I’m not surprised, but I am disgusted – Jerry Falwell has come out with a fundraising letter for his right wing organization that urges Americans to “Vote Christian”.
Whether you’re fond of Christianity or not, the threat implicit in this slogan ought to have you feeling uneasy. When Jerry Falwell says that Americans ought to Vote Christian, he’s putting the religious affiliation of a political candidate above all other factors.
Falwell is telling Americans to not vote according to a candidate’s qualifications and abilities. Falwell is telling Americans not to vote according to a candidate’s policy positions. Falwell is telling Americans not to vote according to a candidate’s character and honesty.
Jerry Falwell is encouraging Americans to vote for a Christian candidate any time a Christian is running against a non-Christian. It doesn’t matter to him if the Christian is an lying, incompetent, criminal – Jerry Falwell is for that candidate just because he’s a Christian.
That’s a recipe for splitting America apart along the lines of religion, encouraging the same hatred that led to hundreds of years of bloody civil wars in Europe. But even more than that, Falwell’s Vote Christian policy is just plain stupid. Now, more than ever, America needs qualified leaders with true moral integrity and the vision to take us beyond the playground politics that our current government has recklessly fostered. The fundamentalist extremists who have taken control of the Republican Party are so focues on their religious zeal that they seem not to care about giving America leaders who are actually qualified to do their jobs.
The soundtrack of a holy roller’s hymn won’t help us when we’re following leaders who don’t know where the heck they’re taking us. The plain incompetence encouraged by Jerry Falwell and his followers threatens to sink America into a swamp of ineptitude.
If we need to come up with election slogans, I say Vote Competence. Vote Intelligence. Vote Compassion. Vote Integrity. Vote Vision. Vote Liberty. If the candidate happens to be a Christian, well I guess that’s fine too, but it’s not going to determine the way that I vote.
Let’s see,now…Who could this leave us with in office if we follow ol’ Jerry’s instructions? Well, we could have four mopre years of Dubya. That li’l ol’ pesky Constitution is just an impediment to “good Christian thinkin’” now ain’t it? Or, we could have a homegrown version of Francisco Franco. Now HE knew how to take care of all those terrorists, didn’t he?…Or…well Heavens to Betsey! We could have ol’ Jerry Falwell his own self! Now wouldn’t that be nice??? (I hope the more literal-minded can hear my sarcasm dripping)
Kerry was a Christian, too. A church-every-Sunday type, even though he didn’t make a fuss about it…
But you’re right; it’s a new low! Just when we thought they were running out of plain stupid ways to go down…
what digusts me is that lying, incompetent, and criminal types the likes of jerry and georgie can get by calling themselves christians. christians aren’t supposed to be those things. i guess the rules changed for “new age” and “reborn” christians.
is jerry “new age” or “reborn”?
Randy, Christians are as Christians DO, not as Christians SAY they are.
Starty makes a good point. I have had many experiences with people of certain denominations that hold the notion of “deeds,not words” as formative points of their doctrine. And thank God they were there, as I was homeless at the time. Not one of the more Fundamentalist churches in the area would help me in any way at all. These folks did. They operate on the principle that “the beggar at the door could be the Savior in disguise”…I know that there are folks out there ready to make disparaging comments regarding their beliefs…whatever. They saved my ass at a time that nobody else would lift a finger. I can never forget those who went out of their way to help some poor shmuck who was living in a van and had no food..and, when I left, I had enough food for the next week, and an invitation to visit their food bank again any time …no religious prosetylizing, no preaching, just living the deal, as they saw it. Like I say, I never forget a good turn, and I seldom forget hypocricy when I encounter it. And, amongst the Fundies, I have seldom seen anything BUT hypocricy. Falwell’s latest shit is “just another brick in the wall”, as far as I’m concerned. I always have to ask myself if, since churches are excempt from taxes, why they are even PERMITTED to step into the political arena?
Well, they aren’t. Laws and stuff. But that hasn’t stopped the churches from plowing right ahead and doing it anyway. Who’s going to nab them for their lawbreaking —— the BUSH administration? As the immortal Sluggo used to say, “hardee har har.” Actually, Sluggo never said that, but it sounded good. It’s not as though truth matters anymore.
Caring about other people isn’t a religious thing at all; if anything a decline in religion seems to cause more altruistic behaviour (presumeably because what steps in to replace religion promotes seeing the human race as one big group, not various smaller ones).
It’s a shame people keep trying to use religion in relation to topics it has NOTHING to do with.
I just wish that the ones that think that Jesus is pronounced with three syllables, that he had blond hair and blue eyes, and his favorite place is America; wouldn’t drown out the real ones with a lot of loud bullshit and really nothing remotely resembling true “Christian teachings” acted out. Deeds… not words.
President Bush won by a landslide!!!! GET OVER IT!!! President Bush is the greatest president in history!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. So this is Republican reality. Winning with just 51 percent is winning in a landslide. Democracy is, to them, a form of government where people are to shut up and keep dissent to themselves. And then, the President who lies to the people in order to get them into a failed war is the greatest in history – greater than Abraham Lincoln or Washington.
Hm.
Anonymous, care to explain to us all how the slogan “GET OVER IT!” is going to help us ease the transition to theocracy?
NO, Anonymous..I will Not “Get over it” (ie:”Knuckle under”). I will speak out against Bush and his wannabe Fourth Reich through any media I can, for as long as I can…Or, at least, until I am silenced permanently by his evil minions, or “disappeared” by “independent contractors”…you know…The kinda shit your “Fuhrer” likes to pull on honest, true Americans. Actually, I heard Bill Lehrer say it best last night: the Republicans are drunk with power…and, boy, are they in for a helluva hangover!
You suggested that a good slogan for 2008 was “vote competence”. I thought of this too. But now I have an even better suggestion, for bumper stickers for example:
“Remember New Orleans? Vote Competence in 2008!”