The Cost of Paranoia September 1, 2010

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David Brody writes regarding Glenn Beck’s address in Washington:

There are going to be conservative Evangelicals who get caught up in the fact that Glenn Beck is a Mormon and they’ll be concerned that he’s up their preaching about God. They’ll say that his rhetoric may confuse people because he doesn’t view God the same way Evangelicals do. That’s true and valid but look, here’s the deal: Glenn Beck IS NOT your Senior Pastor. He’s not the Apostle Paul or Billy Graham even though Beck’s message on Saturday may have sounded like all three of them combined. If Glenn Beck went up there talking about the tenets of his Mormon faith, that would be one thing. If he started to whip out the Book of Mormon and started reading from the biography page of Joseph Smith then there would be a problem. But he didn’t. When he talked about God and Moses and the Apostle Paul, we Evangelicals know that he’s talking about the one true God: The God of the Bible. If others interpret it differently there’s nothing that can be done about that.

Glenn Beck did something very important this past weekend. He injected God directly into the equation. It is now part of the national discourse. He used his influential megaphone to give God the glory. And while Glenn Beck’s view of God may be different than that of Evangelicals don’t you think it’s about time someone with true influence stood up and wasn’t ashamed to say that putting God first in your life is the only way to real change? After Beck’s rally on Saturday, you can be sure that more people may start to inquire about who God really is. They really may start to search. Glenn Beck deserves credit for that. God can and will use anybody so that people will be drawn to him and If those folks who are searching for answers approach us, are we as Evangelical Christians ready with an answer? We better be.

Brody’s words are well-taken. In recent days, I’ve read some reports of people who got hung up about Beck’s Mormonism and the role it played in this weekend’s rally. I think such complaints show a lack of understanding of American history.

If you go back to the Founding era, you’ll find many men of disperate theological pursuasions who played a role in the country’s history. Benjamin Franklin, whose call to prayer at the Constitutional Convention has been read time and time again this year and also helped promote George Whitefield’s revival meetings that led to the first Great Awakening, was agnostic in terms of the divinity of Christ. There were certainly a large number of theological divisions among the Founders, even those who were Christians. Doubtless, I think it would have been possible to derail the Revolution if you’d got people to fight over predestination.

Throughout American history, it’s been the case that on every issue of  justice, that you’ve had a degree of inter-religious cooperation. Think the Underground Railroad with cooperation of other religious groups with Quakers. Or think of the Civil Rights movement and the involvement of Jews, Anglicans, Baptists, and others working together.

There are many important theological differences that can be discussed between a wide variety of groups. However, many of them have no relevance to public policy debates. Over the years, in political groups I’ve interacted with people who have very different theological perspectives but on our the samde side politically, whether its Jewish people, Catholics, Mormons, Calvinists, or Baptists, it’s quite a spectrum. It’s part of the reason I’ve stated that the threat of a theocracy is nothing more than a leftist boogeyman. A theocracy requires a single unifying theology, and it’s not to be found among religious conservatives. 

If there’s a uniting thought within religious conservatives, it is that God is the source of our rights, and that we are accountable to Him. Of course, I’ve seen many cases where some people just can’t handle dealing with people of other religious perspectives. The lady who recruited my family into our local pro-life group quit it because she became convinced that she couldn’t in a group that included Catholics. When I was starting a Teens for Life group, I’ll never forget calling up a Baptist Pastor who told me that the pro-life movement was nothing more than a Catholic plot to unite the church, and therefore he wouldn’t participate. I have to wonder if that pastor needed help pulling a drowning man out of the water whether he’d worry about the drowning rescue  being a Catholic plot.

To Reform Government, Reform the Culture First August 31, 2010

Posted by Adam Graham in : Politics , add a comment

My latest Pajamas Media piece is out:

Can all of America’s political problems be solved by returning to constitutional, limited government? The answer given by many conservatives and libertarians is a resounding yes. Reading the Founding Fathers, the answer would generate a more complex answer.

In the Federalist Papers, the authors dedicate considerable space to history’s failed experiments in self-government. John Adams wrote in 1798, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Read more here.

Taking on the Abortion Cartel (Saturday Links) August 28, 2010

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Virginia can regulate abortion clinics  (Hat Tip: Jill Stanek.)

Planned Parenthood undermines parental involvement laws.

Your tax dollars funding corrupt governments.

Immigration Protesters disrupt baseball game.

The Best Lead Ever August 22, 2010

Posted by Adam Graham in : Thought of the Day , add a comment

From a story about the Mayor of Pocatello breaking a tie to allow a man to keep his pet  pig:

Pocatello’s mayor has saved the bacon of a man’s pet potbellied pig.

He is the Great Pretender

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Yes, I know the above video was before my time, but it was a fitting inspiration for this week’s column.

Saturday Night Round Up August 21, 2010

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Susan Estrich joins Howard Dean in the “wingnut fringe”: After taking a knee jerk leftist position, Estrich actually thought about it and now opposes the Ground Zero mosque.

Religion of Peace: Egyptian Coptic blogger held for 2 years and beaten.  (Hat Tip: Persecution Blog.)

Religion of Peace cont’d: 4 Christian aid workers beheaded by Islamic extremists.  (Hat Tip: Persecution Blog.)

How’d that work out? A look at Portland’s light rail which was supposed to “pay for itself.”

Why Your Senator can’t Skype:  A case in point of why the government is not the best place to find

You Cannot Serve Two Masters: Christian Liberal group sojourner takes money from Soros and then dissembles about it.  (Hat Tip: The Corner.)

Planned Parenthood Aborts Affiliate: Planned Parenthood disaffiliates from Planned Parenthood Golden Gate.

Polish Abortion Advocates Lie: Why should it be different in Poland. Polish pro-abortion activists claimed that 10,000 women per year were travelling to England to get abortions. The actual number? 30.

Free Speech Rules the Day: A California school settles with a pro-life student for $50,000 for refusing to let her wear a pro-life t-shirt to school.  Lesson to schools: Let the students wear the t-shirts. (Hat Tip: Generation Life.)

Sexy Lies: Obama Adminstration blocks release of HHS study on Abstinence. (Hat Tip: Pro-Life Blogs.)

More Sexy Lies: The AP’s deceptive headlines on teen sex/schoolwork study.

What’s Next? Banning muskets?: The Obama Administration blocks South Korea from selling surplus rifles from the 1940s to the U.S..

Shameless:  Oklahoma City Bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols loses lawsuit complaining prison food violates his rights.

The Summer Time Boos: Jana Kemp’s War On The Poor August 15, 2010

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No cheers this week, just a few well-placed boos for Jana Kemp, the City of Boise, Jana Kemp, and even more.

Saturday Links August 14, 2010

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One employer explains why he’s not hiring.  (Hat Tip: Sister Toldjah.)

More stimulus waste on mass transit.

Anti-prayer lawsuit dismissed.

Two abortionists under investigation move from Kansas to New Mexico

Onward Christian healers: charity won’t leave Afghanistan.  

Broken families undermine girls’ self-confidence. (Hat Tip: Political Correctness Watch.)

The danger of sentimentality. (Hat Tip: Wizbang.)

The RINO Roars August 12, 2010

Posted by Adam Graham in : Idaho Conservative, The , comments closed

Back in June, I wrote a speculative piece, the type of thing that political writers write when there’s no actual news. I suggested  that it was possible that in a more conservative Senate, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Joe Stegner may not only be Assistant Majority Leader, but I also predicted that if he lost the spot of Assistant Majority Leader, he may leave the GOP for the Democrats. Today, a ticked off Stegner shot back in an interview with Idaho Reporter:

Stegner said that Graham’s assertions are “Based on nothing but conjecture,” and that “It’s a ridiculous speculation” by the blogger.  He said that Graham had no evidence when he posted his speculation and that no evidence actually exists to suggest a party-swap on his part.  ”I have no intention of changing parties and leaving the Republican Party,” concluded Stegner.

Of course, it was conjecture, by which I mean, it was an educated guess. However, for Stegner to be so up in arms about conjecture in political writing seems to be a case of the gentleman protesting too much.

And actually, Stegner’s response makes me think my hypothetical prediction (ie. If Stegner loses out on being Assistant Majority Leader, then he’ll become Senate Minority leader.)  For one thing, he used a favorite political weasel word. He said he didn’t intend to change parties. Sorry, Senator, I’m from Idaho and I know what it means politicians use the word “intend”:

On Sept. 1, Sen. Larry Craig told Idaho and the world he intended to resign Sept. 30.

We all know how that turned out. 

Let me tell you one thing that successful politicians never intend to do: lose. Senator Stegner  intends to be re-elected as Assistant Senate Majority Leader. So, the question of a back up plan is not even there.

But Stegner’s not given an ironclad committment that he’ll stay in the GOP no matter what. Just that he doesn’t intend to leave. He intends to be re-elected as Assistant Majority Leader and remain the most powerful left winger in the state of Idaho.

But what if that doesn’t work out? I don’t think he knows, and I think my prediction is a reasonable one.  That’s why he didn’t make a definitive statement like, “I’m a Republican and I will stay one. I will never switch parties under any circumstances.”

Even if Stegner makes a more definitive statement, I won’t buy it. Remember what Independent Senate Candidate Charlie Crist in Florida said when he was a Republican:

“I’m running as a Republican. I’m very proud to be from the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, others that really have stood up for our party, like Ronald Reagan. This is a great party. It has a great future. We have a great opportunity to win in November. It’s important that we put a candidate up that can win in November.”

(Q: So are you ruling out that you will file as an Independent by the April 30th deadline?)

“That’s right. That’s right. I’m running as a Republican

And Crist is now running as an Independent, which shows how much loyalty you can expect from politicians whose only reason for being part of  the party is to forward their own ambitions. And I should say that Charlie’s Crist had far more in common with the GOP prior to this year than Joe Stegner ever has.

Of course, this is all hypothetical. The only way we’ll find out what Stegner will do is for conservatives to win their Senate races and unite behind an Assistant Majority Leader who has more in common with mainstream Republicans than he does with mainstream Democrats. If that happens, we’ll find out whether I was right or wrong, and whether Stegner wants to be nothing more than 1 vote out of 27 or 28. 

And I sure hope we get the chance to find out.

The Proper Care and Feeding of the Homeless August 9, 2010

Posted by Adam Graham in : Christianity , comments closed

With a slow week for Idaho political news, I offer some thoughts on panhandler and the Boise Rescue Mission people encouraging people not to give to panhandlers.