record on earmarks , and her position on global warming.
The McCain campaign is virtually admitting it. “We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.” The “media filter” — that would be is dismissive name for fact-check articles.
John Feehery, a Republican strategist, practically bragged about the irrelevance of these fact-checking pieces. “The more the New York Times and The Washington Post go after Sarah Palin, the better off she is, because there’s a bigger truth out there and the bigger truths are she’s new, she’s popular in Alaska and she is an insurgent. As long as those are out there, these little facts don’t really matter.”
The “little facts” (whether they were lying about their record or Obama’s) were less important than the “bigger truths” that she’s “new,” “popular” and “an insurgent.”
This is the moment of Conservative Moral Relativism. Hey, who’s to say what’s really true or false anyway? That’s such a Euro-centric, patriarchical concept.
What’s striking, though, is that while some conservative writers have called McCain on this, conservative religious leaders have not — despite the words of the Ten Commandments and the widespread teaching that being honest is a critical part of being a good Christian. I’m not saying they should suddenly abandon McCain but isn’t it part of their responsibility as moral leaders to call him on this? (Have I missed some Christian leader denunciations? If so, please link to them in the comment box below)
It looks like conservative religious leaders have embraced politics as a team sport. The Good Team has a vice presidential candidate who’s a serious Christian. The Good Team will curtail abortions, so almost any tactic that can be used to save those babies is justified. Those are the bigger truths, so big, in fact, that they outweigh the Decalogue.
If the silence continues, I do at least hope that they’ll stop trying to put the Ten Commandments in the courthouse and shift to something more appropriate, like a large chunk of granite engraved with, “The Ends Justify the Means.”
posted September 15, 2008 at 2:49 pm
As I’ve observed the rise and (please God) slight fall the “the religious right”, I’ve become firmly convinced that it’s not now nor was it ever about doing what’s right according to the Bible or obeying the commandments or being more “Christ-like” or anything remotely like that. Nor is it even, I don’t think, about patriotism, loving America or making a better America. It’s about power. Plain and simple.
posted September 15, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Paul, I look forward to your next post when you show the evangelical left’s glossing over or Barak Obama’s complicated views on unborn infants, his association with characters who do not live compassionate and grace-filled lives like Christ, and his large salary that no doubt has taken money out of the hands of the poor.
Maybe your granite monument would read, “We criticize others for doing the same things that we do!”
posted September 15, 2008 at 6:47 pm
McCain will do anything he can to win this election. The spin doctors are working overtime trying to twist every word of Obama to their advantage.
Obama still tries to take the high road but it gets harder each passing day as McCain and the Mad Dog Republicans keep dragging out the swift boats and cruise the net for trash and flotsam.
McCain used to be honorable but the established GOP campaigners have grabbed a hold of LBJ’s playbook and won’t give it up.
They will rewite the ten commandments to justify themselves and lie, cheat and steal to win. They remind me of the “Old South” and Daley’s Chicago rather than the party of Teddy, Abe and Ike.
posted September 15, 2008 at 7:06 pm
“Maybe your granite monument would read, “We criticize others for doing the same things that we do!”"
As is usual with conservative Christians, the first thing Jay does is point at the other side and say, “well, you’re just as bad.” This is what modern Christianity has become. No longer is it an absolute standard of morality. It has become a threadbare, worn out by the misuse of it for political power.
Jay and those like him are showing the world what it means to be a Christian. This is evangelical Christianity, conservative style. The rules apply to you, but not to them.
Selfishness, greed and power…the hallmarks of conservative Christianity in the US today. The Bible predicted there would be a great falling away before Jesus returned. We are seeing it today.
posted September 15, 2008 at 9:02 pm
“…his association with characters who do not live compassionate and grace-filled lives like Christ….”
Characters like…whom? Like, perhaps, Karl Rove? Oh wait, no, that’s not Obama that associates with him, is it?
posted September 15, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I checked the “documentation” Paul refers to on FactChecker.org. I expected irrefutable evidence of McCain’s outright lies….but that wasn’t what I found. On sex ed, Obama did vote for the bill that lowered the age group for sex ed to kindergartners. On taxes, Obama has said and still says on his web site that he will reverse the Bush tax cuts..I guess we can be certain that none of Bush’s tax cuts went to working American families? On new spending, just look at the Obama campaign site. Yes, there’s billions of new spending. On the bridge to nowhere, perhaps a little much bravado but factually, she DID oppose it and it did not get built. The Messianic complex is fair game; it wasn’t just the McCain camp that thought it was over the top. On earmarks, her critics have flipped this one on its head !! So every governor out there is NOT supposed to try to obtain funds for their constituency, because if they do, then they can never run for a national office advocating the curtailment of earmarks…
I don’t defend the McCain approach, I believe he is hurting himself with the general tone of the ads…but I also believe thay aren’t as factually incorrect as some supposedly “objective” people believe.
By the way I get Obama e-mails every day, sometimes several times a day, since I had to register on his site to have access to it. The continuing theme is that McCain is corrupt, he is in bed with lobbyists, he wants to repeat Bush’s 8 years as president, wants to give the wealthy more and working people less, and is interested in giveaways to big corporations and especially to big oil.
A pox on both their houses.
posted September 16, 2008 at 1:53 am
Was dropping bombs on women and children in North Vietnam a violation of “Thou shalt not kill”? What about “rubbing thighs” with exotic dancers while married to a first wife? So why the surprise about the violation of the ninth commandment?
posted September 16, 2008 at 9:53 am
I think what annoys people is the hypocrisy. You accuse the Christian right of acting in a certain way, but you criticism can be turned right back at you. Obama has hardly been truthful in the election. In the primaries several candidates accused him of telling untruths (in fact on Fox news last night I saw a clip of Chris Dodd taking him to task over lies in the primary debates – although most of you probably think fox news made it up!).
The problem that I (and I think Jay and Noodle Beach) have is the rank hypocrisy of the Christian left. Their accuse their opponents of nasty politics, of confusing the Republican party talking points with a proper faith of love and charity. The problem is, that is exactly what you guys are doing with Obama. On this blog yesterday I read a comment that says that this year they see their vote as an act of faith. If that was said by a person from the Christian right you guys would be all over it.
My problem is your hypocrisy. Is John McCain too negative? Sure he is. Has McCain pushed the attacks to the edge of truth? Heck yea. Is Presidential politics a nasty game? Too right. The problem is Obama is negative, Obama has pushed it to the edge of credibility on truth and he has engaged in the nasty game that is Presidential politics. To suggest otherwise is to be a hypocrite. No one has a monopoly on nastiness in this election. Does that make it right? No way, but take you head out of the sand, stop being hypocrites. Open your eyes. I want McCain to win, but at least I can see things in his campaign that disturb me and I am willing to admit it. You guys are so Obama focused, see his campaign as an extension of your faith that you are blinded to what he has done which is wrong – Now I wonder who that reminds me of???
posted September 16, 2008 at 10:29 am
Excellent point Frank. You said it better than I did. My post left the impression that I am a fervent McCain supporter, which I am not. The hypocrisy of the evangelical left in their support of Obama is glaring, but they cannot see it. They have equated his politics with some form of following Jesus that does not make sense.
And for examples of characters who do not live compassionate and grace-filled lives, I can think of Tony Rezko, William Ayers, and Jeremiah Wright just to name a few. Before I’m accused of repeating names that Republicans love to attack, I’d like to point out that you mentioned Karl Rove, Andy…
posted September 16, 2008 at 10:51 am
I agree with Frank. In all my years of examining politics, I have never seen the so-called religious-right compare a candidate to Jesus. Steven Cohen (D-Ten) did it for Obama from the floor of the House no less! To watch Matthew25.org shill for Obama is disgusting especially when the candidate lies about his support for infanticide. I have long accused the religious left of wanting to destroy the religious right the same way a political party wants to defeat the opposition. Where is the love of Jesus in the religious left? This blog confirms my suspicions.
posted September 16, 2008 at 11:37 am
Both sides have been lying equally in their ads, and on the stump. Both ought to stop it.
posted September 16, 2008 at 12:33 pm
“And for examples of characters who do not live compassionate and grace-filled lives, I can think of Tony Rezko, William Ayers, and Jeremiah Wright just to name a few.”
I call “bull-poopie” on you for this comment as it pertains to Rev. Wright. If you took the time to actually listen to the Rev.’s sermons and not just the soundbytes from them that appeared on CNN, you’d see that he was actually addressing some very real social and economic issues that relate directly to the many in his congregation who have been systematically deprived of opportunities given to white people in America because they are African American. People don’t like to hear that because they want to believe that in our country, there is no racism anymore since MLK got rid of it. Rev. Wright is only pointing out that racism is in a much more subtle form now, but it definitely still exists. Listen to his sermons – he has many fine things to say, and the vilification of him has only proved his assertion that racism is alive and well here.
posted September 16, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I think the Obama supporters should read this:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg16-2008sep16,0,351891.column
posted September 16, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I await blog post about Obama’s lie today.
He sent out an email (with you tube video) stating that a McCain aide said McCain was not fit to run a corporation. It turns out the Obama camp edited the video to say that – the person in question said that none of the candidates were fit to run a corporation
Glass houses, stones, throwing – anyone??
posted September 24, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Politics is the art of lying well. (After all, it’s not like anyone really takes the Ten Suggestions seriously.)