Posted on 07/18/2015 12:48:42 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Group sought to convince Republicans that their rhetoric was pushing away atheist voters.
AMES — As they arrived at an all-day cattle call of conservative presidential hopefuls, Christian conservatives were greeted by demonstrators from the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers who sought to convince Republicans that the party’s rhetoric was pushing atheists away as voters.
“They’re telling me they don’t want me in their party,” said John Fruetel, of Newton, who was part of a protest outside of Stephens Auditorium in Ames where more than 2,500 people were arriving to hear from the 2016 GOP candidates at the 2015 Family Leadership Summit. Fruetel said he identifies as a conservative on many issues except social ones. Amanda Knief, national legal and public policy director for American Atheists, joined the group. She said the point was not to put Christians down but to make them aware that they were isolating a significant voting bloc.
“The reaction’s been mixed,” Knief said.
The Family Leadership Summit brought together major names vying for the Republican presidential nomination: Sen. Marco Rubio, businessman Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Rick Perry, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Scott Walker.
Pollster and political consultant Frank Luntz interviewed the candidates in front of the audience, which is a key constituency of the Republican Party of Iowa. In 2012, they accounted for nearly 60 percent of GOP caucusgoers.
At the start of the summit, Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader, said 2,954 tickets were taken for attendance. This is the fourth annual Family Leadership Summit.
I like to mention a sort of reverse Pascal's wager. You succeed in stamping out the Christian religion and you will be FORCED to practice the Muslim one.
There is no such thing as an "Atheist" Society, and the only thing possible is to change religions.
Muslims will not argue with them. Muslims will not listen to them. Muslims will not respect their right to disbelieve. Muslims will not go away. Muslims will kill them.
Christianity is about the only religion that will put up with them.
If Atheists were smart, they would at the very least shut up. If they were smarter yet, they would be doing everything of which they could think to boost Christianity.
Atheism is a core belief of leftists. I recall reading somewhere 0 swept the atheist vote.
I like to tell them they’ll find out mere nanoseconds after gulping their last helping of earthly oxygen whether the existence of God is real.. of course it’ll be just a bit too late for them. That usually puts them in neutral.
Absolutely. I’ve been warning about the vacuum left as the west becomes secular. Nature, abhorring a vacuum.....will fill it and that will be Islam that will fill it.
What really needs to happen is for Christians to spark a crusade. The time is now for that. We are on the precipice
Like any atheists actually want to be in the Republican party. What BS.
Why is this even a story? The Rat Party has been the natural home of atheists for decades.
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