Donald Trump’s savior complex

 The religious right has become less pious and more political. It has been Trumpified

by Freddy Gray, The Spectator, January 11, 2024 -Donald Trump has dominated Republican politics for so long that it can be hard to remember the time when he did not. It’s easy to forget that at the beginning of 2016 he started the Republican primary process by losing the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz, his more conservative rival.

“He stole it,” Trump tweeted afterwards, graceful as ever in defeat. “The State of Iowa should disqualify Ted Cruz from the most recent election on the basis that he cheated — a total fraud!” ... Skip forward to 2024 and Trump is still grumbling about stolen elections. ...  

Trump may have grown in power but he’s essentially the same ego-crazed maniac that he was eight years ago. What is changing is the soul of conservative America. The religious right, which dominated conservatism from the 1960s to the end of the George W. Bush era, has become less pious and more political. It has been Trumpified.

Eight years ago in Iowa, the powerful white evangelical lobby had just enough clout to hand victory to Cruz, a Southern Baptist who would urge his supporters to “Awaken the body of Christ that we may pull back from the abyss.” Back then, most evangelical leaders were disturbed by Trump — an adulterous braggart, a casino magnate who claimed to love the Bible but couldn’t cite a single verse. It turned out, however, that their flocks cared less about morality and more about Trump’s thrilling ability to offend the wicked liberal left.

In 2016 and 2020, Trump won more than three-quarters of the white evangelical vote. Stranger still, the Pew Research Center found that, from 2016 to 2020, voters with “warm feelings toward Trump” were far more likely to “begin identifying as born-again or evangelical Christians.” In other words, white people, rather than voting for Trump because they are Christian, have started to declare themselves Christian because they support Trump. ... 

... That’s why so many online Trump memes show him as a messianic figure fighting against the satanic Democrats. Trump himself enjoys playing with these notions. He amplifies the biblical proportions of his tribulations at the hand of the deep state and he has made “retribution” the theme of his 2024 campaign. On Sunday, he posted on his Truth Social account a picture of himself with the caption “One of God’s finest warriors.” On Friday, he shared a “God Made Trump” video in which a gravelly-voiced narrator declares him to be “a shepherd to mankind who won’t ever leave or forsake them.”

... On October 2, as one of his New York cases dragged on, Trump reposted another absurd picture on Truth Social of himself sitting next to Jesus Christ in the dock. Journalists and pundits scoffed at his messianic delusions. Surely America cannot vote for this blasphemous moron again! But as we approach another potentially cataclysmic presidential election in America, as Trump faces trial after trial and somehow survives, tens of millions of spiritually minded voters — not all of them lifelong Republicans — will be thinking: maybe God is on his side. (read it all)

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FACT President Blasts Attorney General's 'Bathroom Bill' Opinion

Press release, FRANKLIN, Tenn. (April 11, 2016) – The following statement regarding Attorney General Slatery’s opinion of House Bill 2414, the “bathroom bill,” can be attributed to FACT President David Fowler:

Attorney General Slatery’s opinion regarding the risk to the state of losing Title IX funding if House Bill 2414 passes puts forth a carefully worded legal position that only the trained lawyer can decode to deconstruct the fear of the federal government it engenders.

It essentially regurgitates legal arguments made by the Obama administration that were flatly and unequivocally rejected by the only two courts to actually rule on them. A first-year law student would get in trouble for writing a brief that ignored relevant persuasive authority as if it did not exist!

The misleading nature of these omissions is compounded by the fact that the attorney general instead cites settlement agreements, not court decisions, entered into with the U.S. Department of Education. A settlement agreement only means that the school districts decided not to litigate the clear meaning of the word “sex” in Title IX and just go along with what the Obama administration wanted. Settlement agreements have no persuasive value as a matter of law, unlike the court decisions that have actually ruled in favor of sex-designated bathrooms.

Thankfully, the attorney general did mention that, by law, no money can be withheld from a state until the state loses its legal arguments, and then only if it doesn’t come into compliance with that ruling within 30 days. By law, no money can be withheld during this process, and no money can be withheld retroactively.

In other words, contrary to the general impression the opinion tends to create, legislators need to understand that there is little risk that the state will lose any Title IX money so long as it complies with whatever the U.S. Supreme Court might someday say the word “sex” means. No one needs to run around like their pants are on fire as if there is some immediate, real threat to Tennessee losing Title IX funds.

But the bottom line is that Tennessee cannot be held hostage by what the Supreme Court might possibly say at some point about the meaning of the word “sex” when the law, as it exists right now, is clearly in support of House Bill 2414.

The people of Tennessee are tired of having their public policies being dictated to them by the various branches of the federal government, and they sure don’t want the state surrendering without a fight to the Obama administration on whether boys can choose to use a girl’s bathroom or locker room.

The Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT), which Fowler heads, was formed in 2006 by a group of citizens concerned about the growing negative impact of public policies on marriage, families, life, and religious liberty. FACT’s mission is to equip Tennesseans and their elected officials to effectively promote and defend a culture that values God’s design for the family, for the sake of the common good. For more information, visit FACTn.org.

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Tennessee Pastors Network Challenges Lawmakers on "Bathroom Bill."

Petition Effort Gaining Momentum

Press release, NASHVILLE, TN -The Tennessee Pastors Network today announced that it has made great strides in bringing the concerns of thousands of Tennessee voters to Legislative Plaza.  These actions stem from legislation being considered this week by several Committees on SB2387 by Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) and HB2414 by Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet).

The bill would require students in Tennessee schools to use bathrooms and lockers rooms that correspond to their determined sex noted on their birth certificates.  Opposition has arisen from LGBT groups demanding students be able to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the student’s “feelings” about which sex he/she is.

“People across Tennessee are enraged that our elected officials have to spend valuable time debating such a subject,” said Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker of Sparta.  “In addition, they cannot believe that any Tennessee lawmaker would consider placing the vast majority of students at risk.”

Pastor Walker has led a delegation of concerned ministers and concerned citizens to meet with lawmakers ever since this legislation was brought forward.  This issue is engaging the citizens to sign petitions in support of this bill in large numbers.

Pastor Walker continued, “Tennessee lawmakers may need to be reminded that it’s the citizens that go to the polls to vote their values and not corporations bullying our state. Our lawmakers need to know beyond a reasonable doubt that that Tennessee citizens will not tolerate this kind of dangerous situation for our children.”

He concluded, “Lawmakers are on the record as saying that they are not hearing anything from constituents. Tennesseans need to be reaching out by phone, email and text to their elected Representatives and Senators and letting them know their individual concerns about these dangerous encroachments into our state.”

For more information, visit www.tnpastors.net.

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David Barton to appear in Madison on Tuesday

David Barton will be in Madison on Tuesday, March March 27, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Salt and Light Institute, which is located at what used to be the the Madison Hospital, 612 Due West Ave.

He will be providing a briefing concerning judicial abuse, judicial activism, and the lack of oversight and accountability in our judicial systems. He will also address the remedies afforded in the US and State Constitutions as well as provide other solutions. 

This event is being sponsored by The Tennessee Judicial Reform initiative, the Faith & Freedom Coalition-Tennessee, the Black Robe Regiment, 9-12 Project Tennessee, and Gideon's Army. The cost is only $6.27 a person, including the ticket fee.

David Barton heads WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious, and constitutional heritage. David is the author of numerous best-selling books, addresses over 400 groups a year, and has appeared on The Mike Huckabee Show and Glen Beck, as well as ABC, The Daily Show, Fox News, and NPR. Time Magazine called him "a hero to millions – including some powerful politicians," named him as one of America’s 25 most influential evangelicals.

Barton collects early American documents, and his official biography describes him as "an expert in historical and constitutional issues." Much of his work is devoted to advancing the idea that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. In his book "The Myth of Separation", he states his belief that Christians were the ones who were intended to hold public office in America and that Jews and members of other sects were not.  Barton holds no formal credentials in history or law, and some scholars dispute the accuracy and integrity of his assertions about history.

For more information, click here.

Disclaimer: From time to time A Disgruntled Republican may post announcements of interest to the conservative, libertarian, or greater community. Such announcements are posted as a public service to spread awareness and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement.

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Tennessee Tea Party to Shut Down

Tami Kilmarx, President of the Tennessee Tea Party today stunned members and supporters by announcing that she was resigning as President of Tennessee Tea Party and closing down the organization. "Within the next couple of weeks," say Tami, "Tennessee Tea Party will be no more; our website and facebook page will be shut down. Our email accounts will be closed. There will be no more notifications from Tennessee Tea Party."


Tami reveals that despite her hard work on behalf of  the Tea Party movement that she has always had reservations that the Tea Party was the vehicle to fix what is wrong with our county. "Out of our initial concerns (when first joining the tea party movement) for the obvious declines we observed in our country and world, the level of depravity we were witnessing in all aspects of our culture, the tea party did not seem to be, in its initial phases, the vehicle that would move our country where it needed to be moved…..back into a healthy relationship with God the Father, the Lord God who led this country in the beginning and who remains to lead her now."

Tami says she is not turning her back on the grassroots movement that is the Tea Party but "we do turn our backs on is the growing sense that government can make the enormous sea-change required now, ..... and the buy-in of many tea parties to a Republican Party that has not held to its conservative principles and continues to abuse its privileges and place in our government."

Tami states that she and her husband Robert will be devoting their energies to the  Black Robe Regiment, Salt and Light Institute, and Genesis Events. The Black Robe Regiment "is a resource and networking entity where church leaders and laypeople can network and educate themselves as to our biblical responsibility to stand up for our Lord and Savior and to protect the freedoms and liberties granted to a moral people in the divinely inspired US Constitution." The Salt and Light institute is "a non denominational, non sectarian institute dedicated to providing foundational education opportunities  consistent with God's Word," And,  Genesis Events is a for-profit event coordinator and management team, owned and operated by Tami Kilmarx.

To read the complete statement follow this link before the Tennessee Tea Party website is taken down. 

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Holy Smoke! Pat Robertson advocates decriminalization of Marijuana

The Reverend Pat Robertson,  influential Christian right leader, 1988 Republican candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination, and founder and president of the Christian Broadcasting Network has been known to say some controversial and outrageous things, such as that the earthquake disaster in Haiti is a result of Haiti's long ago deal with the devil and that hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for America's abortion policy. Now, he is creating controversy by talking sense.

'We're locking up people that take a couple of puffs of marijuana and the next thing they know they've got 10 years. They've got mandatory sentences and these judges just ... throw up their hands and say there's nothing we can do," said Robertson recently.

"We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of them," Robertson added. "I'm not exactly for the use of drugs. Don't get me wrong. But I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot and that kind of thing, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people. They go into prison as youths and they come out as hardened criminals, and that's not a good thing." (link)

Wow, what has he been smoking? God bless Pat Robertson.

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No more mosques, period

by Bryan Fischer, August 10, 2010, American Family Association

Permits should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the United States of America, let alone the monstrosity planned for Ground Zero. This is for one simple reason: each Islamic mosque is dedicated to the overthrow of the American government.

Each one is a potential jihadist recruitment and training center, and determined to implement the “Grand Jihad” ....(link)

Commentary

Wow! I am a "big-tent" kind of Republican. I ignore the crazies of the religious right and the crazies of the libertarian-anarchist right and think that if we agree on 8 out of ten things we are on the same team. I generally prefer to focus on the things that unit us rather than those things that divide us. However, like they used to say in the old west, "This town ain't big enough for the both of us." If the view expressed above by Fisher ever gains dominance in the Republican Party, I will have to find a new home.

Fischer is the American Family Association's director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy. The view he publicly empresses is very common in Republican circles. I hear it expressed in small group meetings and in private conversations all the time. I don't think most Republicans share this view, but in the interest of party unity they keep quite.

Least anyone think that the opposition to the lower Manhattan Mosque is due to the proximity to the World Trade Center site, the same people locally that I hear wanting to ban the construction of the "Ground Zero" mosque also want to ban the construction of a mosque in Murfressboro which is about 780 miles from ground zero.

I have nothing in common with those Republicans who want the Saudi Arabian standards of religious freedom, the standards that the US applies. Since criticizing a Tennessee Republican candidate for Congress who advocated prohibiting the building of the mosque in Murfressboro and criticizing a candidate for governor who wondered aloud if the First Amendment applies to Muslims, I have been accused of being a RINO, wrapping myself in the First Amendment, and political correctness. Guilty, guilty, guilty!

If believing the Constitution should be taken seriously, believing in private property rights, and believing in decentralized local decision making as long as it is consistent with constitutional rights makes me any less a conservative or a Republican then we have different definition of what is a Republican and a conservative. If political correctness is believing the first amendment is as important as the second or the tenth amendment then I advocate political correctness.

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Fake Boobs for Jesus

In a shocking new development in a scandal that has continued to plague 22-year-old beauty queen Carrie Pejune whose defense of traditional marriage led to a national controversy and conflict with pageant organizers, seven new sex tapes have allegedly surfaced, although the claim is not substantiated (link).

We do know for certain that one sex tape was made. She says she made it for her boy friend when she was only a teenager and says it was “the biggest mistake of my life.”

Since controversy erupted over her pro traditional marriage stance she has become the darling of the religious right appearing on religious television and radio programs such as Focus on the Family and has making personal appearances at Christian events such as The Gospel Music Awards show.

She was recently interviewed for Christianity Today, where she was asked to respond to those Christians who have spoken out against women participating in beauty pageants. She said, “I think you can be a Christian and compete in a pageant. I think you can be a Christian and be a model. It depends on how you act as that role, and if you remember who you are and you remember what you stand for and stay true to who you are, you can be in any job. Just don't compromise what you believe in.

OK. Does the Bible say anything about modesty? She addressed this issue more directly in her recent book, Still Standing. She writes, “God gave us our bodies, and it's perfectly right that we use them in ways where we can give glory to God by making our bodies, our temples of the Holy Spirit, strong and fast.”

OK. I guess I buy that. I get it. In the beauty pageants she was using her body “for the glory of God.” It looks like God gave her a good body to use. As it turns out, God did not do a perfect job and it has been revealed that she has fake boobs courtesy of the pageant. In the Christianity Today article she was asked if she ever wondered whether breast implants might be incompatible with her Christian faith? “No”, she replied, “I don't think there's anything wrong with getting breast implants as a Christian. I think it's a personal decision. I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says you shouldn't get breast implants.”

Amen sister. I am sure God doesn’t mind you going from a B cup to a C cup. What do you think God thinks about women who go from a C cup to a EEE cup?
In all of this controversy, I sympathize with Miss Prejune. She did not ask for this controversy. I agree with her defense of traditional marriage. She was asked a question at the pageant and she answered honestly and ran up against the political correctness Nazis. I am on her side. In fact, I would love to hold and comfort her and say, “you poor baby.”

Also, I am not a prude. I do lust. I like looking at beautiful scantily clad women. I like going to nice parties where women show cleavage. I don’t apologize for it. I am culturally a Christian of course, but not a devout prudish Christian. I am more comfortable with “Christian lite” than I am fundamentalist Christianity. I prefer Christians who don't take there religion too seriously.

I just find this whole controversy and the way Carrie Prejune has been turned into a role model and hero of the faith amusing. She should quietly fade away and the Christian right should stop trying to make her a hero.

I can’t wait for the Christianity Today nude pin-up centerfold.

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Prejean says her beliefs got her fired

Posted on Jun 11, 2009 by Staff, Baptist Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--One month after being allowed to keep her crown, Carrie Prejean was fired Wednesday by the Miss California USA pageant, with both sides in the dispute disagreeing over the reasons.[full article]

Comment

I support Ms Prejean. I applaud her for standing up for traditional marriage. It was refreshing to see someone speak her mind instead of bowing to politically correctness. It is refreshing to see a God-fearing young woman stand up for traditional moral values. It is just wrong that she was stripped of her crown. (Did I say "stripped"?) I feel sorry for her. I would like to put my arm around her and comfort her for the cruel way she has been mistreated.

Since this controversy erupted she has become a Christian celebrity appeared on Focus on the Family and appearing at the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards here in Nashville where she got a standing ovation and she has made appearances at other pro-family and Christian events. She has been praised in the religious press. She is the kind of poster child the religious right needs.

I can’t help but be amused by the whole thing. I love to see puritanical prudish Baptist defending a pin-up babe. Politics makes strange bedfellows. (Did I say "bedfellows"?)

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Bobbie Patray, the stary-eyed high priestess of the Christian Right

In today’s issue of the Nashville Scene, columnist Jeff Woods reported on a bill that just passed the state legislature, which would allow parents to have access to their child’s medical records. Predictably, he thought it was a terrible development. (link)

What got my attention was this passage from his article: “As Bobbie Patray, the glassy eyed high priestess of the state's Christian Right, watched with approval from the front row.”

I know Bobbie Patray. I do not know her well but have been to several meetings and functions with her and have a speaking acquaintance. I think Ms Patray is an attractive women. I don't know what makes her a "high priestist" instead of just a lobbyist. I have never noticed her to be “glassy eyed.” I am not even sure what Woods means by that. Anyway, should that not be hyphenated as “glassy-eyed?”

Bobbie Patray is the Tennessee lobbyist for Eagle Forum. I generally agree with the positions taken by Eagle Forum. I especially find myself in agreement on economic and constitutional issue. I generally support Eagle Forum on their social agenda. I oppose gay marriage and abortion but admit that I don’t have a lot of passion around those issues. Some of Eagle Forum’s moral positions make me a little uncomfortable however. They sometime come across as a little too narrow-minded and moralistic for my taste. I am afraid they would want to stamp out strip clubs, ban smut, and close bars.

.

I very much parted ways with Eagle Forum over the issue of selling wine in grocery stores. I am 100% in favor and think our liquor, wine, and beer laws are an embarrassment and often make Tennessee look like a state of backwoods hicks the way we are often portrayed. Basically however, I just want the convenience of being able to buy a bottle of wine when I grocery shop. I do not appreciate the religious right and liquor industry from not allowing that to happen.
.

Anyhow, I thought it was unnecessary to refer to Ms Patray as “glassy eyed.” I remember how the libs were outraged that Limbaugh talked about Hillary’s fat ankles. I also think it was out of line. It was not Hillary’s ankles that turned me off but her ideas. I generally think it is in poor taste to start attacking your opponent’s physical attributes in political discourse. In this case it simply leaves me baffled to understand what it is about Ms Patray’s eyes that make them “glassy.” They look normal to me, but maybe I missed something. Jeff, could you explain that?

I wanted to find a picture of Jeff Woods so I could see if he was perhaps “bug-eyed” or maybe “doe-eyed” or maybe “four-eyed” or maybe he is also "glassy-eyed." I could not find a picture, and it is just as well; I would not want to sink to his juvenile level to retaliate.

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The God problem

Call them “values voters” or “social conservatives” or “the Christian right” or whatever term may you may wish to use to refer to them, but I believe that that faction of the Republican Party is becoming a drag on the party and it is time their influence was lessened.

Ever since about 1979 when Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, the religious right has been an important segment of the Republican Party. The party’s victories for the last thirty years would likely not have occurred without this faction. They consistently vote, contribute and volunteer. But, I now suspect that they drive more people away than they attract. The identity of the Republican Party as the party of prudes and religious fanatics is harming the party.

Now don’t get me wrong. I oppose gay marriage, I would like to see abortion restricted, and I respect tradition; so I guess to a certain extend, that makes me a “values voters” also. However, I am just not comfortable with a lot of the religious right. I do not want creationism taught as science. I think if science can be advanced by stem cell research using embryos that are to be discarded anyway, then we should do it. While I want my local schools to acknowledge Christmas and I think it is OK if a Christmas carol is sang at school or played by a high school marching band, I think we should try to keep Christmas primarily secular in the public square and not use it as a government sponsored opportunity to proselytize.

It is more than a disagreement over specific issues that make me uncomfortable with the religious right. I am just not comfortable with people who think God is on their side. I am OK with people who talk to God; people that God talks to concern me.

The religious right often appears angry, judgmental, intolerant, and self-righteous. Also, I fear that if they had their way they would like to do more than they now do to impose their morality. I suspect that they would drape all the art that featured the nude human form, they would mandate modesty, make all TV safe for their nine year-olds to watch, lock up homosexuals, ban co-habitation of unmarried people, close stores on Sunday, and ban the sale of alcohol. I bet most of those people who pressure politicians to “clean up the city” are religious Republicans.

Also, the religious right folks are just not a lot of fun. If I was a non-political young person and could attend either the Republican Convention or the Democratic Convention, which one would I choose to attend? Somehow, I just think the Democrats would be a lot more fun.

On election night the Republicans unexpectantly won both houses of the Tennessee State legislature. At the Williamson County Republican Party election night party, those attending joined hands and had a prayer of thanksgiving. I would rather be at a party where victory calls for breaking out the Champaign.

I suspect that there are people who are, or would be, economic conservatives, and national defense conservatives, and moderate social conservatives but who are not Republicans. These are people who are essentially secular and cannot feel at home at a gathering dominated by people who take their religion so seriously. Face it, there are a lot more secularist and people who take their religion with a grain of salt than there are devout Christians. If the Republican Party becomes the Christian Party, we will loose.

I don’t like the blending of the sacred and the political. I would prefer to let the Church concern itself with man’s eternal soul and my political party concern itself with this world and the hear and now. Recently there has developed a modest movement of a more liberal branch of evangelical Christians. I think this is a welcome development. We should welcome the separating of religious faith from political affiliation. It will be good for the Party if evangelicals are not automatically assumed to be Republicans. If a Bible-believing, teetotaler, praying-in-tongues person might also be a Democrat that is a good thing.

Now the Democrats get all or the hedonist and the Republicans get all of the real Christians. Let some to the Bible-thumpers become Democrats. I will trade you one Christians liberal for two hedonists who want to cut taxes.

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Giving up on God

By Kathleen ParkerWednesday, The Washington Post, November 19, 2008; 12:00 AM

As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. (link)

Comment: This is an important article on the future of the Republican Party. My commentary on the topic will follow.

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Bible Park USA

Nashville is the buckle of the Bible belt. Other places may claim to be, but I think Nashville wins the title hands down. With over 900 churches, it seems there is a church on every street corner. Nashville also has a twice-life-size statue of Billy Graham on a prominent downtown street corner.

The largest protestant denomination in the United States, The Southern Baptist Convention, has its headquarters in Nashville and employs approximately 2500 people and takes up three block of prime downtown real estate. The United Methodist Publishing House is also located in Nashville as well as several smaller religious publishers and Church denomination headquarters.

Nashville is home to Thomas Nelson Publishers, the nations largest publishers of Bibles and religious books. Nashville is the headquarters of Gideon International, the folks who put Bibles in hotel rooms all across America and distribute Bibles throughout the world.

Nashville is also home to the Gospel Music Industry. The 4000-member Gospel Music Association are the people who bring you the all genre gospel/Christian Dove Award show. In addition Nashville is home to many recording studios and music publishing houses, record labels and booking agencies that support Gospel music.

Many of the universities and colleges of which we are so proud are religious affiliated institutions including Trevecca Nazarene University, Lipscomb University (Church of Christ), Aquinas College (Catholic), American Baptist College, and Free Will Baptist Bible College. Belmont University used to be Belmont Baptist College a long time ago and still had a Southern Baptist affiliation until quite recently, but when the university wanted to put some non-Baptist Christians on the board, the Southern Baptist convention and Belmont had a disharmonious parting of the ways.

Despite all of this official religiosity, Nashville is a pretty tolerant laid back city and a great place to live. When it seems the only way we could have a greater religious presence in our fine city was if the Vatican relocated, we are about to get what may be the crowning jewel of our claim to religious fame. Get ready for Bible Park USA! (link)

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It's Fred!

Fred Thompson has favorably impressed me from the first time I ever heard of him. From his role in bringing down the corrupt administration of Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton and getting justice for whistle blower Marie Ragghianti, to his role as minority counsel in the Watergate hearings, to his service as Tennessee Senator, I have liked Fred Thompson.

When Fred Thompson announced for President on the Jay Leno show, however, I was less than impressed. With my disgust with the Bush administration, I wanted to see someone who would distance himself from Bush. Thompson didn’t do it, but I guess that was just too much to expect from any Republican candidate seeking his Party's nomination. (see “Not Ready to Jump …")

Today, I watched Fred Thompson being interviewed by Tim Russert on Meet the Press and liked what I heard. I am supporting Fred Thompson for President.

On the social issues: He and I are in the same place. He is a social conservative but not a hardliner in the pocket of the religious right. He doesn’t pander. He said the Federal Government should never have gotten involved in the Terri Schiavo case. Amen, Fred!

He flatly stated he did not support the Republican Party platform plank that calls for passing a Right to Life Amendment to the Constitution. He opposes abortion but does not support a constitutional amendment to outlaw it. He thinks Roe vs. Wade was wrongly decided and hopes someday it will be reversed. If it is, then no doubt many states will legalize abortion. He stated he believes in Federalism and the people of each state have the right to decide their states abortion policy. He also said that while he has always voted pro-life, that he admits that at times he has had doubts about the moment at which life begins. No doubt the most pro-life element in the Party will not be pleased with Fred’s response. Most people who consider themselves pro-life, I suspect, have a position closer to that of Thompson however, than to that of the pro-life activist.

On the issue of gay marriage, he said that while he believes marriage should be between a man and a women, if some state wants to define a marriage as a union of two people of the same sex, then that should be up to the people of that state.

On Foreign Policy: Fred said for now we need to stay the course in Iraq. Our policy is making progress. However, Fred does not become jingoistic and rattle sabers when talking about Iraq. He does not sound like a man on a crusade. He impresses me as someone who would be pragmatic and decide the best course of action as events unfold.

On Iran, he warned of the danger of a pre-emptive strike and said we need better intelligence and he was critical of the intelligence failure in Iraq. He said we should be doing more to support the moderate forces in Iran. While he said he would do all he could to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, I do not fear that a Fred Thompson Presidency would prematurely conduct a pre-emptive strike.

On these and other issues, I agreed with Thompson, but there are other issues that were not addressed. I do not know the details of Thompson’s position on other issues that I care about such as combating global warming or immigration reform. I may not agree with Thompson on every issue, but I don’t suspect there is anyone with whom I would agree 100% on every issue. As far as I am concerned however, I care as much about how someone thinks as what they may think.

Fred Thompson has the intelligence, the temperament, and the integrity to make a good president. I do not take caution and thoughtfulness as a sign of weakness. We have had enough cowboy politics; we do not need a knee-jerk ideologue who will shoot first and ask questions later. Fred Thompson’s thoughtful nuanced position will not play well with those who want a passionate hardliner. Anyone who finds policy-making easy, however, concerns me. The issues we face are tough. Certainty of the righteousness of one’s position, I do not see as a virtue. Thompson’s positions do not translate well to sound bites or slogans. Many of his positions do not fit neatly on a bumper sticker, but Fred Thompson is the kind of thoughtful, moderate, modest, conservative we need as President. He is reassuring. He is someone I could trust.

I am making my donation and putting a Thompson bumper sticker on my car.

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Another Republican Hypocrite

It is embarrassing when Republicans, who run on traditional values and court the religious vote are caught with their pants down, so to speak. Since the Republican Party has identified itself as the Party of God-fearing Christians, it is more embarrassing for a Republican to be caught in a sex scandal than a Democrat, because we expect more moral behaviour from Republicans. Much more of this and the public will stop believing in the moral superiority of Republicans. rod


Senator's Number on 'Madam' Phone List
By Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, July 10, 2007; A03
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.
The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates dating from before he ran for the Senate in 2004.
On his Senate Web site, Vitter says he is committed to "advancing mainstream conservative principles" and notes that he and his wife are lectors at their hometown church.
Here is the link to the rest of the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902030_pf.html

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How the Holy Rollers and Neocoms stole the Republican Party

Did anyone see Victor Gold on Cspan2 BookTV a few weeks ago? As a disgruntled Republican, I was delighted to see someone say the things I believe. His book is Invasion of the Body Snatchers, How the Holy Rollers and the Neocons stole the Republican Party. He says the Republican Party must die to be reborn. He was close to Bush and Cheney but is now angry at the administration.

Here is more on Gold and his books and some links: Victor Gold served as press aide to Barry Goldwater and speechwriter and senior advisor to George H. W.Bush (in addition to coauthoring his autobiography),Victor Gold is absolutely furious that the Neo-Cons and their strange bedfellows, the Evangelical Right, have stolen his party from him. Now he is bringing the fight to them. Invasion of the Party Snatchers (April 17), is a blistering critique not only of the Bush-Cheney administration but also of the Republican Congress. After four decades as a Republican insider, Gold is ready to tell all about the war being waged for the soul of the GOP, including the elder Bush’s opinion of his son’s work domestically and abroad, the significance of the newly elected Congress, and how Goldwater would have reacted to it all. Gold reveals, among other explosive disclosures, how George W. has been manipulated by his vice president and secretary of defense to become, in Lenin's famous phrase, a "useful idiot" for Neo-Conservative warmongers and Theo-Conservative religious fanatics. Although there have been other books by dissident Republicans attacking the Bush-Cheney administration’s betrayal of conservative principles, none have been by an insider whose political credentials include inner-circle status with Barry Goldwater and George H.W. Bush. Invasion of the Party Snatchers is a protest and a warning directed not so much at Republicans, as at the American people as a whole. Gold sums up his thesis in the section of the book that takes a hard look at the Neo-Cons, Theo-Cons, and political hacks that now constitute the leadership of the Republican Party.http://www.sourcebooks.com/cart/shopexd.asp?id=1200 and this one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040101211.html

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