Some evangelicals in Republican Party are feeling left out, see no standard-bearer

[CaseyJones]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/some-evangelicals-in-republican-party-are-feeling-left-out-see-no-standard-bearer/2014/08/16/77c380e8-224e-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html


Perched on the edge of his chair in a study overflowing with books, Pastor Gino Geraci reels off the Republicans he no longer believes in. His friend Mike Huckabee is an “odd bird” who couldn’t win a general election. Sarah Palin doesn’t inspire him with her “cliched responses to difficult questions.” Rand Paul is “fascinating but frustrating.”

Of all the Republicans weighing a bid for president in 2016, the only one who puts a smile on Geraci’s face is doctor-turned-conservative-media-darling Ben Carson. And yet, Geraci concedes, Carson is “not in the mainstream” and has little chance of ever being elected.

The assessment from Geraci, the founding pastor of Calvary South Denver, a sprawling evangelical church with several thousand congregants, reflects a broader sense of despair among white evangelicals about the Republican Party many once considered their comfortable home.

Many social conservatives say they feel politically isolated as the country seems to be hurtling to the left, with marijuana now legal in Colorado and gay marriage gaining ground across the nation. They feel out of place in a GOP increasingly dominated by tea party activists and libertarians who prefer to focus on taxes and the role of government and often disagree with social conservatives on drugs or gay rights.

[Smitty]

What does the pastor want the GOP to focus on?

[Smitty]

Never heard of the man,...but a google search of his name turned up this.

http://www.ijn.com/ijn-news/local/4836-rally-for-israel-at-state-capitol-

I could have guessed.

[Occam's Banana]

They feel out of place in a GOP increasingly dominated by tea party activists and libertarians who prefer to focus on taxes and the role of government and often disagree with social conservatives on drugs or gay rights.

... yeah, 'coz, you know, "drugs" or "gay rights" got nuthin' to do with "the role of government" ... :rolleyes:

[thoughtomator]

They can form their own party if they don't like the direction the emerging leadership is taking.

I even found an appropriate domain name available for them to use.

http://who.is/whois/theofascism.org

[RM918]

I really wish people could just understand that your beliefs don't need to be forced upon everyone else at the barrel of a gun. You can be against the idea of gay marriage in your religion so long as your churches aren't forced to do or recognize the ceremonies and you can be against drugs by not doing them yourself without having to throw people in jail for doing them. I hear things like 'integrity' and people worrying about the character of America, but you can't force integrity on people who don't have it and you can't force character into a group of individuals who doesn't want it. People are going to be gay and do drugs whether you threaten to throw them in a cage or not.

[acptulsa]

I really wish people could just understand that your beliefs don't need to be forced upon everyone else at the barrel of a gun. You can be against the idea of gay marriage in your religion so long as your churches aren't forced to do or recognize the ceremonies and you can be against drugs by not doing them yourself without having to throw people in jail for doing them. I hear things like 'integrity' and people worrying about the character of America, but you can't force integrity on people who don't have it and you can't force character into a group of individuals who doesn't want it. People are going to be gay and do drugs whether you threaten to throw them in a cage or not.

Thing is, the fedgov is supposed to be blind to all that, but then it encourages (demands?) insurance companies give special rates to married couples and gives tax breaks to companies that provides couples with insurance, and it gives special tax status to married couples its own self. So, it's discriminating against the unmarried, and that includes those who are unmarried because they're gay.

In short, this would not be an issue were it not for various things that happen, and the fedgov makes most of those things happen. So, people's perception that the fedgov is the enemy of discrimination, carefully cultivated over the last half century, is completely false. The Masters of Divide and Conquer bring these issues to a head and then capitalize on them.

It would be laughable were the bastards not making such pains in the ass of themselves that way.

[Kotin]

They shouldn't feel left out.. They should just stop supporting legislating morality.. I support most Christian values and would love to see them do private campaigns of education and awareness to get people to listen to their ideas instead of forcing them on everyone. Social cons need to give up on legislative morality or else they should not be taken seriously and should be left out of the discussion.