Category: Politics

Faith and politics

Thoughts from several (possible) presidential candidates on faith and politics:

I tell people that my faith is my life. It defines me. I see no separation between my faith from my personal and professional lives. Real faith should make us humble and mindful, not to the faults of others but of our own. It should not make us more judgmental, but rather less judgmental, as we see others living a life with the same frailty we acknowledge within ourselves.
Hopefully, faith gives us strength in the face of injustice to our fellow man. I believe that our Nation was birthed in a spirit of faith – not a prescriptive one dictating how we are to believe or even that we are to believe, but a faith that acknowledges that there is indeed a providence that pervades our world. – Gov. Mike Huckabee

That is why, if we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at—to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own—then as progressives we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse. Because when we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations towards one another; when we shy away from religious venues and religious broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome—others will fill the vacuum, those with the most insular views of faith or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.
In other words, if we don’t reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, then the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons and Alan Keyeses will continue to hold sway.
More fundamentally, the discomfort of some progressives with any hint of religion has often prevented us from effectively addressing issues in moral terms. If we scrub language of all religious content, we forfeit the imagery and terminology through which millions of Americans understand both their personal morality and social justice. Imagine Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address without reference to “the judgments of the Lord,” or King’s “I Have a Dream” speech without references to “all of God’s children.” Their summoning of a higher truth helped inspire what had seemed impossible and move the nation to embrace a common destiny. – Sen. Barack Obama

Watch Barack Obama’s speech

My faith has been my salvation. I went through a very rough experience in my life many years ago and the only why reason I’m here today is because of the faith that I had in a greater being who sustained me at times when I was under most difficult stress. My faith has been my anchor and my guide. I am proud and unashamed to tell people that. I don’t advertise it. Maybe I should. But the fact is that the only reason I’m here today is because I believe that a higher being has a mission for me in my life, a reason for me to be here. Now that doesn’t mean that he wants me to be elected or not but it does mean that I have a purpose. And that purpose I believe is to live a life based on Judeo-Christian principals and honor and integrity. – Sen. John McCain.

America’s leadership role in the world has grown out of our compassion and moral strength, as well as our unparalleled economic and military strength. We can be proud of our long history of using our strength to fight for the freedom of others, but our standing in the world has been badly tarnished. America can once again be looked up to and respected around the world. The first step is by immediately withdrawing 40,000-50,000 troops from Iraq, with the complete withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq within 12-18 months — allowing the Iraqis to assume greater responsibility for rebuilding their own country. It also means working to restore our legitimacy by leading on the great challenges before us like the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the genocide in Darfur, extreme poverty, and living up to our ideals in the fight against terrorism. – Sen. John Edwards on restoring America’s moral leadership

What is it about America’s culture and values that makes us such a successful nation and society? Part of that is we love liberty, we love our country, we’re patriotic. I believe it’s also because we are a people who love God and look for a purpose greater than ourselves in life. – Gov. Mitt Romney

Religion, once an integral part of our society, is today being eradicated from nearly every aspect of public life. The First Amendment protects the freedom to practice the religion of one’s choice. That freedom is under attack by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, who profit financially from lawsuits brought against cities and towns that display religious symbols. The ACLU and others have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees from suits brought against local cities and towns. Now they are using those victories to threaten other local jurisdictions. I introduced the Public Expression of Religion Act last year to prevent groups like the ACLU from collecting attorneys’ fees in religious freedom cases. Our country was founded on the idea that its citizens should be free to express their religious beliefs without government interference. I will continue the fight to protect that freedom. – Sen. Sam Brownback

Comments or quotes regarding faith and politics could not be found on campaign websites for Sen. Hillary Clinton or Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Got any more? Let us know. Post comments, video links etc. below.

Interview with Gov. Huckabee

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Vincent at Right of Texas interviewed Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who’s looking at a run for the Presidency in 2008.
Click here to listen.
I would LOVE to see a showdown between Huckabee and Barack Obama come next November. I think there could be some great discussion and debate.
The interview touches on Huckabee’s faith and how it affects his politics.
I’ve got to let you know though… Vincent is big on the “yes sirs” during the interview.
It’s been taken down but my buddy Rick Walker had a good interview with Gov. Huckabee last year for his show, Powertalk, on 89.7 Power FM.

Re: Quit breaking the law

As you may remember, people got all upset in Red Oak because they had a traffic division in their police department that was doing what I would assume a traffic division should do – write tickets.
Well the police chief and one of his deputy chiefs have been fired. An outside investigator has found that nothing was done illegally. But now the city of Red Oak must find a new police chief.
The WDL has a letter to the editor from the now former police chief today:

To the Editor,
I would like to thank all of the good people who have stood behind me in this troubling time. I want to thank the city manager and mayor for standing up for me when it would have been so easy easy for them just to go along with the crowd. It hurts me deeply that my time has come and gone as an officer with the Red Oak Police Department. Serving this great city has been an honor and I have really enjoyed my time here. I serve a great God and he will open another door for me. I have always given a hundred percent in everything that I have done. I have always been honest and up front with everybody, they might not have always liked my answers but pleasing everybody all of the time is simply impossible. I tried to lead the officers as Tom Landry led the Cowboys, Coach Landry stated “My job was always making men do what they didn’t want to do to become the men they always wanted to be.” To be good officers.
During the budget hearings last summer I presented a plan to the city council that in my opinion would be a win-win for the citizens which I took an oath to protect. I presented a plan that would establish a traffic division. This traffic divisions primary duty was to monitor high volume traffic areas, school zones, and any areas where citizens complain of speeders on their streets along with working accidents. This would allow patrolman to be highly visible in residential areas and business districts . This would also free up patrol from traffic duties. Once I presented the projection on the number of citations issued by the traffic division and the projected revenues Councilman Ben Goodwin stated “ If you can make that kind of money, why don’t we hire more traffic officers.” Councilman Hargrove even wanted them on motorcycles. I personally gave each councilman a copy of the power point presentation to take notes on and to take with them to study. So the dramatic increase of citations after the traffic division was formed should have been no surprise to them. If they didn’t like the proposal they had every right to ask me to reconsider, revise or simply state that they didn’t care for that plan. The city manager had nothing to do with my decision to form a traffic division, this idea came to me solely based on the high number of major accidents and the number of citizens complaining of near accidents and speeders in their neighborhood and wondering when something was going to be done.
On the day of my termination I was also advised in writing that the investigation showed that I “have committed no illegal wrong doing.” During the investigation I abided by the rule of mum is the word. So even at the request of Fox 4, I made no comments. I can’t say the same for the couple of councilman who after being advised still went to the press and drug my name and the name of my deputy chief through the dirt. I have always believed that if a person is in the right they should stick to their guns and if they are in the wrong, own up to it and move on. I am in now way perfect or in no way the perfect chief as we all make mistakes, but I did nothing illegal and that is why I chose to be terminated in lieu of resigning. Due to the officers signing a letter of no confidence in me I was terminated for “administrative style indifference” which simply means even though I have done nothing illegal, immoral, or unethical it is in the opinion of the city manager that it is time for me to move on.
As a long time citizen of this great city, I wish the city of Red Oak and its entities the best of luck in its future. As I said before, I serve a great God and he will provide for me and my family. I have nothing to be ashamed of as I have seen this city and the police department grow in every area over the last 15 years.
Donald D. Fullerton,
Red Oak

Also in today’s paper, Judge Bob Carroll, County Court at Law #1, resigned last night, effective at midnight April 30. There’s a story and an open letter from the judge in the paper.
I personally wish the judge the best of luck as he moves into the private sector. I know he had a hand in a case or two with some dear friends of mine and they along with I have nothing negative to say about the judge.

What if?

An interesting question was raised by Waxahachie blogger Natalie Guyoll:

The next time some creep claims that Bill Clinton blew some chance or other to take out bin Laden, ask why Ronald Reagan “cut and ran” after Hezbollah blew up the US Marines barracks in Lebanon — killing 225 Americans and 51 French Legionnaires. What if he had taken them on?

Re: Quit breaking the law

Earlier this month I wrote about a situation in Red Oak where police officers were being questioned for writing too many tickets.
It appears even the Dallas media is getting involved now. Fox News on Channel 4 ran a story last night and interviewed a couple council members who are pushing the issue.
A Fort Worth investigator has been brought in to investigate the issue and the Red Oak Police Chief and Deputy Chief have been placed on administrative leave.