Posted on 10/13/2007 9:53:21 AM PDT by wagglebee
There are many instances where pragmatism has its place. In its purest sense, pragmatism is simply engaging in conduct that emphasizes practicality. For example, if I decide to spend $60 for a pair of pants that will last me several years rather than spend $20 for a pair that may not make it past the first outing it could be said that my decision involved the exercise of pragmatism.
That may work for pants but it doesn’t work for principles. Pragmatism may work well in the fashion world but it has no place in the world of public policy. There are many well meaning, passionate, evangelical believers who have reached the conclusion that when it comes to the 2008 race for the White House it is better to vote for a candidate who can win than to vote for a candidate who can truly lead. It is this kind of misplaced pragmatism that has the potential to permanently remove the voice of evangelicals from the political arena. Our seat at the table of ideas should be more precious to us than the results of one election cycle.
Let me be clear…. I do not want to see Hillary Clinton become the President of the United States. I believe her brand of big government socialism combined with her moral sophistry would drastically change the face of American culture. From government sponsored health care to government censored Christian speech another Clinton presidency would lead us into a financial and spiritual bankruptcy that could require decades of recovery time.
If we select a genuine conservative as the Republican standard bearer and lose we will recover to fight for our principles another day. But if we run a pseudo conservative and lose we will find ourselves with no principles left to fight for. We will have sacrificed them on the altar of expediency. And if we run a pseudo conservative and win we will find ourselves with no principles left to live by for we will have sacrificed them on the altar of pragmatism.
For years the blue blood, country club Republicans have resented the fact that they have had to come to religious conservatives with political hat in hand in or order to get elected. The instant they believe they can win without us they will put their hats back on their heads and give us the back of their hand. Rudy Giuliani’s current lead in the national polls gives the blue blood their best hope to regain control of the party from what is in their minds, the “great unwashed religious right.” Even if Republicans lose the White House in 2008 if Giuliani is the party’s standard bearer the establishment Republicans will have won a great victory. They will have successfully relegated religious conservatives to nothing more than a vocal irritant to be tolerated but not taken seriously.
When you examine the biblical story of Jacob, Esau, and Isaac (Genesis 25-27) the parallels to the current political climate in the Republican Party are startling. First, Esau comes home from working in the field to find Jacob slaving over a hot pot of stew. Esau is desperate for a meal and begs Jacob for some of the stew but Jacob sees an opportunity in Esau’s desperation to take something precious from him. Jacob says, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” Esau reasons that his birthright, which was given to him by God, will not do him any good if he dies of hunger so he pragmatically agrees trading what was given to him by God for what was provided for him by man. Rather than stopping to think there might be another way to find a meal Esau, out of pure desperation, exchanges the eternal for the temporal. Perhaps he believed that as long as he would receive the blessing reserved for the first born he could afford to part with his birthright. But later, Jacob dressed up like Esau right down to gluing goat hair on his hands and the back of his neck so that Isaac (who by this time was blind) was deceived into giving away the primary blessing of God.
In the first part of the story Christians who settle for a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual rights candidate as the standard bearer for the Republican Party are like Esau, so desperate for the provision of the momentary relief of our grievance that we are willing to sacrifice the security of holding onto our principles for the future. In the second part of the story the Christian right resembles Isaac, who was blindly tricked into giving away God’s blessings by one who had the appearance of the real thing. And what was the end result for Esau? He lost both his birthright and his blessing; one because of the boldness of Jacob who took advantage of Esau’s desperation and the other because of the blindness of Isaac who had lost his ability to see past mere outward appearances.
May God protect us as believers from trading the birthright of America and the blessings of God for a bowl of political porridge and a bill of pseudo-conservative goods.
That statement is true, but even if Rooty is elected, there is no guarantee that he will have the opportunity, ability or will to appoint that justice.
This is the classic "pig in a poke", except the buyer is expected to wait at least four years to look in the poke.
There is much more to the Presidency than SCOTUS appointments, and Rooty has not offered other proof that he will perform in a manner acceptable to Christian conservatives.
I don't trust him, and apparently they don't either.
Nothing in life is ever perfect. Not even the greatest US President of the 20th century Ronald Maximus Reagan. This instance on tilting at political windmills by the Purists is the behavior of petulant children, not rational adults minds.
The real life Reagan would of never been able to compete with the mythical Reagan that has been manufactured by Talk Radio since he left office. Perfection can be found in God, and no where else. It certainly is not to be found in politics.
In real life, and in politics, one is continually forced to take the good with the bad. Only in recent years has this dogma of “perfect Conservative” reared it ugly ignorant head. There is no such thing.
The best you can hope for is at least 51% of the time they move in the direction you want them to go. On Judges alone the GOP has done more good for the Conservative Movement’s future then all the whining from the Purists with their arrogance ignorance of how a Constitutional Republic work ever will.
Elections are won by those who can best harness a coalition of interests, not the one who demagogues the purist dogmas best. No one who can win in politics is ever going to measure up to this dogmatic demand for perfection. Not even Reagan could have
Please read post 42
“If we select a genuine conservative as the Republican standard bearer and lose we will recover to fight for our principles another day. But if we run a pseudo conservative and lose we will find ourselves with no principles left to fight for.”
Wonderfully put.
You are a person in need of help. I suggest you get some help.
Your posts to absolutely nothing to convince anyone of anything.
Your “hubris” and vinegar are good for nothing, and convince no one.
If you care nothing about innocent life, protection of marriage, gun rights, fiscal conservatism, I would suggest checking out Hillary. Purist causes? I think not, those are principles, you need to check them out.
If Republicans are willing, I’m fully prepared to battle for a viable conservative candidate in 2008. So far Fred Thompson fits the bill nicely.
If that doesn’t work and the GOP is ready to nominate a liberal to be the party standard bearer in 2008, I’m fully prepared to vote third party and begin work on creating a true “Conservative Party” for 2012.
When the Democratic Party took a serious leftward turn in the late 1950`s and early 1960`a, Ronald Reagan officially joined the GOP and became a Republican.
If the GOP goes further leftward, I expect many conservatives will bolt for greener pastures. Happened before, it can happen again.
I am really getting sick of you and the other FRiberals disparaging President Reagan in a vain attempt to make Rooty Toot seem acceptable.
You're right, we may not get someone as perfect as Reagan, but all we get with Rooty is Hiterly in a dress.
See #47.
“JUDGES, not the President, will overturn Roe v Wade. It was Judges that imposed it, it will be Judges who overturn it.”
And who nominates judges?
So you are saying that Trudy is as conservative as Reagan?
Is that the newest tactic of the FRiberal?
good one
Is that the newest tactic of the FRiberal?
Not quite. The FRiberal strategy is say that Reagan was a liberal, so we shouldn't mind having another one.
I voted for RR twice and was disappointed by him in each of the cited actions, but would I have gotten better results from a Democrat or liberal Republican elected in his stead? I don't think so.
I held out for the conservative and got a good advancement of conservative principles in RR's administration.
I cannot be so hopeful for a Guliani administration.
“Not quite. The FRiberal strategy is say that Reagan was a liberal, so we shouldn’t mind having another one.”
I recall him being warm and grandfatherly (I was in my teens) but I DO NOT recall him being a flaming POS LIBERAL.
Are they standing on principals because they truly believe their principals will best be advanced by this stand
or
are they in a fit of personal ego and spite saying “do what I want or else”. Are they acting in the spirit of God or are they acting out of petty human pride and arrogance?
or is their motivation “Hey look at me. I am so brave and noble and principled. I am willing to destroy everything I stand for in the mistaken notion that I am defending my principals”
This is ego and hubris, not God, at work.
I’m glad you said it....geeesh.
“Depends on why Christian Conservatives are “standing on principals”.”
Easy. Because my God is more important than the party or even the country, that’s why.
Words fail me. Please tell me you are not surprised.
I enjoyed this article. Think about the big picture. The really big picture. Throw in an enemy/ally angle. What Conservatives are being tested with, by the enemy no less, is what are its limits.
If I wanted to find the breaking point of Conservatives on liberal policies, this is precisely how I would have designed it. And when the dust settles, those who drank the Kool-aid find out that it was simply an early front-runner test...as they wipe away whatever color of red they wanted to perceive the kool-aid to be.
So comes the...then what?
Frankly, I am getting VERY tired of the “IF Christian Conservatives actually cares about life” argument.
It basically tells us that the elite of the Republican Party, the population controllers, RINO’s, Log Cabin Republicans etc don’t give a twit about Life.
We have all seen the consequences on the black family as they follow the Democratic Party’s Culture of Death Leadership Crowd Total breakdown of their communities dependent on handouts by their liberal elite Masters — well paid poverty pimps.
Inner city graduation rates of 22%, and more than half the abortions in America are black babies denying them their rightful place of being the largest minority group in this country.
I left the Democrat Party and I will leave the Republican Party as well if they can’t get us back to core principles, Faith, Tradition, Pride in our heritage, full support of our military and a total defense of our posterity.
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