Evangelical Christian right is coalescing around Rick Santorum presumably due to his solid-right “social values” but also let's kick some ass foreign policy positions. He is anti-gay and anti-choice. He stated he is in favor of profiling Muslims at the airline ticket counter. He is prepared to bomb Iran nuclear facilities, does not endorse global environmental agreements and gives Israel’s pro-settlement politicians a carte blanche. Bob Vander Platts, Head of the Evangelical-right “Family Leader” defined his support for Santorum on yesterday’s (December 30, 2011) National Public Radio (NPR): “Well, first of all, we're very sold on Rick Santorum with his core values, his convictions. We believe we can trust him. We believe he's a man of integrity. And even people who disagree with him about his conclusions on issues, they don't find him disagreeable. We also believe he has a great vision for this country. He was kind of Tea Party before Tea Party was cool.” Mr. Vander Plats may think it is cool to promote religious, gender and/or sexual orientation discrimination– a few decades ago it was also OK to put Blacks, Catholics etc in their place. However, what is even more hypocritical is how some, and I emphasize some, like Bob Vander Platts have come to their endorsement. They were happy to support Herman Cain, or Rick Perry, or Michelle Bachmann, or Newt Gingrich regardless of inconsistencies with the social values agenda in personal life. What mattered is what they said – not how they lived it seems. Not Enough that Obama Great Family Man: Asked during the NPR interview why so many of the Evangelical right hate Barak Obama, Vander Platts claimed it was not hate: “I happen to respect and admire President Obama and his wife, Michelle, for their marriage to one another, as well as being a great example of raising their two young daughters. That's why I respect and admire President Obama. Where I have a disagreement with President Obama is in his policies. He's had a very mixed bag of policies as it relates to Israel. He won't defend the Defense of Marriage Act. He won't stand up for one man, one woman marriage, the universal health care. I just believe a lot of things are at risk in regards to our faith, our family and our freedom under President Obama.” Support for Israel as “Family Values” Principle? Not certain what about Obama's universal health care or not enough support for Israel might have to do with "family values" and thus disqualify Obama the exemplary family man. (Regardless one’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian divide, it is difficult to see how support for Israel or the Palestinians constitutes a family oriented value). Also, I suspect as with many Christian religious zealots, supporting Israel is less about supporting Jewish and more about being anti-Muslim. It is part of the mythology of the coming of the end of the world triggered by religious war in the Middle East. The narrative is elaborate depending on the preacher but it has several common threads: damnation of all non-believers (although Jews will have one final chance to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before plunging into Hell), and bringing about the Rapture (by which all Christians who believe in Christ as the Son of God) avoid mortal death and are transported to the Heavenly Kingdom. Sin of Defining Politics in Terms of Religious Mythology: It is dangerous to formulate foreign policy on the divinely ordered inevitability of global conflict, especially where the end of the world is almost desirable, a necessary precondition to coming of God’s kingdom on Earth. Don’t quite understand how this theology-politics is different from presumably Islamic theology inspired suicide bombers who receive their reward of “77 virgins.” If we define Christianity or Judaism or Islam on the basis of its zealots inspired by a view of their faith as giving God’s license to kill the other, it is dangerous politics as well as bad theology. Whether Rick Santorum is a nice guy, I cannot describe him separately from policies which implicitly/explicitly give license to discriminate Americans and hate on basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or physical disability and as such condemn some who do not fit his criteria to second class status or worse. This is fundamentally “disagreeable” with the notion of America as an open and multi-ethnic society. Santorum takes a softer line on certain types of immigration because he personally comes from an immigrant family. Does that mean that Rick Santorum would be a “nice guy” toward a gay sister or Muslim brother-in-law? Previous Articles in Series: “Will This Man be America’s Next President?” ---Rick Perry: - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-rick-perry-by-ambassador-mo/43150 ---Ron Paul: - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-ron-paul-by-ambassador-mo/42293 ---Newt Gingrich: - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-newt-gingrich-by-ambassador-mo/42017 ---Michele Bachmann: - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-wo-man-be-americas-next-president-by-ambassador-mo/37716 ---Mitt Romney: - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-mitt-romney-by-ambassador-mo/36388 ---Herman Cain - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-by-ambassador-mo/36191 ---Governor Chris Christie - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-by-ambassador-mo/35821 ---Barak Obama- diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/will-this-man-be-americas-next-president-photo-tells-the-story-by-ambassador-mo/35210 ---"Protecting Brand America" - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/protecting-brand-america-by-ambassador-mo/41719 ---"The Un-warrior - Return of the Jedi Ron Paul" - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/the-un-warrior-return-of-the-jedi-ron-paul-by-ambassador-mo/43121 By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey



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