Politics And Religion--Glenn Beck Style

OK…so the crowd at the Mall this past weekend wasn’t anywhere near the 500,000 to 880,000 that Glenn beck supporters claimed. Aerial photos—with a 6 percent margin of error—place it somewhere in the 80,000 range. Does it matter?

Still impressive, as each of those attendees arrived feeling unheard and unrepresented. The problem is that, in a vacuum, anyone voicing discontent can galvanize a constituency by merely showing up.

So, Beck showed up. With Sarah Palin, of all people.

Even Republicans must be cringing at the tone of the rhetoric that is quickly becoming associated with GOP doctrine (whether it actually is or not). Namely, it is the religious overtones of the Beck message, aimed squarely at the passionate base, but politically at the fringe.

Working the margins has never been more dangerous. Firing up the religious right is a sure-fire way to mobilize a HUGE portion of the electorate to the polls for the mid-terms. Unfortunately, the moderate Republicans who supported Obama in 2008 usually recoil when it appears the platform of the alternate candidate belongs in church.

While sounding much like a preacher, Beck chastised the President for religious reasons, accusing him of practicing—and I quote here: “A perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ as most Christians know it”

Really?

While I give him credit for apologizing for calling Obama a “racist”, he didn’t do it before the crowd. No, he did it is response to a direct question from a reporter. An apology to avoid having to repeat the charge—clearly a mistake that cost the once high-flying Beck much of the respect that he had garnered as the voice of the “folks” .

“Restoring Honor” was both the theme and the objective of this rally.
Sticking to facts might be a good start.

There are plenty of issues to debate—and President Obama should face FAIR criticism over policy decisions. Leave out his religion, your religion, who’s closer to God and who knows what God really wants.

The Republican Party is in desperate need of a leader. Not someone like Mitt Romney, purposely staying out of the fray to mount a Presidential bid in 2012. Conservatives are a legitimate part of the nation. Their concerns need to be voiced—and debated.

There is someone out there who can unite the Republican Party, but that person is not Glenn Beck.
It is not Rush Limbaugh.
And it is certainly not Sarah Palin.

Resorting to cheap shots, untruths, half-truths—and maintaining silence when charges that Obama is a racist or a Muslim or not an American---is not the stuff of leaders.

A Republican needs to emerge who has the COURAGE to be both conservative—and pragmatic enough to work with Democrats. This Republican leader needs to advocate IDEAS and SOLUTIONS without worrying about political ground being lost if a legislative victory (that could be a victory for the country) is CREDITED to the Democrats because they are in the majority.

It’s the “scorched earth” policy that even conservative Republicans who oppose Obama cannot swallow. Namely, not EVERYTHING Obama does is evil, wrong or bad for the country. To say otherwise flies in the face of these pesky little things called facts. Republican politicians reversing their documented support simply because the President backs a bill---is both cowardly and wrong. It has been done several times.

A serious exchange cannot begin until there is a serious leader representing the Republican Party.

If he or she is out there, waiting for 2012 would be a mistake. Is anybody out there?



If you’d like my blog I your box, let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com