But I digress. Thanks to Carlos, I find this editorial from former Senator Danforth--who I never really liked when he was in office. Now I miss him. He seems far more moderate than anything the GOP can offer now. Like Alan Simpson, (who thinks that the religious right are all nuts) he represents a dying breed of conservative moderate. Anyway, he has some things to say.
"People of faith have the right, and perhaps the obligation, to bring their values to bear in politics. Many conservative Christians approach politics with a certainty that they know God's truth, and that they can advance the kingdom of God through governmental action. So they have developed a political agenda that they believe advances God's kingdom, one that includes efforts to 'put God back' into the public square and to pass a constitutional amendment intended to protect marriage from the perceived threat of homosexuality.
Moderate Christians are less certain about when and how our beliefs can be translated into statutory form, not because of a lack of faith in God but because of a healthy acknowledgement of the limitations of human beings. Like conservative Christians, we attend church, read the Bible and say our prayers.
A good articulation, I think, of the differences.
But for us, the only absolute standard of behavior is the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Repeatedly in the Gospels, we find that the Love Commandment takes precedence when it conflicts with laws. We struggle to follow that commandment as we face the realities of everyday living, and we do not agree that our responsibility to live as Christians can be codified by legislators.
Yeah, this seems lost in the conservative mantra. Loving our neighbors as ourselves is important. for all of us. But the conservatives want the harshness of the OT emphasized rather than the words of Christ. He also mentions a lost virtue--humility--that we are hard pressed to find from the Dobsons, Mohlers, Robertsons, or Delays.
And here, he has some strong words for the impact the Religious Right has had on our political landscape:
In the decade since I left the Senate, American politics has been characterized by two phenomena: the increased activism of the Christian right, especially in the Republican Party, and the collapse of bipartisan collegiality. I do not think it is a stretch to suggest a relationship between the two. To assert that I am on God's side and you are not, that I know God's will and you do not, and that I will use the power of government to advance my understanding of God's kingdom is certain to produce hostility.
17 comments:
Boy, I never thought i'd see the words grown up, christian, and conservative used in the same sentance!
me too
Alan Simpson is a nut case wack job.
He is a brooding, seething, fuming bitter wind bag, who sucks off of Dick Cheney's evil power.
Why do you even put Simpson in the same paragrpah as Christians.
Some Satanic worship.
Al Simpson had a grandfather who was a killer.
May the Simpson family burn in hell, they are anti real Christian.
Alan Simpson is an evil man, and
America is his worst nightmare.
Democracy is standing up to people like Alan Simpson and his whore Cheney.
Simpson was ranting to the New York Times that Cheney is not brooding over his convict felon buddy Scooter Libby.
Cheney failed to get a pardon for convict felon Libby.
These pervs caused great hate towards America by their insane antics.
They are no friends to the true American traditions.
Now Cheney is seeing more mucshroom clouds in his demented mind like he is constantly dropping LSD.
As John Perry Barlow, some acid head ex buddy of Cheney noted Chney is the most dangerous man on earth, a sentiment echoed by the VP, Joe Biden.
Cheney is not a real religious man he just conned religious people like some snake in the grass.
Most Ironic, Cheney and Simpson were using religion as a pretext to seek to appoint Al Simpson's former assistant to the U S Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Simpson and Cheney were pushing William Meyers to be on that court(even a Bush White House Web site was used in the political fight on matters). His nomination was rejected by the U S Senate. During the process Simpson engaged in a rabid attack on the entire Ninth Circuit like it was filled with crazy persons, those so called liberal sorts, as if they had an axe out to butcher the U S Constitution. Simpson pointed to the pledge case, in which an atheist objected to the words "under God" in the words of the pledge, added to the orgional oath(pledge). The 9th Circuit ruled those words were objectionable. Al Simpson grabbed on to that to lambast the entire 9th Circuit, to push his former assistant.
As noted the Senate rejected William Meyers and found he was unfit to be on the court pointing to his record of undermining the enforcement of U S laws while in the Dept of Interior, as some high solicitor in D C.
Simpson and Cheney have not hesitated to use God politics to move their political agenda.
Simpson even attacked the lead U S General over Iraq matters, when he expressed an opinion on gays.
So, who is this God of Simpson, is it the same God of the guy who started the church he belongs to that chopped women's heads off, in some divorce deals in England.
Is that Al Simpson's God, and if you don't adopt his God, does that make you some lesser American ?
Al Simpson is a bully, he cares little about civility in public discourse, his antics on the Meyers matters showed he tried to push some politicl hack down the throat of America, and he used his God politics in a disgraceful way.
Now, Simpson is trying to gloss over the pathetic tantrums of Cheney when Bush( # 43) did not pardon the convict Libby, who was the liar involved in obstruction of justice, as Cheneys Chief of Staff. He gets a lot of New york Times space to spin his bull, his moves to put a cap on the fuming antics of Cheney that showed a big rift with Bush. By the way, I don't object to the enscription of God on coins, or in some pledge, but I don't take that to mean that my vision of God is the same as 300 million other Americans. Al Simpson worships raw power, and in doing so he plays people as suckers misusing his God stuff, as if he things all Christians are gullible.
How this man ever got elected in Wyoming, and reamined elected for so long is quite amazing. Is it something to do with that outlaw culture in Wyoming, that fast draw, the killer wins, no questions asked, and the Cattle f Barons from royality win, and that was how he got his abusive power.
He misused his power, and most can now see that in how he played off of Cheney.
That duo badly hurt the Presidency of former President Bush, and more and more Christians are now seeing that.
So will history, as it comes out, too
Alan Simpson has a thing against Fred Phelps( a precher in Kansas), and used a lot of P R to attack him, so as to generate P R for the Simpson publicity machine. Mr Phelps, a former lawyer who practiced civil rights law) was debarred for his mistretment of a wintess in a court proceeding( a court reporter), and this is what is found on wikpedia
"The trial became an exhibition of a personal vendetta by Phelps against Carolene Brady. His examination was replete with repetition, badgering, innuendo, belligerence, irrelevant and immaterial matter, evidencing only a desire to hurt and destroy the defendant. The jury verdict didn't stop the onslaught of Phelps. He was not satisfied with the hurt, pain, and damage he had visited on Carolene Brady.[26"
Gee, that sounds just like the conduct of Alan Simpson towards Anita Hill in the Senate, and his disgraceful antics against Anglea Wright, another former federal employee, who was black.(who Simpson threatned if she testified in effect by the antics, and some in the Senate wondered why she(Ms Angla Wright) was not allowed to testify in live testimony, a personal appearance in the U S Senate.
At least Fred Phelps has a record of civil rights(as an attorney) seeeking to help black people against the ravages of their being disenfrachised as Americans.(civil rights violations) You will find no such court cases where Al Simpson stood up in court for some poor black person--in a court.
But, since Simpson was in the U S Senate he got away with the same kind of misconduct that resulted in Fred Phelps being debarred.
By, the way, the misconduct of Fred Phelps harrasing people at funerals, as to U S military men is despicable( and enflicts vast pain on the families of service people). How he became so unbalanced in this area is sad.
That is a tragic story of how he(Fred Phelps) got off track, dislodged from good reason. He used to taek on Klan like forces, then something happned in his life that made him lose perspective.
Like Cheney, Scooter Libby was a draft evader during Viet Nam
Seems Al Simspon has a thing for being a support group for convicted felons , in Washington D. C as long as they held a lot of vast power.(at the high temples of POWER in D. C)
Power and its misuse is what Alan Simpson worships, he panders to power.
Jesus got in trouble---with corrupt power-- when he kicked the money changers out of the temple.
Al Simpson is the face of corrupt power gone mad in America. His pious blather for the NY Times is
an indication of the depths of his hypocracy. He was stripped of his Whip position in the GOP, because some in the GOP party found him unsuited to be in that high leadership position in the GOP.
He then quit the Senate, and became a D. C lobbyist, with a frim that carries the coal for the powerful corporations that so operate in the money temples of D. C power. And he of course panders to the NY Times, for his P R machines, and big oil
Al Simpson is a real hunter, boasts of his gun handling abilities, did so from the time of his conviction in Wyoming, when his dad was the Governor of Wyoming, were he was fed on power from his early days(his many chances AL).
He claims he is a God fearing man who is in the forefront of gay rights(for a political agenda for
the power pursuits)
He puts gay rights as a big priority, so much so he attacked General Pace,(oped all over the papers in the USA) who was leading the war effort in Iraq.
Cheney is deep into gay rights, with his daugther. Cheney's press secretary, now with a NY network is big on gay rigths. Yes, the same Cheney who was the big draft evader, he decliend to get in the trenches with other men in America--during Nam.
Fine, but does Al Simpson believe others in American have rights.
Simpson is a big abortion supporter.
Fine, but when it came time for a black woman from the South(Ms Wright) being able to testify in the Senate hearings, all of a sudden , he saw a person who he accorded no real equal rights. He cursed her, using some cheap concocted lines from Othello, as fake and phoney, as an incident ever observed in D C , since the time slaves were sold on the streets of the Capitol
Anonymous, perhaps you could explain what your point is here, because I have no clue what you are talking about.
Perhaps you could explain your point in a few coherent sentences? Otherwise, maybe this isn't the blog for you.
Grown up, and clueless, and GOP Christian, and no meaning seen, no point, no tuning into the secular world.
OK, your temple, steak away
Wow. I am still confused. I have no idea what you are talking about. Sorry.
Politics, religion, and power, mix it up and it
proudces a lot of contradictions.
His Lordship, Al Simpson, attacks U S Generals,
U S Preschers, powerless federal emlpoyees,
defends convicted felons, like Scooter Libby,
does so from his Political GOP party
power connection to the ex V P,
and you want to pretrend cluelessness.
it is a fact, Scooter Libby is a convicted felonf
and you prenteding cluelessness will take
you where ? Holy GOP high priest Al Simpson
is not our God, we do not worship false idols.
you can believe you do not understand,
your belifs are yours.
however, if you do not understand,
that does nor remove Scooter Libby from
being a convicted felon.
Justice has its own drummer.
You are the one holding up Al Simpson, as some
paragon, with the dog chow king.
Perhaps, you care not to be informed
on some matters, after it is you who raised
the issues. Dog chow Danford has no
power to pardon Libby, Bush(W)
did the right thing in not pardoning Libby,
he does not need your approval
I found this particularly enlightening.
Wasn't the rich Purnia dog food heir, from St Louis,(Senator formerly), the one who was the God father of Clarence Thomas to put him on the U S Supreme Court.
And some of you call that a moderate Christan, given Simpson's antics in that matter. ?
Yes, Danford thinks he is holier than the rest, especially after he rubber stamped the DOJ misconduct when woman and childern were burned ---to death--in Texas, when Janet Reno assualted a church compound, near Waco.
What is this putting Danford and Simpson up on some high altar, as if their are the 3rd coming. ?
When Simpson, and Chneey got cross wise with Bush, over the decision of Bush(W) not to pardon Cheney, that was the roseta stone of matters, shining a light on those who tried to mislead the faith based community down a path to merely used them, and then betray them.
Me too.
Ok, Anon, you have said your piece--in response to a post I wrote OVER 3 YEARS AGO!
So I give. On whatever you are rambling about--I give. But please go away.
What is this claim on ownership of the faith( Christian faith), how can you own that Streak ?
And, second, what is this thing about moderate ones, who are high powered politicans, that is something, one is a moderate Christain if deep into GOP Power games ?
Gee, and then what about your claims on looking the other "way" ?
Is it you Streak who wants to look the other way, as some claimed owner of the faith ?
By, the way, you make a good point on the Delay guy, who was an exterminator of pests before.
Now, are you acting just like him, you find some who do not meet your political profile as American citizen--enough of a citizen under you dogma based screens ?
That is what TOM Delay was all about, he was constantly claiming he never understood Americans, who pay taxes, etc. There is not a dimes worth of difference between Delay and Simpson, except Simpson may be more of a manipulator, Looks like he really spun you, Streak, oh did he ever ! Is moderate in your book, connected to power of a GOP party clique.
Hey, you are the one who keeps rasing more issues.
Yeah, I keep raising issues in the present. I can't even remember what this post was about.
I am not sure I want to be lectured on the faith by someone who can decide who will burn in hell. But I tell you what. If you can figure out how to put together a coherent sentence on something more current than a 2005 post, we will talk.
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