Aide says White House mocked evangelicals

The Guardian ^ | October 14, 2006 | Julian Borger

[rakovsky]

A former senior presidential aide has accused the Bush administration of using evangelical Christians to win votes but then privately ridiculing them once in office. The allegations by David Kuo, the former deputy director of the White House office of faith-based initiatives, come at a devastating time, when the administration is counting on born-again Christians to vote in sufficient numbers to save the Republicans' hold on Congress in the November elections.

In a book entitled Tempting Faith: an Inside Story of Political Seduction, to be published on Monday, Mr Kuo portrays the Bush White House's commitment to evangelical causes as little more than a cynical facade designed to win votes.

"National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ridiculous, out of control, and just plain goofy," Mr Kuo wrote, according to MSNBC television, which obtained an early copy of the book. In particular, he quotes Karl Rove, the president's long-serving political adviser and mentor, as describing evangelical Christians as "nuts".

[cookcounty]

"This guy was on "60 minutes" tonight with Lesley Stahl.

On CBS' 60 minutes with a Bush-bashing book by an unknown in October just before an election. How unexpected! Why perhaps the book is published by CBS-owned Slimin' n Schlickster.

[JCEccles]

Some posters are trolls. A new poster who comes onto FR seeking to create division and dissension among conservatives on the eve of an election is certainly suspect.

When it is also shown that has adopted for a screen name the identity of an obscure Bulgarian Marxist, the charge of trolldom is proven beyond all reasonable doubt.

The next question is, why are you determined to defend Comrade Rakovsky, the uber troll?

[hedgetrimmer]

Bush has opened up monies for faith based organizations
So the federal government has greater control over them and thats the only reason.

[BurrOh]

Dude, it wasn't my intention to offend and it's apparatchik.
No N.
You gave me a huge laff.
Why are capitalists and others who favor the republic consistently "name called" with Communist terms?

The border is an issue about which I care deeply.(Illegal aliens are implied.) The fence is being built.
John Roberts.
Samuel Alito.
No Dubai deal, though, I wasn't opposed.
Alberto G. Huh?
Where was Rove? Same place as he ever was.

[Yardstick]

ZOT! The mods got him. Our clever little pal rakovsky is kaput.

[durasell]

CBS-owned Slimin' n Schlickster


Viacom owns both the publisher and the network.

Note: S&S published Rush Limbaugh as well.

[Yardstick]

They got rakovsky. Zotted.

Factoid: Christian Rakovsky was a Bolshevik.

[cookcounty]

LOL!! I was joking about the CBS Simon and Schuster Slime machine being the ones to publish this, but look it up!! It actually is Simon and Schuster!!

And Amazon is bundling it at a discount with "State of Denial" --Two Big Bushbashers for the price of one!

CBS is so fake. ---Speaking of which, has CBS Brain Central figured out yet where the National Guard forgeries came from? No? Such a brain-teaser for Brain Central.

[JCEccles]

This is the way a troll expires
This is the way a troll expires
This is the way a troll expires
Not with a bang, but a ZOT!

:-)

[NRA2BFree]

I saw it too and he was totally unbelievable. He is angry that his pet project did not get as much money as he thought it deserved. He obviously does not understand that CONGRESS holds the purse strings. As the former director of the program said, the POTUS is not a king and he does not get everything he wants - even when he does not have 9-11, the GWOT, Katrina, and other costly things to deal with. In point of fact, it is the Dems who are contemplating using religion to get more votes. Christians are attracted to the Republican party because of a variety of issues and many of them feel that the poor can best be helped by nongovernmental agencies.

BTW, the best part of the show tonight was the two-part story about the Duke rape case. I live in NC and knew most of the facts and can verify that Ed Bradley gave a very accurate picture of the case. Nifong prosecuted those boys to win the Democrat primary for District Attorney - which, unfortunately, he did. The case should have been dropped when the DNA evidence exonerated all of the lacrosse players. It is frightening to think that in the United States of America, a corrupt DA and a deceitful woman can completely destroy the lives of these three young men. Nifong should be disbarred for what he has allowed to happen.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for those guys. These trumped up charges will follow them for the rest of their lives. To further his agenda, he has destroyed the lives of innocent young men. I hope that when they're finally cleared that they have legal recourse against him. IMO, they should be compensated for what he did.

[1035rep]

Because he wants to sell his book.

[1035rep]

Good Job!

[Yardstick]

Kinda fun, isn't it?

Hunting down cybercommies. What a hobby!

[billybudd]

The Guardian, trying to cause some trouble ahead of the election.

What this sounds like is a former staff member looking for some sweet revenge at the perfect time. Also, his allegations are probably true.

[retMD]

What does anyone KNOW about David KUO??

From Beliefnet:

David Kuo served as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He has worked for a diverse group of political leaders from William Bennett and John Ashcroft to Ted Kennedy and Gary Hart. Previously, he founded and launched The American Compass, a charitable organization designed to objectively evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of social service organizations. David has written speeches and articles for various leading political and business leaders including Governor George W. Bush, Senator Bob Dole, Congressman J.C. Watts, and AOL Founder Steve Case. He is the author of the Good Morning America Book Club selection Dot.Bomb and has been published in numerous magazines and newspapers. He is also a professional bass fisherman. He is married with three children and lives in Virginia. He is a Contributing Editor of Beliefnet.

[softengine]

"When it is also shown that has adopted for a screen name the identity.."

Huh? Is this in code or something?

The next question is, why are you determined to defend Comrade Rakovsky, the uber troll?

Never heard of this person and have no idea what bearing he or she has on sallywhoever. Probably more code.

[BurrOh]

The only reason I had on the show was to hear the 3 men from Duke, but that is for another thread.

[BurrOh]

"The Republican Party treats the Evangelicals like the Democratic Party treats Blacks."


And another thing, that is a ridiculous and obnoxious statement.

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmm?? The dems must have heard that the evengelicals weren't blaming the GOP, they were blaming Foley.

This has to be another "suppress the vote" book, article, TV show .. ad nauseum!

The party of tolerance is not tolerant of the fact that I VOTE!!

[Rembrandt_fan]

Your Republican evangelical/Democratic Black voter comparison is way off the mark, in my view. I believe the President is a man of deeply felt religious faith and conviction, and that his faith is the source of his strength and depth of character. He leads the Republican Party, as well as the executive branch, and it is he who sets the tone and establishes policy. I voted for him, not for Karl Rove, whatever Rove might or might not think of evangelicals. Karl Rove can be a cynical operator--it seems to go with the territory--but the man who leads him is not, and that is what matters.

(As an aside, I should not that I am not myself an evangelical Christian--one of my evangelical friends, in fact, refers to my faith as 'Christianity Lite' because of my somewhat more 'liberal' beliefs about evolution, divorce, and the literal interpretation of Scripture.)

This whole thing sounds like yet another attempt of the Democrats to dampen evangelical support of the Republican Party the month before a major election. That such tactics actually work is disheartening. Comments like yours are more disheartening yet.