Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Conservative Pundit: God is what's wrong with Republicans

GOP should be 'giving up on God'

Nationally syndicated conservative columnist Kathleen Parker believes that the Republican Party's recent election woes can be summarized as "Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D."

In her latest column, "Giving Up on God", Parker cautions Republicans not to "overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit."

Writes Parker, "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."

After Obama's election, "like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white and Christian," she continues.

"Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely comprised of white, married Christians," observes Parker. "Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can't have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting."

Continues Parker, "It isn't that culture doesn't matter. It does. But preaching to the choir produces no converts. And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party -- and conservatism with it -- eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one's heart where it belongs."

After calling for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to quit the race in a September 29 column entitled "How Palin can save McCain," Parker revealed that she received hate mail from angry right-wingers.

"Only Palin can save McCain, her party and the country she loves," Parker had written. "She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first. Do it for your country."

Two days later, Parker wrote, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traitor and an idiot. Also, my mother should have aborted me and left me in a Dumpster, but since she didn't, I should 'off' myself. Those are just a few nuggets randomly selected from thousands of e-mails written in response to my column suggesting that Sarah Palin is out of her league and should step down. Who says public discourse hasn't deteriorated?"

Undoubtedly, Parker's e-mail box will fill up with angry invectives, threats, and, perhaps, prayers for her soul. And the same right-wing bloggers that claimed to have never heard of her before her infamous Palin column will most probably again blog ignorance.

2 comments:

  1. Giving up on god won't save the Republican Party. Too late for that. The Democrats have shifted so far to the right that the only difference between the two parties is that Democrats don't push for the oogedy-boogedy evangelical issues.

    Secular issues: budget (both now want to cut), healthcare (not enough Democratic support to pass, and there are Republicans who want it, so they're about even), military (both want to spend), social problems (the Democrats went along with Bush's "you're on your own" policies), drugs (both parties have bought into the "War on Drugs")

    Religious issues: gay marriage (Democrats don't care, Republicans do), abortion (Democrats don't care, Republicans do)...

    Basically, if the Republicans give up on religion, they will lose any member who actually pays attention to the issues. Admittedly, most Republicans seem to care more about victory than substance, but they can't afford to lose MORE people.

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  2. I'll be the last one to say that there's any significant differences between the two parties. However, the minor differences on focus are important. The Republican focus on gay marriage, stem cells, and even abortion has been largely rendered irrelevant by voters who suddenly realize that the economy sucks, health insurance is too expensive, etc...

    In short, Democrats won this election by focusing on immediate, tangible differences, however slight they may be. The Republicans have been forced, by the evangelical wing, to put such intangible issues ahead of real problems, and that's part of what's been driving their electoral defeat.

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