Posted on 10/13/2006 2:04:59 AM PDT by CutePuppy
Book: Bush Aides Called Evangelicals 'Nuts' White House advisors sought the support of conservative Christians but mocked them in private, writes a onetime administration official. By Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writer October 13, 2006
WASHINGTON — A new book by a former White House official says that President Bush's top political advisors privately ridiculed evangelical supporters as "nuts" and "goofy" while embracing them in public and using their votes to help win elections.
The former official also writes that the White House office of faith-based initiatives, which Bush promoted as a nonpolitical effort to support religious social-service organizations, was told to host pre-election events designed to mobilize religious voters who would most likely favor Republican candidates.
The assertions by David Kuo, a top official in the faith-based initiatives program, have rattled Republican strategists already struggling to persuade evangelical voters to turn out this fall for the GOP.
Kuo is scheduled to appear Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes" as part of a rollout arranged by his publisher, Simon & Schuster, which shares a corporate parent with CBS.
Despite a publisher-enforced embargo, a copy of the book was purchased early at a Manhattan bookstore by a producer for MSNBC's "Countdown," a spokesman for the cable channel said. Program host Keith Olbermann began reading excerpts on his Wednesday show.
While many Democrats opposed the initiative as a violation of church-state separation, the White House used the program to build alliances with prominent African American ministers, some of whom switched political allegiances to back Bush. It was part of a larger minority outreach program designed by Rove and other conservative activists to slice off pieces of the traditional Democratic coalitions in order to build a lasting GOP majority.
peter.wallsten@latimes.com
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Well, I do NOT believe his story!! He must NAME NAMES or else his book is trash talk.
like david brock? or maybe andrew sullivan, who strangely turned liberal on a single issue and obviously had no conservative core.
Exactly. I think it very interesting and something we should consider.
Hey, the late-hit October Surprise for this week was running late, as I said earlier this week. ;')
Evangelicals Blame Foley, Not Republican Party
NY Times | October 9, 2006 | DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Posted on 10/09/2006 6:41:35 AM EDT by Pharmboy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1716145/posts
Evangelicals Fight Against an Independent Kosovo
http://www.campusprogress.org/page/community/post_group/main/C3v9
Posted on 10/06/2006 4:37:54 PM EDT by kronos77
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1715076/posts
Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers
NY Times | 10/06/06 | LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Posted on 10/06/2006 12:57:37 PM EDT by kiriath_jearim
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1714951/posts
Evangelicals lead push to homeschool children
Daily News | September 2, 2006 | DAVID CRARY
Posted on 09/04/2006 5:18:17 PM EDT by DaveLoneRanger
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1695418/posts
and here's part of the latest late hit, one of many such sidebars:
New evangelicals are moving religious right to the center
The Mercury News | Sep. 22, 2006 | Mark I. Pinsky
Posted on 09/22/2006 9:54:56 AM EDT by Alex Murphy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1706284/posts
the fact is:
There's No Reason to Expect Dems to Win Over Evangelicals
Real Clear Politics | 21 August 2006 | Peter Brown
Posted on 08/21/2006 1:05:39 AM EDT by Aussie Dasher
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1687163/posts
here's something about 2008:
Evangelicals leader supports LDS candidate for presidency
The Salt Lake Tribune | 9/08/2006 | Peggy Fletcher Stack
Posted on 09/08/2006 9:47:24 PM EDT by CarbonCounty
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1698162/posts
Aide says White House mocked evangelicals
· Administration accused of cynical ploy to win votes
· Bush adviser denies he called supporters 'nuts'
Julian Borger in Washington
Saturday October 14, 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1922408,00.html
The operatives are sure keeping busy!
I wouldn't call last year's evacuation of the Gaza Strip, largely done because of pressure from the US government, "creating a bigger Israel." You heard the nickname Gaza got afterwards? Hamas-stan.
"Considering the next Democrat administration will likely bring back public crucifiction, I'd say I'm pretty happy with the one we've got now."
I was expecting the Democrats to bring back human sacrifice instead. That would make the MEChA/Aztlan crowd happy, and they're already doing something like that with abortion.
Yes, so far they managed to offend some members of their eclectic alliance: gays (outing project), Jews (Lieberman, George Allen "Macacawitz", lack of suport for Israel against Hamas and Hezb'allah), blacks (Maryland, Ohio)... The question is, have these people finally had enough of Dems' hypocrisy to peel off and vote GOP or at least stay home?
One encouraging sign is that turnout in Democrat primaries was extremely low this year.
Another piece of the puzzle, would red-staters vote GOP or still cling to voting for "conservative Democrats" - about the only thing that keeps Dems numbers in Congress and Senate even close, as Republicans have about 30 states to 20 Dem states advantage.
I'll trust Tony Snow here....his admiration wouldn't be off the chart for W if this were true.
Did you mean Osteen?
I always remind people that Simon & Schuster was the publisher that gave Jim Jeffords a huge undisclosed advance (for a book that no one bought or read) just after he turned the Senate over to the Democrats. Almost certainly this was a Clinton-negotiated payoff.
The media's on a full-tilt binge of evangelical "stories," such as the promo I saw last week for "Evangelical children being taught to worship President Bush!" on 20/20 or Dateline...
The media malignancy is metastasizing.
And, there are at least six FR topics about how evangelicals are increasingly liberal, as well as topics about how Catholics and Protestants are at odds, and gee, it must all be a coincidence that the election is on the way. (':
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/search?q=quick&m=all&o=time&s=evangelicals&find=Find
I have never seen so many attacks on religion in this country, mostly upon Christianity, nor so much bickering among Christians.
I think, while many of us were paying attention to the Word of God in church, we didn't realize that others were infiltrating for political purposes.
Now, the damage is irreversible. I am an ex-Episcopalian. There is no way for the faithful to retrieve that church; it is a secular political organization.
However, I cannot receive the Eucharist in the Catholic church although I attend mass, until I convert. But conversion is not to be lightly considered, either.
The Los Angeles diocese is rife with liberalism and ecumenism, etcetera.
But, more than, as a baptized Christian who has known Jesus since a small child I long for the Eucharist.
"But, more than, as a baptized Christian who has known Jesus since a small child I long for the Eucharist."
La Enchiladita, have you considered a non-denominational Christian church? You can have the Lord's Supper there, with other members of the Body of Christ.
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