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You kicked the hornets' nest with this post, but I've been thinking some of the same things with regard to Iowa in particular for a long time. Because the PTB continue to use Iowa as a means to tweak their political machines, I get to see the exploitation of religious feeling by a whole bunch of politicians. In the Democrat case, it can be the religion - and I use the term without reservation - of public schools, or the religion of labor unions, or the religion of Marx, etc; in the case of the GOP, it invariably revolves around "evangelicals" as Iowa's mainstream protestants have increasingly turned to the quasi-religions of the left.

Something that baffled me for a long time isn't specific to Ted Cruz, but rather the broader problem: the tendency for my co-religionists to coalesce around individuals to the point where they go off the rails. A couple of years ago I had someone seriously threaten me because I refused to admit that Mike Huckabee was the only man who could save the world. Over the years, there have been other politicians who have been somehow designated to be the next man to lead us to the promised land (beginning the trek in Iowa). Yeah, it's the rhetoric. Each election there seems to a certain influential group of Iowans who determine that someone has said (said, not necessarily done or believed) the right things, and the memes become the means.

I get laughed at enough by people for my faith - no surprise, as Jesus said it would go with the territory - but (almost) every four years I get to stand here and watch my neighbors buy into the latest Great Christian Hope, beating the rest of us over the head with him. "Christian" forbearance and love for one another go out the window pretty quickly, and talk about logs in the eye of anyone who disagrees comes easy. Well, no man is perfect. Not me, not anyone on FR, not Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton and not even Ted Cruz. Does God bring forth men and women for his own ends? Yes. Obvious ones and improbable ones. I don't presume to know who they are, and I don't presume that anyone else on this board has gotten word from the top either.

So if people think Donald Trump will stop the rot, I can understand that. Ted Cruz? I can understand that too. I happen to think there are better men than either for the task- they aren't running in this election, but I am still allowed an opinion on it.

I'm pretty immune to the rhetoric that you are talking about, but - to my embarrassment - I wasn't so proof against it when I was less strong in my faith. I was looking for a man to save my sorry self and my overvalued stuff, rather than looking to Him.

Mr. niteowl77.

We all seem to be missing the statement made over and over during the Republican debates that "ANY ONE OF THESE MEN AND WOMEN WOULD BE BETTER THAN ... ETC"

I like your language and appreciate the hornet's nest comment

We NEED to kick things up a bit

I honestly feel like we are in a gun battle for America and the outcome will be decided in the next few minutes /// (illustration)

That’s good.