Playing Politics with the Church

Playing Politics with the Church

By Michael E. Lynch, posted January 16, 2007

[The following article has been for submitted for publication in the America First Leader, the national newsletter of the America First Party. If you would like to receive a copy of the newsletter with this article in it, please email me or you may download a copy from the party website.]

 

After the 2004 election, politicians and pundits discussed the power of “values voters.” The media reported that George W. Bush won because many voters considered moral issues like abortion and gay marriage to be more important than any other issues facing our nation.

“Values voters” became the new term to replace “religious right” in public discourse. Pundits and political advisors realized they are a significant factor in the political arena. They comprise a significant portion of American society. Some surveys indicate that about 25% of all voters consider themselves evangelical Christians. There are also quite a few voters from other religious backgrounds (Catholic, Mormon, etc.) whose faith inspires them to vote for morally conservative candidates. According to some surveys, more women consider themselves pro-life than pro-abortion-rights voters. This is a significant voting bloc that cannot be written off as a fringe group of right-wing fanatics.

In recent decades, values voters have generally voted Republican, believing that the GOP upholds traditional Judeo-Christian values. Even if a Republican was pro-choice, many would assume he was not as hostile to their views as Democrats were.

Even after Democrats gained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, many commentators observed the role of religion in the results. Many said that values voters rejected Republicans who had forsaken traditional conservative principles. They either did not vote, voted for third-party candidates, or (more frequently) gave a protest vote in favor of the Democratic candidate. Some of the new Democrats in Congress profess pro-life and other socially conservative values.

As a result, Democrats are beginning to take values voters seriously. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), a probable presidential candidate in 2008, has made several attempts to pass herself off as a “moderate.” On December 26, 2006, NewsMax.com reported that she had hired a consultant to help her reach out to religious conservatives. The article reported that “Clinton’s new hire is Burns Strider, an evangelical Christian who directs religious outreach for House Democrats and is the lead staffer for the Democrats’ Faith Working Group, headed by incoming Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina.” Many articles now speak of Clinton’s involvement in prayer groups, claiming that faith has always been important to her.

In a speech on June 28, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) urged liberals to recognize that many issues, including poverty, racism, and gang violence “are rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness—in the imperfections of man.” He urged that liberals need to appeal to religious sensibilities and recognize that “inner change” can solve many problems that government programs and policies cannot adequately handle.

Obama makes a few good points. Americans often expect the government to solve all of society’s problems, even when religious institutions and other private organizations are better equipped for the battles. Many conservatives ignore the spiritual implications of issues such as the economy, trade, and national security. Christians need to keep in mind that Jesus summarized biblical faith in two commands: to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). This biblical concept of love is broad and challenges us to promote human dignity throughout all phases of life, from conception until death. Such a perspective affects not only one’s views about abortion, pornography, and gay marriage, but also foreign policy, social justice, the economy, and virtually every issue in the political sphere.

However, we do not need politics cloaked in religious language. Abortion is murder; religious language is irrelevant unless it first acknowledges that the fetus is a living human being. We cannot justify gay marriage by baptizing it in pious talk about tolerance and acceptance. Religious language does not purify immorality. Usually, when socially liberal politicians speak of “reaching out” to values voters, they hope to foster “dialogue” and “tolerance.” However, moral absolutes demand decisive action, not dialogue.

Fortunately, Democrats do not dupe evangelical Christians often. When Sen. Clinton tried to defend amnesty for illegal aliens by claiming that our immigration laws would have criminalized Jesus Christ, many thought her to be a fool. Unfortunately, evangelical voters have not been as discerning when looking at the Republican Party. While some Democrats parrot religious lingo, Republicans vow to support traditional moral values but do not fulfill those promises.

In March 2005, Republicans at several levels of government made a series of impotent attempts to stop Florida resident Michael Schiavo from euthanizing his disabled wife, Terri. After an apparent ideological showdown between “pro-life” Republicans and activist judges, Mr. Schiavo was allowed to have her feeding tube removed. Congress seemed to be too busy discussing steroids in major-league baseball to worry about human life.

Since then, politicians have swept the debacle underneath the rug. Few, if any politicians, have sought ways to avoid repeating this episode in the future. Those who believe a pro-life administration gave its best effort need to realize that one of the judges who permitted this murder was William Pryor, an allegedly pro-life judge appointed by President Bush. Few legislators, if any, around the country have tried to address and correct loopholes in state legal codes that allowed this travesty.

As the death toll from abortion rises, Republicans claim that they cannot ban the barbaric practice without a constitutional amendment or a major change in the Supreme Court’s makeup. However, no such action is required. Several pro-life bills currently languish in House of Representatives’ subcommittees. The Right to Life Act (HR 552 IH), which would identify unborn children as “persons” under the Fourteenth Amendment, has 95 cosponsors. The Constitution Protection Act, submitted by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), would limit the jurisdiction of federal courts, prohibiting them from nullifying laws against abortion, gay marriage, or similar moral issues by declaring them unconstitutional. Either bill would provide a major step towards outlawing abortion, but Congressional leaders show no interest in bringing them up for a vote.

Values voters must accept some of the responsibility for this mess. Again, they may want to take a closer look at the Bible that many of them believe in. Ephesians 6:12 says that “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Essentially, this means that a Christian’s battle is not against other people or manmade groups, but against spiritual enemies. In the political realm, our battle is not so much against a particular organization (the Republicans or the Democrats) as against the forces of evil and injustice in our world. Values voters need to stand on a set of principles and refuse to compromise those values for the sake of a group.

The America First Party offers an alternative that values voters should seriously consider. Our party maintains a philosophy of “fighting for faith, freedom, and the Constitution.” We realize that our nation includes people from diverse religious traditions which should be respected. However, we fight for the traditional moral positions that matter to values voters. We stand for the principles that made America great, and we will fight to restore those values in society. We realize this is the only way to preserve essential human liberties.

The AFP is committed to protecting all human life (from conception until death), preserving the traditional family (based on marriage between one man and one woman), and defending the values that strengthened America throughout history. We realize that actions speak louder than words.

However, we realize that morality and righteousness extend beyond these issues. Moral values affect all of life. Judeo-Christian values require us to preserve and protect our people and our nation’s sovereignty, while respecting the right of other nations to do likewise. Our military has an obligation to protect our nation, not to mold other nations into America’s image or police the world. We believe our country should seek friendship with all nations (as much as it depends on us) while avoiding entangling alliances.

The evangelical Christian who expects proponents of the New World Order to establish a One-World Government (from which the antichrist may come) should appreciate our commitment to national sovereignty. Both the Democrats and Republicans pursue policies that support a one-world government.

As an outgrowth of our commitment to national sovereignty, we believe our nation’s economic policy should place the needs of American workers and families ahead of the desires of multinational corporations and foreign nations. The America First Party seeks right and fair trade, as opposed to free-trade agreements that place American workers at the mercy of corporate outsourcing.

Justice and equality before the law are also cornerstones of our platform. This extends to the belief that all men are created equal and special preference should not be granted to particular racial, ethnic, religious, or socioeconomic groups. The major religions in our country all oppose injustice and corrupt leadership, and so do we.

We seek to elect leaders who are guided by godly values—in thought, word, and deed. America needs leaders who will seriously take a stand for the inalienable human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We need leaders who will put America, and all Americans, first.