When will the Religious Right wake up?
One of my favorite bloggers recently called attention to President Bush’s latest compromise on an issue that is probably nearest and dearest to those who elected him to office: protection of the unborn (click here for details). Will American evangelicals, who have been Bush’s biggest support base, flood the White House with letters and calls of protest? Will they see this as a betrayal of everything “their man” claims to stand for?
While some conservative Christian groups, including Family Policy Network, have chastised the President for this compromise, I fear that many will remain silent. Once we put someone on a pedestal, it becomes almost impossible to remove the object of our idolatry. It’s far too painful. This is not the first time "Dubya" has bowed to the wishes of the political left, and there was little, if any, outrage from the Religious Right.
In one example, President Bush reneged on his nomination of Jerry Thacker to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Thacker, a Christian, was infected with AIDS by his wife, who contracted it during a blood transfusion. Mr. Thacker has stated publicly that homosexuals need to repent and put their faith in Christ for salvation. In response to pressure from the gay lobby, Bush asked Thacker to remove his name from consideration. The president’s spokesman, Ari Fleischer, stated, “The views that [Thacker] holds are far, far removed from what the president believes. The president’s view is that people with AIDS need to be treated with . . . compassion.” (Source: Operation Save America; see www.osa.org).
In this instance, Bush betrayed and maligned a fellow Christian, suffering from AIDS through no fault of his own and watching his wife and child succumb to the same disease. Is this the type of “compassion” Fleischer was talking about?
In addition, in a major betrayal of pro-life activists, President Bush sent Solicitor General Theodore Olsen to the Supreme Court to testify on behalf of NOW (National Organization for Women) in the NOW v. Scheidler case, in which NOW attempted to use racketeering charges against Christians who witness outside abortion clinics.
Finally, while many evangelicals were praying for Justice Roy Moore, President Bush publicly condemned Moore’s display of the Ten Commandments. And the president’s chief political consultant, Karl Rove, spearheaded the attack against Moore. (Source: One News, 8-28-03; newswithviews.com, 10-25-03).
Instead of protesting Bush’s ongoing appeasement of the abortion lobby, militant homosexual activists, and the forces that seek to stifle religious expression in the public square, evangelicals continued to gush over their “Christian” president. Will they finally wake up in the event of this latest compromise? Or will they continue to support a leader who has constantly broken faith with them?
To make your opinion heard, e-mail comments@whitehouse.gov.
While some conservative Christian groups, including Family Policy Network, have chastised the President for this compromise, I fear that many will remain silent. Once we put someone on a pedestal, it becomes almost impossible to remove the object of our idolatry. It’s far too painful. This is not the first time "Dubya" has bowed to the wishes of the political left, and there was little, if any, outrage from the Religious Right.
In one example, President Bush reneged on his nomination of Jerry Thacker to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Thacker, a Christian, was infected with AIDS by his wife, who contracted it during a blood transfusion. Mr. Thacker has stated publicly that homosexuals need to repent and put their faith in Christ for salvation. In response to pressure from the gay lobby, Bush asked Thacker to remove his name from consideration. The president’s spokesman, Ari Fleischer, stated, “The views that [Thacker] holds are far, far removed from what the president believes. The president’s view is that people with AIDS need to be treated with . . . compassion.” (Source: Operation Save America; see www.osa.org).
In this instance, Bush betrayed and maligned a fellow Christian, suffering from AIDS through no fault of his own and watching his wife and child succumb to the same disease. Is this the type of “compassion” Fleischer was talking about?
In addition, in a major betrayal of pro-life activists, President Bush sent Solicitor General Theodore Olsen to the Supreme Court to testify on behalf of NOW (National Organization for Women) in the NOW v. Scheidler case, in which NOW attempted to use racketeering charges against Christians who witness outside abortion clinics.
Finally, while many evangelicals were praying for Justice Roy Moore, President Bush publicly condemned Moore’s display of the Ten Commandments. And the president’s chief political consultant, Karl Rove, spearheaded the attack against Moore. (Source: One News, 8-28-03; newswithviews.com, 10-25-03).
Instead of protesting Bush’s ongoing appeasement of the abortion lobby, militant homosexual activists, and the forces that seek to stifle religious expression in the public square, evangelicals continued to gush over their “Christian” president. Will they finally wake up in the event of this latest compromise? Or will they continue to support a leader who has constantly broken faith with them?
To make your opinion heard, e-mail comments@whitehouse.gov.
posted by Julie at 8/25/2006 09:55:00 AM
1 Comments:
(blushes)
Thanks for the link. It's been rough these past few days, seeing Bush follow through on what I had hoped was just an ill-phrased comment.
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