Conservative Columnist: "Religion Is Killing The Republican Party"

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, who received piles of hate mail during the Presidential campaign for questioning Sarah Palin's credentials, has written a column for the Washington Post which also seems likely to court internecine criticism. The piece, entitled, "Giving Up on God," makes a sustained argument that the GOP's courting of the religious vote above all has led the party dangerously astray.

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.

I'm bathing in holy water as I type.

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth -- as long as we're setting ourselves free -- is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

Keep reading.

Comments

[lj9283]

The Republicans formula worked well for them since 1994.
1. Create fear about your opponent.
2. Foster loathing about the electoral process.
3. Pander to religion (which is a well organized sub-culture in this nation able to motivate its members to vote).

This formula works until the opponent is able to educate the electorate that the fear is unfounded, that the electoral process works to the benefit of the voter, and that it is important to believe that there should be a separation of church and state. The Democrats did well with that this time.

I believe that the Republican Party believes they lost the election because they were unsuccessful with steps 1 and 2, and that if they can motivate the electorate to loath going to the voting booth on election day, they will win with that formula again.

It will be interesting to see how much push back from the Right, and the Religious block there is for an early voting requirement in all 50 States.

[BlueAsh]

I am really impressed with the intellectual honesty and courage of Kathleen Parker.

Now that we are discussing religion (aka Christianity) and the Republican Party, perhaps someone will take on a related, but equally thorny, issue: the "god test" of political candidates, specifically, the Christian threshold that all candidates must pass in order to be elected.

It seems that all candidates, left or right, must declare that they are men/women of faith, specifically, of the Christian faith. They must go to church (and make sure everyone knows about it), talk about god in their lives, and ask for blessings from god at the end of every speech.

People may think, given what happened to Obama during the campaign, that a Muslim will have a hard time getting elected to national political offices. It seems to me that a Muslim may have an easier path than an atheist.

Does one have to believe in a deity to run for office? Can an unabashed atheist ever be elected president?

[kothian1]

Unfortunately that has become a recent development. If I were to guess I would say that any "litmus testing" started up with Kennedy being a Catholic. Before that it was simply a given that people went to "Christian" churches, and Protestant at that. I found that "Saddleback debate" to be most disturbing this election cycle and wished that neither candidate would have elected to attend. But once McCain went, it would have been suicide for Obama not to put in an appearance. To my own view the Saddleback Church's tax-exempt status should have been revoked for sponsoring anything so overtly intended to sway the electorate or even inject religion into the political process.

[sammdphd]

I guess only the republicans and religious did not see this coming.

[j.gold]

good!

[genxlib]

Bless this woman for walking alone into the darkness. It is educational to go to townhall.com and read the comments to her articles lately. She is being eviscerated for her positions. It is also telling to see her main columnist page at townhall where it lists her past articles with readers ratings. She regularly recieved high marks (4 of 5) until the day she questioned Palin and has since consistenly recieved 1 of 5. I am guessing from the tone of the remarks that she would be given zeros if the option were available.

The GOP is in a for a dark period. Their unwillingness to change is not even their biggest flaw. It is the unwillingness to even hear opposing thoughts. Kathleen Parker is just one of many conservatives that are being pushed away for questioning Palin and the general direction of the GOP.

I, for one, would like to welcome Ms. Parker to the 21rst century. There is plenty of room for open-minded conservatives to take part in the debate.

[Querent]

Conservatives don't debate. They denounce, threaten, and ridicule. This may be because one has to be able to reason in order to debate. Also, "open-minded conservative" is a contradiction in terms.

Conservatism is not a political philosophy. It is a psychological attitude. It boils down to, "No, It's too dangerous." The most remarkable thing about conservative "principles" is the fact that they are disposable if disgarding them would benefit conservatives. Small government is the ideal, except we need new bureaucracies to supervise people's sex lives, prevent abortion, and wiretap every phone call. The budget should be balanced, except when Republicans have control of the government and spending can be made to exclusively benefit them. Fairness is required in politics except when it might prevent the conservatives from getting their way. Self-reliance is necessary except when the ones who need help are conservatives.

Conservatism is just a laughable collection of bromides designed to give the corporations and the religious nutbags unfair advantage in their public dealings. Less government regulation doesn't mean you, it means the corporate polluters who would rather give your children cancer than clean up after themselves.

Conservatism is a dead letter. It's one of those idealistic fantasies which have "never been tried", like Communism, in spite of the fact that Communists and Conservatives have ruled nations many times, all leading to disaster. These "political philosophies" evanesce as soon as they are introduced into reality. They can only exist in the twilight dreamscape of crackpot theory.

[zsxander567]

She's far from open minded. She's got 2 articles so far in the "open minded" column and about 800 in the "right wing nuttery" column.

[HoracePManure]

That's funny - I thought it was racism. Since the election I get more racists emails from conservatives than religious ones.

[Querent]

Jesus was White, you know. And Cain was cursed by God by being turned Black. Racism and fundamental religion go hand in hand.

[SporadicReader]

There is nothing in the Bible to suggest that skin color had anything to do with the mark God placed on Cain. Only in Mormonism is it suggested (Mormon Bible: Moses 7:22).

[LeiftheLucky]

Yeah. That religion stuff. What a crock. How dare President Elect Obama talk about his religion! And those Founders! What were THEY thinking eh?

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article4086.html

[flosfrnfool]

The founding fathers were almost all atheists, agnostics and deists.

[kothian1]

Typical conservative spin. The difference that they always gloss over is the one between "faith" and "religion". The Founding Fathers knew full well what raising one particular "religion" over another would lead to. In establishing the separation clause they made "faith" safe for all people from the dictates of one established "religion". The words "Church" and "Religion" refer to man-made establishments , establishments that have their own agendas, politics, laws and hierarchies. "Faith" refers to one's personal relationship with who he perceives to be his God. The Fathers indeed meant to deprive no one of their "faith", only to free them from the tyranny of the "Church".

[bluguy8]

and how many years has it taken to wake up to this. God , the GOP really is stupid

[Topfeeder]

Lord have mercy. They are just now figuring this out. No wonder they are losing elections, no awareness.

[jorge4u]

I have to tell you people. At this rate, Ms. Parker might end up needing security detail. Too many right-wing wackos out there.

[Querent]

Well, at least, for a change, their target will be one of their own.

[Scottnoanh]

I see quite a few posts that intimate the religious right is being played by the GOP. I personally don't think that's the whole story. I think the GOP started out playing them, and the tables have been turned.

Reagan opened the door to the "Moral Majority" (which I believe is neither). I don't think he could have ever foretold the cancer that the dominionists would become. The religous right invaded the DNA of the GOP, and the whole thing has mutated into a being doomed by these mutations.

I recommend reading the material at theocracywatch.org. This site chronicles quite extensively how the religious right has taken over the GOP, and the dangers that have resulted from it.

http://www.theocracywatch.org/

[ilovemycat]

Conservative Columnist: "Religion Is Killing The Republican Party"

YA THINK??!!!!!

[pup sydney]

Jettisoning "God" is only the beginning. Dowe have to go through the list of what the GOP is wrong about?

[Querent]

It's good to keep the list in mind, but nobody in the Republican party is listening.

[DJBrunner]

We need a viable second party, if nothing else to keep the Dems honest and see that they walk the walk so to speak. It is obvious that the mixture of true conservatives and the religious right isn't a working marriage.

The true conservatives need to break away from the GOP and form their own party, say the Conservative party. That move alone would ensure that the sick, fringe, divisive GOP would never again even get near the smell of 50% of the vote by combining with the true conservatives and ensure that their marginalization is complete.

The benefit to the Conservative party is that they would be a potentially attractive alternative to moderates and independents if the Dems weren't living up to their billing.

[youmustbejoking]

No what we need is a viable third party and that has never been more clear than in this election with the news folks determined to split their criticisms between the parties -- whether or not it was appropriate, and the parties skirting some issues and not addressing others. A fully supported third party candidate like a Ralph Nader for instance would have called Palin on her lack of credentials instead of 'leaving it up to voters'. Another thing, all kept pointing out there is no 'test' to be president. Well maybe there should be since not all is well - I mean not all candidates are grand state persons like the ones who started this whole thing! Even then, G. Washington doubted it would work which may yet prove to be true! I mean I can see Mexico from my yard! What a hoot!!!

[christianmama4change]

God is not a republican or democrat. That's the problem with the republican party - they believed they had a monopoly on God despite some policies going against His words. I respectfully believe God would be relieved if Republicans stopped hijacking his name for political gain.

[lifeOFgraditude]

I agree with you. The Republican party has been using the Lord's name in vain for years now. And it needs to stop. Anybody running for a position in government should leave their religion out of it. It's a JOB!!!!!! Being a Christian or any other denomination should not be a prerequisite for any office of government.