Rick Warren is NOT Change We Can Believe In

Rick Warren has gotten more than his share of attention over the last week since Barack Obama announced that he would give the invocation at the inauguration. Not surprisingly, this has spurred a lot of conversation about whether Obama is just trying to be inclusive of those who opposed him in the election or whether the president-elect is pandering to those whose votes he'll want in 2012.

It's hard for me to find room in my heart or my brain for the inclusiveness argument. People don't like to use the word, but "bigot" seems to fit the way Warren operates. When it comes to religion, it's his way or the highway; his version of intolerance declares that some of my family members are going to hell. And Warren isn't exactly embracing the gay community. Does Barack Obama really want this guy standing up there representing him on the first day of Camelot II?

Aside from the members of my family that Rick Warren thinks aren't worth "saving," I also have family who are more like Warren than I care to think about. I've had to look that face of intolerance in the eye and have been told that I'll be prayed for because my family is different from the one version of family many evangelicals believe in. I don't need that kind of prayer and I don't want to see that faux tolerance staring back at me on the morning of January 20, 2009.

Reaching out to others is admirable and I get what Obama is trying to do. But extending a hand to those who pretend to be your friends and who will pull the carpet out from under you if it's to their benefit is risky and naive. When we're young and innocent, it's hard to tell one type of "friend" from another. We've all been there and have regretted putting our faith in someone we thought was a friend, only to learn their true opportunistic character. I expect my president, at the age of 47, to be able to tell the difference.

Of course, while we're all focusing on the Warren Trojan Horse, the Bush administration is doing it's stealth thing by taking away rights women have for health care providers to do their jobs without inserting religion into the mix. You're not hearing a lot about that on the news, and I suspect the Sunday shows will continue to be filled with more debate about The Purpose Driven pastor than the efforts of Bush to toss women back into the dark ages of reproductive care with a little something called the Medical Conscience Rule, which would allow doctors and nurses and other health care providers to refuse to provide full reproductive medical care or information if it conflicts with the provider's religious beliefs.

The funny thing is this -- Warren and his millions of followers are on board with this change, as well. So can we really expect that President Obama will do his utmost to reverse these last-minute changes when they're supported by the ones he's giving high profile props to on Inauguration Day?

We all know the worn out phrase "the more things change the more they stay the same." If Obama's current version of change looks like Rick Warren, I don't want it if it means that those of us who want a tolerant society that respects all people must wait while our new president reaches out to those who laugh at such an idea.

Joanne Bamberger is a writer and political commentator in Washington, D.C. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the political blog, PunditMom, and is also a Contributing Editor for Politics & News at BlogHer. Her commentary has also appeared on CNN, Fox News, BBC Radio & XM Radio POTUS '08, among others.

Follow Joanne Bamberger on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PunditMom

Comments

[Coinyer101]

you wont find 'change' in the center of the political spectrum.

[DHC]

Ms. Bamberger,

Thank you for opening my ears to the other side of this story. I've been coming at it from a gay rights perspective but as you so aptly point out, Rick Warren is mad dog rabid on other "social" issues as well, mainly abortion rights. Before one talks with an enemy, one must set the ground rules but not the outcome -- I paraphrase -- Obama said it himself. I don't believe any ground rules have been set for Rev. Rick Warren.

[JimR]

Actually, many evangelicals don't like Warren because he believes the church should spend much less time and effort pushing its social agenda and more time combating poverty, AIDS and illiteracy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28354114/

[jhNY]

Barney Frank, maybe as recently as yesterday, said something to the effect that Obama overvalues his ability to charm. So did Clinton. But unlike Clinton, Obama seems certain of himself essentially, and probably won't keep doing over-backwards bending after his adversaries prove ungrateful, which is when he will become more of a fighter for what he believes is important, and less of an accomodator to his political enemies. What that means for the furtherance of gay rights during his term in office, I cannot say.

[ballsmuch]

Yeah, 200 years from now when children learn ready about the Obama Presidency in history books, they will read that Pastor Rick Warren was the face of his presidency because he did the invocation at this inauguration

[JimR]

Exactly!

[sbenouna]

"When it comes to religion, it's his way or the highway"

Aren't progressives doing the very same thing? Aren't we essentially saying to Obama "surround yourself only with progressiv­es/liberal­s or we will be outraged and post hundreds of blogs expressing our outrage and disappointment."

I see a lot of phony and hypocritical arguments when it comes to the Warren issue. My parents absolutely adore Rick Warren, and for the first time in their lives are being forced to pause and consider the implications of one of their beloved evangelical heros sharing a stage with "the enemy." Half the country didn't vote for Obama because they believe what Warren preaches. How shrewd of Obama to shove Warren in their faces on inauguration day.

[JohnFromCensornati]

More blurring of the Republican & Democratic parties. There really isn't much difference. The Dems will continue to fund W's wars, they've already signed on to the police state legislation, and they've led the way on handing over trillions of dollars to the corporations to "rescue" us. Now, the Dems are interested in pulling the anti-choice, anti-gay mega-church crowd into the fold.