US News
Christian Conservatives May Abandon GOP
By Karyn Chenoweth Oct 1, 2007, 11:44 GMT
US President George W. Bush (R) sits with Shirley Dobson (C) and Dr. James Dobson (L), founder of Focus on the Family, during the National Day of Prayer ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, 3 May, 2007. EPA/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Dissatisfied with the current crop of GOP candidates, a group of influential Christian conservative leaders met over the weekend to discuss their unhappiness with the Republican Party.
Their willingness was expressed to consider supporting a third-party presidential bid should a supporter of abortion rights, such as New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, earn the GOP presidential nomination.
Discussed during a meeting for the Council for National Policy, described as an invitation-only organization of conservative leaders, founded in 1981, participants in the presidential discussion said the smaller sub-gathering was not an official CNP event.
The participants included James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and Richard Viguerie, a direct mail pioneer, who recently authored "Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Republican Base."
Viguerie told ABC News that the meeting was attended by "nationally known conservative leaders, and we took a very strong stand against supporting any pro-abortion candidate.
"Giuliani is beyond the pale," Viguerie said. "It's just not going to happen. There's no way that conservative leaders are going to support a pro-abortion candidate. It was unanimous."
Viguerie claimed there was "overwhelming support to consider that idea" of a third-party presidential candidate, in the event Giuliani wins the Republican presidential nomination.
He described how he'd been angry at the Republican party for six years, "and in the last six months, I've seen a vast majority of my colleagues, at the national level, move in that direction, including a willingness to go third-party. They're even further along on the third-party idea than I am."
Gary Bauer, who participated in the smaller discussion by phone, issued a statement Sunday evening, urging caution as the flip side of the GOP would be election of a Democrat.
Bauer said, "think of a bigger disaster for social conservatives, defense conservatives and economic conservatives, than Hillary Clinton in the White House."
The core issues for the Republican Party cited by Bauer were low taxes, strong defense, and pro-life, “and if we nominate someone who is hostile on one of those three things, it will blow up the GOP."
The Giuliani campaign sent a reply statement from Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who has endorsed the former mayor, saying, "Conservatives are rallying around the one candidate with the executive experience and proven leadership our country needs. Mayor Giuliani will be successful in the primary and the general elections, because Republicans want a candidate who is strong on the terrorists' war on us, gets fiscal discipline, and can beat the Democratic nominee."
The Giuliani campaign also pointed to a recent Gallup poll, indicating that Giuliani was essentially tied with former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., among Republicans who attend church weekly.
In May, Dobson wrote a column in which he said, "I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision. If given a ... choice between him and Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, I will either cast my ballot for an also-ran, or, if worst comes to worst, not vote in a presidential election for the first time in my adult life.
My conscience and my moral convictions will allow me to do nothing else."
In September, the Associated Press obtained an e-mail Dobson sent, criticizing Thompson as "the candidate who is opposed to a constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold,” the campaign-finance reform law, "won't talk at all about what he believes, and can't speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail? ... He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent 'want to.' And yet, he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!"
The issues Viguerie and his colleagues have with the Republican party go far beyond abortion.
"I was talking to one of the very, very top value voter leaders the other day," Viguerie said. "And he told me, 'I can't tell you how many times I called [former White House deputy chief of staff] Karl Rove at the White House and pleaded with him to give us a token appointment.' We're tired of being treated like a mistress. In so many private meetings, they assured us how much they love us and appreciate us. But, then, their attitude is: 'if you see me on the street, don't speak to me, and whatever you do, don't come to my club.'
"We have been used and abused by the Republican party," he said. "So, maybe it's just time to never support another Republican establishment candidate, and support principled conservative candidates, win or lose.”
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Older Talkback
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This group wants to put women's rights back in the stone age. Big religious groups are dangerous!
Rudy isn't a wolf in sheeps clothing. I'm not saying he's the greatest cookie-cut for a partisan candidate for '08. His views are fair and sophisticated - minus the warmongering - compared to a good portion of the party he represents.
Every person should have the right to choose how their own body and how their own family will manifest. It's funny that we as a people gawk at Chinese government and the atrocious repression of their citizens indivdual rights. We still haven't climbed over that dark-age hump of giving women equal rights, especially the right to choose. Theres still a good 51% (lol) of the nation who would love to see women chastised to common christian morality.
You know...
The Taliban made women wear burkas.
...and READ Roe v. Wade.
here goes Mr. Expert on everything!
..just go read it. You can certainly do THAT, can't you...?
I for one, am glad they're gone. There's no place for religion in politics. Our consitution even claims 'separation of church and state', yet christians want to force their religious beliefs into law! Government and law should be neutral in ALL ways. These christians that are backing out are actually helping to end religious tyranny in this country. Now, if we could just get rid of all of them.
Perhaps you should read the Constitution before shooting your mouth off.
'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..'
Since WHEN do we have religous tyranny in America? Try looking at that constitution again and see the part about 'free association'.
I'm not sure what you object to but christians have the right to assemble, push legislation, form political groups, just like anyone else.
The right wing Christians are now and have been a captive pawn by the Fascist Party. (The traditional Republican Party is dead, slain by the Fascist's) Voters, Christian or otherwise, should vote on the real issues--not hot-button emotional issues. Read the poem by Martin Niemour, a Protestant, imprisoned by the Nazi's under Adolph Hitler.
...would depend on your point of view, wouldn't it? Christian voters also have to include liberal Catholics and southern Baptists, who are NOT predominantly, republicans. They, too, have views similar to the evangelistic right, at least on a set of common issues, even if they vote as liberals.
Why should anyone not be interested in any of these hot button issues?
Since when do we NOT have religious tyranny? Those who don't follow the beliefs of all the christian denominations in this country are stomped on every chance the right wing gets. Somebody's getting a little hot under the collar over be told they can't rule over others, eh? The constitution 'claims' that we don't have to bow down to other's beliefs, and that those beliefs cannot be passed into law, but that's not the way it's always worked. It's only now that those of us who aren't christian are finally getting the government to live up to their own printed laws. ALL religious denominations, and their beliefs, should be closely scrutinized before being passed into law from now on. I, for one, am tired of being berated and screamed at for being a neutral ground pagan. It's so primitive to think that you're superior to someone else. None of us know the truth, therefore all of us should stand on that line in between all beliefs, and force the government to do the same. It's about time they followed their own rules. Get it yet Mary? Or are you too brainwashed by religious bigotry to ever get it?
I descended during evalgelical services.... and Told Rev. Dobson.... 'You Must VOTE FOR EVANGELICAL CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS Who Are Circumcised Only'!
LOL! Now, everybody drop trow so we know who to vote for!
The constitution does not prevent the free practice of religion. It also protects the right of free association.
If these folks wish to band together to pass laws, nothing prevents this, as long as it does not denote religous PREFERENCE.
Outside of that, abortion, gay marriage, etc., are ALL fair game.
S.Dakota finally picked up a copy of Roe v. Wade and is going to use it to restrict abortion in that state. When you read it, and I recommend it for everyone, it says NOTHING about an absolute right to an abortion! It says EVERYTHING about a state to ban it for no reason.
So now, they will use it to try and redefine the law!
The far left in America want communism and the far right want a theocracy. Both are dangerous fringe groups. We all need to pay attention so as not to let either get too much control over our lives. Read about the dominionist movement in this country-scarey stuff.
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SP4: That'll be the day...Oct 1st, 2007 - 13:13:11
Seriously...
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