Newt and Evangelicals: Not a Match Made in Heaven

TIME ^ | March 30, 2011 | Amy Sullivan

[Alex Murphy]

....there's the matter of Gingrich's divorces. Plural. Not to mention the affairs that led to each of his divorces. While evangelicals have long ignored divorce as a social concern in favor of focusing on issues like abortion and gay marriage, it still carries a significant taboo. And having an affair can get a person booted from a congregation. During the 2000 primaries, Dobson issued a personal press release highlighting McCain's history of infidelity: "The senator is being touted by the media as a man of principle, yet he was involved with other women while married to his first wife...."

....Gingrich seems constitutionally incapable of engaging in the kind of confession and repentance that evangelicals want. His explanation on the Christian Broadcasting Network that his affairs were a result of his patriotic passion and working too hard is unlikely to win over a single evangelical voter and raises the obvious question of how the job of president would decrease his political passion and workload. And when he spoke on Dobson's radio show in 2007, Gingrich refused to say that he was actually repentant. The evangelical leader repeatedly pressed him on that point: "When I hear you talk about this dark side of your life...you didn't mention repentance. Do you understand that word repentance?"

At other times, Gingrich has sounded as peeved to be asked about his past as Chris Brown when faced with questions about Rihanna. That may be because he considers his Catholic conversion to have expunged any past mistakes. Conservative Catholic Deal Hudson explained to Max Blumenthal in 2009 that "from a Catholic point of view, Newt's sins no longer exist--they've been absolved."

[Alex Murphy]

....when he spoke on Dobson's radio show in 2007, Gingrich refused to say that he was actually repentant. The evangelical leader repeatedly pressed him on that point: "When I hear you talk about this dark side of your life...you didn't mention repentance. Do you understand that word repentance?"

....Conservative Catholic Deal Hudson explained to Max Blumenthal in 2009 that "from a Catholic point of view, Newt's sins no longer exist--they've been absolved."

"Mrs. Gingrich #2 was dumped after her husband had carried on an extramarital affair with a fetching, blond congressional staffer named Callista Bisek, who went on to become the present Mrs. Gingrich #3. This Family Values paradigm was complicated by the fact that whilst Mr. Gingrich was filibustering Ms. Bisek over the Speaker’s desk, he was simultaneously leading the impeachment charge against a naughty president of the United States....The much-married Newt Gingrich converts to Catholicism this weekend—and I’d pay a year’s salary to have been a bug on the wall during his religious instruction."
-- Christopher Buckley, from the thread The Audacity of Poping

[circlecity]

"Conservative Catholic Deal Hudson explained to Max Blumenthal in 2009 that "from a Catholic point of view, Newt's sins no longer exist--they've been absolved."

That's only from the standpoint of salvation. There's nothing that says his serious character defects cannot be considered when deciding if the man would make a good president. Ignoring bad character is what happened with Clinton and we ended up with a president who was having sex with everything in skirts - it basically ended his second term.

[ModelBreaker]

“While evangelicals have long ignored divorce as a social concern in favor of focusing on issues like abortion and gay marriage, it still carries a significant taboo.”

Why the swipe at evangelicals? Conservatives have lost the debate about free divorce for everyone, anytime. We haven’t lost abortion and gay marriage yet. So we get criticized for fighting the battles where we still have a chance.

[frogjerk]

Conservatives have lost the debate about free divorce for everyone, anytime

Don't you mean Evangelicals?

[elk]

Evangelicals have been infiltrated by the Syncretists, so I'm not so sure who "speaks" for them.

That being said, and at the risk of sounding immature, Newt just doesn't pass the "yuck" test for me.

There is NO ONE besides Newt, Muck and Hommney out there?

How about this - tell me who the GOP establishment can't stand, and I'll seriously consider that person.

[jjotto]

Odd that no one has mentioned that Mr. Newt converted to Catholicism while at the same time drifting leftward politically. Coincidence?

[caww]

Interesting. I wasn't aware. Humm...interesting indeed.

BTW I wouldn't vote for Newt..though I do like him of a sort. Having broken his vows to the most important person in his life..his wife...and that three times no less...why should I think anything he states would be credible from the vows he would take to serve our country? Obvious if they mean nothing to him in marriage they sure aren't”t going to mean anything with the public.

[WalterSkinner]

And when he spoke on Dobson's radio show in 2007, Gingrich refused to say that he was actually repentant. The evangelical leader repeatedly pressed him on that point: "When I hear you talk about this dark side of your life...you didn't mention repentance. Do you understand that word repentance?"

..I remember starting threads with links to that interview. It was clear at the time Mr. Newt was trying to repair his public image

I'm hoping the last few years have been a time of healing and renewal of faith--truthfully I must hear and see more...