Posted on 11/23/2004 12:39:24 AM PST by JohnHuang2
In the aftermath of the drubbing Democrats suffered at the hands of values voters, party operatives are experiencing a new revelation. According to James Carville, the Democratic Party must be "born again" if it is to reclaim hegemony in the 21st century. Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi insists that Democrats must become comfortable talking about religion, and even Hillary Clinton has taken to describing herself as an evangelical Christian.
What these Democratic opportunists do not understand is that faith is not simply a credential one acquires that grants admission to a club that is increasingly becoming attractive to political aspirants. Authentic religious faith is the means through which mere mortals enter into a relationship with their Creator. It is not something that can be conjured up or easily counterfeited. It is the "gift" of God according to the Scriptures, not a political construct ginned up in smoke-filled rooms.
Although religious faith once played a central role in the founding of our country and the formation of the republic, in the last 40 years or so, the so-called cultural elites have sought to exorcise it from the public square. Government, media and academia formed a powerful troika in an attempt to eradicate the influence of religion in the shaping of law and public policy. Religious faith was deemed the enemy on an increasingly secular and left-wing agenda.
Faith's proponents were increasingly marginalized and faith itself was relativized. Protecting the free exercise of religion meant simply ensuring that one was free to worship on Sunday in the church of their choice or not at all. The notion, however, that religion would have an impact that extended beyond the walls of the sanctuary was perceived as dangerous and anti-democratic.
Unfortunately, in such a climate, pastors and parishioners alike increasingly began to subscribe to the myth of radical separation fostered by the skewed view emanating from the left. Secularism became the order of the day. A new paradigm had emerged and the Democratic Party was viewed as the chief exponent of this philosophy in the political arena. It's dominant interest groups feminists, homosexuals and pro-abortionists railed against any who dared to advance public policy informed by religious values.
Over the course of time, however, the public became increasingly uncomfortable with the consequences of the secularist ideas advanced from the Left 43 million abortions, homosexual marriage, a plague of pornography, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, broken families ... the list goes on and on. People of faith recoiled at the condition of their country and rose up to reclaim its foundations.
Values voters, propelled out of their prayer closets and into the voting booth, had an outcome determinative impact on the election. "Moral values" trumped terrorism, unemployment, the war in Iraq, and the economy as the chief concern of the voters. Regular churchgoers Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox Jews voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Bush, the candidate who was transparent about the role of religious faith in shaping his life and presidency.
In the aftermath of a stunning victory which returned a Republican to the White House and increased GOP control of both houses of Congress Democrats are re-examining the role of religious faith in public life. Such reflection is welcome and much needed. After all, how we view God determines how we view our fellow man. Created in God's image or merely a creature of chance? The answer impacts how we treat each other and how we order ourselves in civil society.
But if the new "faith consciousness" of the Democratic Party is rooted only in mere political expedience, rather than a genuine interest in the role of the transcendent in our individual and corporate lives, it is destined to fail. Mere lip service to the sacred will not win faith-based voters. They have a lot of experience with counterfeits and they are increasingly astute at spotting a fraud.
The Good Book provides the guide: "By their fruits ye shall know them." Here's hoping that the Democrats' renewed interest in faith is for real. Ballot box conversions, like jailhouse religion, will not save their party.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
The Dems are screaming...like me!...need me!...like me!
Transparently phoney, that's the way we like our RATS. Remember if Hilly had her way we'ed be standing long lines for band-aids and aspirin.
Pelosi: "Look at me, I'm reeeaaal comfortable talking about religion. Like how it's an institutionalized method of subjugating the masses and instigating racism, sexism and viole-"
Hillary: "No, No, Nancy!! You don't get it! Here's a Bible...now thump it!...Gooood....Now carry it with you and show it to all the TV cameras, just like Bill did....That's it!! You got it!"
lol!
Bingo, friend.
To that, I'd only add...
.
.
.
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Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!
;-)
Or, We Democrats don't hate Christians -- really! Honest!
;-)
Well Jimmy ... we've seen the light a loooooooong time ago
Your party can swing the Bible around all you want .. you can quote it all you want .. but you would never understand the meaning behind those words
BTW .. didn't President use that quote in his speech about Bill at the opening of his library ... hehehe
No doubt she's going to run now!
No question about it, friend. Having the most polarizing and devisive Democrat running in '08 is good news for us ;-)
I wonder if that was John Kerry's plan all along, to lose and to get Hillary the 08 nod!
heh
lol! ;-)
according to freeper Pharmboy, this story is not true, it's a satire. (see his comment in yesterday's post here):
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1285828/posts
even if it is a satire, I wouldn't bet against it really happening! 2008 will be fun :)
Four years of Hill going to church on Sunday with a big, fat Bible under her arm. By 2008 it'll be so big she'll be using a wheelbarrow.
I should have said "the part about Hillary calling herself an evangelical Christian" was taken from a satire, and not true (as I understand it, according to Pharmboy).
anyways, I think we're going to be hearing a lot of Democrats quoting from the Bible for the next few years.
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