Tucker Carlson Says Republican Party 'Has Contempt' for Evangelicals

[mykevermin]

CARLSON: It goes deeper than that though. The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the evangelicals who put their party in power. Everybody in…

MATTHEWS: How do you know that? How do you know that?

CARLSON: Because I know them. Because I grew up with them. Because I live with them. They live on my street. Because I live in Washington, and I know that everybody in our world has contempt for the evangelicals. And the evangelicals know that, and they're beginning to learn that their own leaders sort of look askance at them and don't share their values.

MATTHEWS: So this gay marriage issue and other issues related to the gay lifestyle are simply tools to get elected?

CARLSON: That's exactly right. It's pandering to the base in the most cynical way, and the base is beginning to figure it out

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Tucker-Evangelicals.mov

Sorry for the C&L link; I'm fascinated by him saying this so outright. It's something many people have claimed for years, but absolutely nobody who considers themselves Republican or conservative would dare say (for fear of ostracizing a crucial voting bloc, the one who helped them stay in power in 2004).

 

[Veritas1204]

myke, how is their refusal to admit that they pander to a voting block who get them elected any different than, say the dems refusing to admit that they rely on the minority vote?

Both parties have radical (not to say all evangelical factions are radical) elements within their party that they must reconcile their platform with in order to maximize their success. For the left , it is the moonbat left, and for the right it is the Pat Robertson wingers. And while I know you weren't making accusations with your post ( and I thank you for that), I think it is about time someone said it openly.

I will be the first to admit that my christian belief system is a HUGE factor in my choice of politics, and doubt that you will find a christian that will tell you otherwise. And while I am not naieve enough to buy in to some people's bullshit assertion that all Dems are evil gay devil worshippers, I do tend to vote with my morals, and that normally leads me to vote R.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that neither party can afford to take a hard line and risk alienating major voting blocs to stick 100% to their beliefs, and expect to have any success. The business of politics demands a lot of comprimise if there is to be any success.

 

[mykevermin]

I think there's a crucial difference between someone saying what you do in your post, and saying "It's pandering to the base in the most cynical way."

The latter, of course, implies that the party has no intention of making good on what you support them for. That is, IMO, the dividing line. Evangelical christians (and let's be clear, that is a voting bloc completely separable from just "christians") have had anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage dangled in front of them for years, and nothing's been done (save for the late-term abortion ban). Even a constitutional ban on gay marriage, which requires a 2/3 majority in both houses, was a red herring. Even with as much power as the Republicans have in Congress, there was no way in hell of getting that kind of a vote. And, I'd argue, they knew it.

Tucker Carlson was exposing the other side of the coin when it comes to courting voter blocs; the most-often seen side says "yes, of course, we value this group's vote because it reflects the ideals we espouse;" the other side says "if we can keep these suckers on our side, it will make campaigning easier because there's no way in hell they'll vote for the other guys."

Sure, it's not revelatory, but to say in the way Carlson is sure is.

 

[Veritas1204]

I see what you mean myke.

Hopefully, the day will come when someone can stand up and say "this is what I'm about, this is what I believe will help the country, and if you don't agree, there are other candidates that will probably tell you what you want for your vote."

of course, that will probably only happen in my mind.

In the meantime, I will have to hold out the hope that our nation's voters take the time to research the candidates and issues before simply following the talking points.

It pains me to see both parties resorting to blatant "with us or against us" tactics with their voters. Its high time someone stand up for their beliefs,despite the fact that it may alienate a precious voting block (for example, the dems need to cowtow to the will of the teachers union, or the repubs need to align their values with radical christian idealogies).

...ok, I better stop there; its starting to sound a little less like a comment and a little more like a platform.

But good post myke, the only way we survive as a country is through the promotion of people thinking and researching the issues themselves and being more involved with the political process.

Otherwise, we become a nation of sychophants.

 

[elprincipe]

[quote name='Veritas1204']Hopefully, the day will come when someone can stand up and say "this is what I'm about, this is what I believe will help the country, and if you don't agree, there are other candidates that will probably tell you what you want for your vote."

of course, that will probably only happen in my mind.[/QUOTE]

It will only happen in all of our dreams until the problem of the two-party system is dealt with.

 

[mykevermin]

[quote name='Veritas1204']I see what you mean myke.

Hopefully, the day will come when someone can stand up and say "this is what I'm about, this is what I believe will help the country, and if you don't agree, there are other candidates that will probably tell you what you want for your vote."

of course, that will probably only happen in my mind.

In the meantime, I will have to hold out the hope that our nation's voters take the time to research the candidates and issues before simply following the talking points.

It pains me to see both parties resorting to blatant "with us or against us" tactics with their voters. Its high time someone stand up for their beliefs,despite the fact that it may alienate a precious voting block (for example, the dems need to cowtow to the will of the teachers union, or the repubs need to align their values with radical christian idealogies).

...ok, I better stop there; its starting to sound a little less like a comment and a little more like a platform.

But good post myke, the only way we survive as a country is through the promotion of people thinking and researching the issues themselves and being more involved with the political process.

Otherwise, we become a nation of sychophants.[/QUOTE]

I've found www.ontheissues.org an invaluable resource. Since you can't trust what comes out of their mouths, you can count on their "yays" or "nays." I'd still like to find a site that exists to digest each and every vote made, even if it's the silly ones ("today is in honor of Boy Scout troop 234 because of their awesome canned good drive.")

Ever striving (and not always succeeding) to be a fair person, I sent my wife in the direction of that site to decide whom to vote for. She emails me back later that day: "we need to move to another state, because all these guys ing stink."