When Senator Obama's preacher thundered about racism and injustice
Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father --
Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer -- denounced America and even
called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited
to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.
Dad and I were amongst the founders of the Religious right. In the
1970s and 1980s, while Dad and I crisscrossed America denouncing our
nation's sins instead of getting in trouble we became darlings of the
Republican Party. (This was while I was my father's sidekick before I
dropped out of the evangelical movement altogether.) We were rewarded
for our "stand" by people such as Congressman Jack Kemp, the Fords,
Reagan and the Bush family. The top Republican leadership depended on
preachers and agitators like us to energize their rank and file. No one
called us un-American.
The rest of the article from the Huffington Post.
Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father --
Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer -- denounced America and even
called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited
to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.
Dad and I were amongst the founders of the Religious right. In the
1970s and 1980s, while Dad and I crisscrossed America denouncing our
nation's sins instead of getting in trouble we became darlings of the
Republican Party. (This was while I was my father's sidekick before I
dropped out of the evangelical movement altogether.) We were rewarded
for our "stand" by people such as Congressman Jack Kemp, the Fords,
Reagan and the Bush family. The top Republican leadership depended on
preachers and agitators like us to energize their rank and file. No one
called us un-American.
The rest of the article from the Huffington Post.
A&J,
ReplyDeleteI think the relevant point about Obama's pastor--to the extent that there is a point--is that Reverend Wright's message of racial division directly contradicts what many people believe to be Obama's positive message about the fundamental unity of our country.
Particularly disturbing are the unfounded accusations Wright has made, such as the claim that the government created the HIV virus as a method of committing genocide against people of color. There is no way to describe such a comment as an attempt to foster reconciliation.
Schaeffer's father's comments do not seem, to me, to be nearly as shocking (with one exception) nor as damaging to the messages of the candidates with whom he was associated, though I do have some fundamental disagreements with his positions as stated in the quotes in the article.
That said, Obama ought to be judged by what he stands for rather than what his friends have said. I hope that the general campaign will focus primarily on the issues, since the candidates have such radically different positions on them.
Enjoying the blog. Keep it up.
Jake Savage
PS, for some good thoughts and discussion on racial reconciliation, check out http://edwardg.wordpress.com