Sunday, October 26, 2008
Courting Evangelicals
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NPR had two reports on the "evangelical vote" this past week, Thurs. & Fri. Find them here and here. If you didn't catch them on the radio and you are an evangelical voter, take a listen - they are very interesting. Some thoughts I had:
After listening to the report on John McCain, I was really frustrated for a few reasons.
1) I felt like my vote was just an object to be won over. The phrase "courting evangelicals" feels so offensive to me. I get the very strong impression that McCain and other Republicans figure out what they need to say, how to say, and when and who to say it to so that evangelical Christians will vote for him. It feels a lot like a horny teenager telling his girlfriend she is the prettiest girl in school so she'll sleep with him - then he breaks up with her. This is how I feel about G.W.Bush right now. He said all the right stuff to get me to vote for him - pro-life, pro-family, finish the war, protect embryonic stem cells, go Jesus! And then his administration is so very un-Christ-like it makes my stomach churn.
2) How can evangelicals be so dumb? The McCain report was laughable in uncovering his two-sidedness. Direct quotes from 8 years ago in his campaign against Bush in which McCain was unwilling to "pander to the outer reaches" of religious extremism - and he mentions Jerry Falwell by name! Quotes from James Dobson saying he would "never" vote for McCain - the evangelical attitude toward McCain was that he did not hold the same values at all. And then one appearance in a church with Rick Warren where McCain states "Life begins at conception" (whatever the hell that means for legislation or actually providing social programs to care for young mothers? uh.....???) Then McCain chooses Sarah Palin for his running mate, and she is staunchly pro-life, and so all the evangelicals are back on board. Now the conservative Christians are confident that McCain is the right man to run the country. How did we so easily forget what he said 8 years ago? This is why I feel insulted, embarrassed and ashamed to even be slightly connected to the evangelical camp (when it comes to politics especially).
Regarding the Obama report - I didn't actually hear it in the car, where I usually listen to NPR and have more time to think and reflect, so I don't have as much to say. Except that I get the sense that Obama's faith is much more genuine. I know that is a judgment call I can't really make, but when he says, "My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work," it sounds like the man is speaking with conviction about what he believes, not just what he thinks will get him the vote. I appreciate that he was willing to speak honestly to Rick Warren and answer the same question about when life begins by admitting it's a tough question.
Overall, the reason I appreciate (and have already voted for) Obama over McCain is that I don't feel like he is insulting my intelligence or my faith, but rather he is someone who genuinely holds to the same worldview that I do.
Of course, he could just be a better politician than McCain.
NPR had two reports on the "evangelical vote" this past week, Thurs. & Fri. Find them here and here. If you didn't catch them on the radio and you are an evangelical voter, take a listen - they are very interesting. Some thoughts I had:After listening to the report on John McCain, I was really frustrated for a few reasons.
1) I felt like my vote was just an object to be won over. The phrase "courting evangelicals" feels so offensive to me. I get the very strong impression that McCain and other Republicans figure out what they need to say, how to say, and when and who to say it to so that evangelical Christians will vote for him. It feels a lot like a horny teenager telling his girlfriend she is the prettiest girl in school so she'll sleep with him - then he breaks up with her. This is how I feel about G.W.Bush right now. He said all the right stuff to get me to vote for him - pro-life, pro-family, finish the war, protect embryonic stem cells, go Jesus! And then his administration is so very un-Christ-like it makes my stomach churn.
2) How can evangelicals be so dumb? The McCain report was laughable in uncovering his two-sidedness. Direct quotes from 8 years ago in his campaign against Bush in which McCain was unwilling to "pander to the outer reaches" of religious extremism - and he mentions Jerry Falwell by name! Quotes from James Dobson saying he would "never" vote for McCain - the evangelical attitude toward McCain was that he did not hold the same values at all. And then one appearance in a church with Rick Warren where McCain states "Life begins at conception" (whatever the hell that means for legislation or actually providing social programs to care for young mothers? uh.....???) Then McCain chooses Sarah Palin for his running mate, and she is staunchly pro-life, and so all the evangelicals are back on board. Now the conservative Christians are confident that McCain is the right man to run the country. How did we so easily forget what he said 8 years ago? This is why I feel insulted, embarrassed and ashamed to even be slightly connected to the evangelical camp (when it comes to politics especially).
Regarding the Obama report - I didn't actually hear it in the car, where I usually listen to NPR and have more time to think and reflect, so I don't have as much to say. Except that I get the sense that Obama's faith is much more genuine. I know that is a judgment call I can't really make, but when he says, "My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work," it sounds like the man is speaking with conviction about what he believes, not just what he thinks will get him the vote. I appreciate that he was willing to speak honestly to Rick Warren and answer the same question about when life begins by admitting it's a tough question.
Overall, the reason I appreciate (and have already voted for) Obama over McCain is that I don't feel like he is insulting my intelligence or my faith, but rather he is someone who genuinely holds to the same worldview that I do.
Of course, he could just be a better politician than McCain.
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