Alternative Universe: Iowa Presidential forum exposes Religious Right disconnect from reality

November 22, 2011 | Filed under: Bachmann, Michele,Cain, Herman,Christian Nation?,Family Leader,Focus on the Family,Gingrich, Newt,Obama, Barack,Paul Ron,Perry, Rick,Persecuted Christian Majority,Santorum, Rick,Views | Posted by:

I spent two hours Saturday evening in front of my computer watching the Religious Right’s “Thanksgiving Family Forum.” The event, which took place at First Federated Church, a large fundamentalist congregation in Des Moines, featured six of the leading Republican presidential candidates – U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former U.S senator Rick Santorum, Gov. Rick Perry, businessman Herman Cain and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. (Mitt Romney begged off.)

The event was jointly sponsored by an Iowa group called The Family Leader, the National Organization for Marriage and CitizenLink, the overtly political arm of Focus on the Family. The discussion targeted issues like same-sex marriage, abortion and the role of religion in politics. Moderator Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, gave each candidate a chance to explain his or her Christian faith.

I sat through the whole thing, and my takeaway is this: I continue to be amazed at how Religious Right activists and their political allies simply make stuff up. Facts to them are pliable things that need not be acknowledged if inconvenient or unpleasant. They live in their own reality.

I can’t dissect the entire event. I don’t have that much time or patience. But I did take a few notes and want today to explain a few basic things to the Religious Right:

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison don’t agree with you. You hate the separation of church and state; Jefferson and Madison loved it. Jefferson and Madison worked together to end the government-established church in Virginia and guarantee religious liberty for all. Jefferson coined the metaphor of a “wall of separation between church and state.” Madison spoke of the “total separation of the church from the state.” Neither favored an officially Christian government. They are not on your side; stop invoking them.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are two different documents designed to do different things.  There’s no doubt that the Declaration of Independence is an important historical document. It was a bold statement of our nation’s desire to be free from British control. But it does not list our rights. The rights of Americans are outlined in the Constitution, not the Declaration. I realize that it bothers you that the Constitution is secular and that you place great stock in the fact that the Declaration contains a deistic reference to the “Creator,” but that does not change this simple fact: The foundational governing document of the nation is the Constitution – and it does not state that we are an officially Christian nation.

We have three co-equal branches of government. It’s discouraging to hear you cheer when candidates vow to stop the courts from handing down decisions that you don’t like. Our system grants the president no such powers – and for good reason. We’re not a dictatorship, after all. An independent judiciary is essential to the maintenance of a free society. When you applaud a man who promises to fire, harass and intimidate judges and turn the courts into a rubber-stamp body, you are advocating for autocracy. Aside from the separation of church and state, there is another important type of separation in our Constitution: the separation of powers. You might want to read up on it.

When you advocate denying public office to people on the basis of what they believe (or don’t believe) about God, you are being bigots. Article VI of the Constitution states that there shall be no religious test for federal office. People are free to reject political hopefuls on the basis of their beliefs, of course, but candidates should not promote this type of bigotry. We would have no difficulty labeling a person who says that a Jew is unfit for the presidency an anti-Semite. Likewise, a person who says that an atheist is unfit for that office should be called what he or she is: a bigot. It’s not something to be proud of.

You cannot simultaneously argue that decisions are best left to states and localities and demand federal control when states and localities do something you don’t like. Several candidates attacked Washington, D.C., policy-makers and asserted that states and local governments should have more control, much to the delight of the audience. They talked about how people should have the freedom to make decisions on the local level. But apparently that freedom does not extend to making decisions that the Religious Right does not like. Moments later, many of these same candidates vowed to stop states from legalizing same-sex marriage or civil unions and demanded to criminalize abortion in all 50 states by federal writ. When you promote this type of intellectual disconnect, you expose yourself as the giant hypocrites that you are.

The day before the event, Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn said in a statement, “It’s a shame that so many candidates see fit to attend this fundamentalist Christian inquisition masquerading as a debate. Our nation faces many serious problems, but a lack of religion in our political system isn’t one of them. In fact, this election has already become deeply entangled with religion, with four candidates now claiming that God told them to run. Enough is enough.”

The event is online here if you really want to see it. Take my advice and keep a bottle of Maalox handy.

Related articles:

  1. Minnery Offers Look Into Religious Right Presidential Forum
  2. Fundamentalist Forum: Religious Right grill candidates on ‘questions of the soul’
  3. Inquisition in Iowa: Religious Right dominates Presidential nominating process
  4. GOP Presidential Candidates Join Far-Right Group For Iowa Tea Party Bus Tour
  5. Presidential Hopefuls At Ralph Reed Event Signal Troubling Power Of Religious Right

9 Responses to Alternative Universe: Iowa Presidential forum exposes Religious Right disconnect from reality

  1. avatar photojack53 November 22, 2011 - 8:26 am

    A man posted THIS after another article on this same hypocritical Repugnican "debate." TOP TEN SIGNS THAT YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN. 10 – You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. 9 – You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from a rib, which means we are all inbred from 2 people. 8 – You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in the "father, son, holy ghost" base of your so called religion. 7 – Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees! 6 – You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life like a zombie, and then ascended into the sky. 5 – You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old. 4 – You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs — though excluding those in all rival sects – will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving." 3 – While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity. 2 – You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God. 1 – You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history – but still call yourself a Christian. ….

    Reply
    • avatar Kieres November 22, 2011 - 4:48 pm

      Can you not generalize quite so much? 10: This Christian has no problem with other people beleiving in other deitys or no deities at all. I also have no problem if someone denies the existance of the deity I believe in. 9: I have no problem with evolution. 8: I don't laugh at polytheists.

      Reply
      • avatar Kieres November 22, 2011 - 4:48 pm

        7: Plenty of atrocities were done in God's and Christianity's name. Oh also the Christian God and Allah are the same deity 6: No problem with what Hindu's believe. 5: I believe the age of the earth is the age science says 4: I actually have a problem with that. As for the love of God I can not figure out why, for example, Ghandi would be burning in hell for not being a Christian meanwhile Hitler, despite what he did, would be in heaven for being Christian.

        Reply
        • avatar Kieres November 22, 2011 - 4:48 pm

          3: Faith is faith. There is no proving or disproving it. 2: I take a somewhat deist view on God..that He's a clockmaker and doesn't directly intervene. 1: There very well may be atheists and agnostics who know more about the Bible and I'm fine with that. I'm not the world's best biblical scholar. Just like I know and understand the Republican playbook better then most Republicans despite me not being one.

          Reply
          • avatar Kieres November 22, 2011 - 4:49 pm

            It's so easy to paint all Christians as the same but that is as stupid, Jack, as all when a Christian paints all non-Christians the same. I would very much like it if my fellow Christians grew up, started acting responsibily and started treating their fellow humans the same whether they're Christians or not. Of course that also means that the non-Christians who insist on acting like mirror images of those poor Christians should return the favor.

          • avatar Lyn December 28, 2011 - 10:27 am

            Kieres – I'm sort of shocked to learn you are a Christian. Unfortunately, the vocal Christians are creating the portrait that photojack has described. I think that Christianity is doomed because of those people. Thinking, open-minded people like you might save the religion, but only if you are able to sway your brethren to adopt your more logical, and reasonable, approach to faith.

          • avatar Kieres December 28, 2011 - 11:36 am

            Oh I like to think Christians like me are the majority. the trick is to wake the rest of them up to the dangers represented by the goons.

  2. avatar The Fog Horn November 22, 2011 - 3:07 pm

    Photojack53….that was so funny! If it's ok with you I'd like to put it onto my blog… http://ohmyvolcano.blogpost.com Let me know if it's ok by leaving a comment.

    Reply
  3. avatar JuggsBunny November 25, 2011 - 6:51 am

    I'm so tired of religion being crammed down my throat – by these morons that are running for President. STFU about religion and focus on the badly broken things that are happening RIGHT NOW. Why do you even CARE about gays being able to marry??? Does it really "ruin" your marriage vows??? I'd think that Kim Kardashian and her trashy wedding would be worse – but hey!! And "prayer in schools" is NOT going to magically turn an inner-city school into happy rainbows and puppy-dogs. I'm so sick and tired of this BS.

    Reply

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