Evangelical Protestants and the GOP

[Kidlicious]

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. So that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life.

[Dr Strangelove]

As Barnabas said, "Mainline Protestant" tends to refer to Anglicans and such, who

A. Aren't all that lively in terms of membership and
B. Tend to lean left anyway, i.e. aren't a concern during the primaries.

Santorum just said what I would imagine the majority of Evangelicals are privately thinking anyway. Also, Romney, as a Mormon, is incapable of old-school GOP Jesus-fu. Jumping on it will only remind the base that he's not one of them.

The problem with Santorum's strategy is that regardless of what their clergy espouse most American Roman Catholics come closer to sharing their political philosophy with "mainline Protestants" than Fundies/Evangelical.

[Barnabas]

That is true

[Elok]

The problem with Santorum's strategy is that regardless of what their clergy espouse most American Roman Catholics come closer to sharing their political philosophy with "mainline Protestants" than Fundies/Evangelical.

True, and that may well come back to bite him in the arse in the general election; however, he was never likely to win the actual presidency, and heavy-duty evangelical handjobbing could at least get him to the nomination. Certainly Romney's not poised to get anything out of it.

[Dr Strangelove]

Seriously, Boris, I can't fathom how that quote could hurt Santorum in the primary. A "Mainline Protestant" is somebody with a lesbian bishop.

EDIT: Also, Santorum's Catholic. By praising the Protestant foundations of the country (real or imagined) he was actually pandering to Evangelicals, not bashing them. The message was "I know I'm not one of you, technically, but I totally dig what you did there."

It was however clearly a slap to the face of "mainline Protestants". Does Santorum have such a huge lead that he can afford to alienate an entire segment of the population? "Evangelicals" account for somewhere between 1/2 to 2/3 of the nation's Protestants who in turn account for about 1/2 the voting population. How smart is it to make a sweeping generalization against a sizeable portion of the electorate?

[Hauldren Collider]

Kid's avatar is tempting me to get an I <3 Satan avatar.

[Aeson]

I doubt it would matter in the general election. Voters would have to remember it for months and months all the while not getting distracted by the latest shiny object or talking point, and that is clearly too arduous a task for our nation.

[Aeson]

Plus Obama is a Muslim to many of these evangelicals, and has Rev Wright in his past for the more progressive ones to shudder at. He can't really play the religion card.

[Boris Godunov]

Seriously, Boris, I can't fathom how that quote could hurt Santorum in the primary. A "Mainline Protestant" is somebody with a lesbian bishop.

EDIT: Also, Santorum's Catholic. By praising the Protestant foundations of the country (real or imagined) he was actually pandering to Evangelicals, not bashing them. The message was "I know I'm not one of you, technically, but I totally dig what you did there."

Uh, no. "Mainline" Protestants includes Methodists, who tend to vote GOP. It's not just lesbian-loving Episcopalians as you portray it.

[Kidlicious]

Uh, no. "Mainline" Protestants includes Methodists, who tend to vote GOP. It's not just lesbian-loving Episcopalians as you portray it.

We methodists are also lesbian-loving. However, methodists are a pretty mixed bunch politically.

[Proteus_MST]

They'll overlook that as long as the candidates promise to shove Christianity down people's throats. But how do non-Christians vote Republican?

It is easy...
they have to go to a voting booth that uses Diebold voting machines and vote for a republican or non republican candidate

[Elok]

Uh, no. "Mainline" Protestants includes Methodists, who tend to vote GOP. It's not just lesbian-loving Episcopalians as you portray it.

While the UMC is the single largest group traditionally identified as "mainline," it is also the only large bloc that consistently favors conservative positions AFAICT, and its members number a little more than one third of the group as a whole. They're not peanuts, I grant you, but the larger trend is liberal, and less than 8 mil isn't enough for Santorum to lose sleep over, even if they're all active GOP primary voters.

[Dr Strangelove]

Furthermore Episcopals include some of the most conservative people in the US. Traditionally the Episcopal church in the US has been THE church of the wealthy. JD Rockefeller was a Baptist, but his descendants were Episcopals. The Roosevelts were Episcopals, the Melons are Episcopals. It's like Santorum just told the traditional power base of the GOP to go **** off.

Oh, and for those of you who can't resist intimating that PECUSA's female Presiding Bishop is a lesbian, I suggest you take that up with her husband, an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the Untied States Air Force.

[kentonio]

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. So that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life.

Except that he didn't have a son did he, it was actually supposed to just be another manifestation of him really. How could a supernatural creator have a son, that makes no sense. Who was the mother? The holy spirit? If it was god himself, then what does getting crucified mean to a supernatural creator figure? He make the world but getting nailed to a peice of wood was some great endurance?

Doesn't it seem at all weird that Jesus was so insistent about people worshiping him rather than just worshiping god? That's standing out for me a lot recently, the more I read about other 'prophets' oddly enough..

[Barnabas]

Christians spent the first 700 years of Christianity arguing about the nature of Christ. Read about the Ecumenical Councils, Nestorianism, Arianism etc