On Jan 4, 3:49�pm, JG2U wrote:
On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 07:59:38 -0800 (PST), Chuck Gould





wrote:
On Jan 4, 5:18?am, JG2U wrote:
On Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:34:43 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing

wrote:

I read an account that said more than half of the Republicans
attending caucus in Iowa described themselves as "born again" or
"evangelical" Christians. Romney actually led among the Republicans
who didn't arrive in a chruch bus, so you weren't completely unfounded
in your Republican guesstimate.

That's a good point and reading through the post mortems this morning,
that one jumped out as an interesting data point. ?

Notice how the media makes sure to drive home the "evangelical
Christian" phrase, over and over. ?They've made it an issue... to give
godless liberals something to rally against. ?Look how well it's
working right here on this NG.

I don't think the "godless liberals" are ralllying against
"evangelical Christians". Huckabee's meteoric rise in a race that 90
days ago was heavily handicapped for Guiliani or (maybe) Mitt is
certainly legitimate reality, but nobody is "rallying against"
Huckabee by noting much of his support comes from people who share his
fundamentalist values. Certainly no more than people would be
"rallying against" Obama by noting he has many supporters among racial
minorities or "rallying against" Clinton by noting she has many
supporters among politically active women.

The mere fact that you use the term "fundamentalist values" proves my
point. �Huckabee is not a fundamentalist. �While there are
fundamentalist Baptists, he was not in that fold. �He was part of the
Arkansas Baptist Church org, which is a member of the Southern Baptist
Church org. �Hell, they're nearly as liberal as the Methodists! Fundie
Baptists are a whole different thing.

Another point I was making is that "godless liberal" is of the same
ilk as "evangelical christian". �The modifier "godless" isn't
necessary, but I used it to evoke a negative response. �There
certainly shouldn't be anything wrong with "Christian", but tack on
"evangelical", and it evokes a negative response among left-leaning
folks. �That is precisely why the mainstream media uses that term to
describe anyone of faith during this whole process. �Wouldn't want
anyone in the middle jumping over to the wrong side. �Words are such
powerful things, aren't they?



My parents and siblings all vote Republican. Given a chance, some of
them would vote for anybody *except* Romney, due to his "Mormonism".
(Pretty funny, considering we are all not-so-distant cousins of Joseph
Smith - his grandmother was a Gould from our ancestral home in
Topsfield, MA.) I'd like to think in general that the evangelical vote
isn't "rallied against" another Republican- and that their support for
Huckabee is truly proactive rather than reactive.

That's a problem with your family... I don't know any Christians who
have a problem with the Mormon faith. �And there's that term
"evangelical" again. �Are you sure you know what it means?

"The news media often use the term (especially in the United States)
to describe conservative Protestant Christians. This is only partly
accurate, as the evangelical movement embraces a wide range of
expressions of faith around the four core characteristics."- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

According to the news sources I read, a high percentage of the
Republican voters who supported Huckabee in Iowa described
*themselves* as either evangelical or born again Christians. If
somebody claims to be a born again Christian or describes their faith
as "evangelical", I'm willing to take their word for it.

To most of us not well versed in the various sects, subsects, and
demoninations, the term "fundamentalist" is normally interchangeable
with "evangelical" or "born again". I certainly didn't intend to
offend you by its apparent misuse, nor would I have any way to know
you would be sensitive to that isse.

I heard a radio interview today with one of Huckabee's Iowa
organizers.
The organizer used to be a youth minister at a church. He admitted
that the churches were rallying for Huckabee, but that the stumping
usually stopped short of the preacher proclaiming from the pulpit,
"Thou shalt vote for Huckabee." He claimed that some of the churches
sent as many as 30 members to various Republican caucus meetings.