No Mr. Evangelical, YOU Get Out of the Race! ~ @PolitiJim's Rants for Reasonable People |

I love Jesus. I am a social, fiscal and military conservative. And I just discovered that some of my more prominent socially conservative brethren have no clue what that means. or the word “Christian” apparently.

This just boggles my little feathered, freedom/Milton Friedman-loving soul.

Before endorsing Rick Santorum on Tuesday, Family Leader’s Bob Vander Plaats gave Michele Bachmann a call, asking her to drop out of the Republican presidential race and back either Rick Santorum or Governor Rick Perry. (Red Dog Report)

Isn’t this what the GOP “establishment” does? Negotiate backroom deals instead of letting the people decide? And most of these are the same people who call Newt Gingrich a “Big Government” Republican. So while the “Christian” guy is trying to manipulate the field to injure a fellow sister what does the “sinner” Gingrich do? He has gone out of his way to defend EVERY candidate to the media and even protected Cain from looking foolish in his one on one debate. Seems to be me the sinner is demonstrating more Christian virtue than the preacher.

But this has been a bizarro world version of a pre-primary season. Who would have thought the fundamentalist, Southern Baptist Don Wildmon (you know, the group that boycotts Disney, AARP and a particular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor) endorses the former adulterer while the “grace and mercy” Christian Vander Plaats endorses the most legalistic moral candidate in Santorum and tries to kill the other one? I can’t imagine how confused all guardian angels are right now.

This is a serious deal. Why should non-believers respect our opinions much less non-social-conservatives in our own party? We have to come to the same mind on this

Conservatives believe in individual responsibility not coercion

If I remember my Constitution, it is INDIVIDUAL freedom we are fighting for not collectivism. Isn’t that why we despise policies that favor or penalize a “group” based on their race, proclivities, or interests? But in fact, Van Der Plotting pays lip service to conservative principle while trying to deprive the “free market” of politics to decide which candidate is best. Next we’ll see a new NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of the Conservatively Pious.

Penalizing Conservatives We Want

I wrote extensively on this when people like Erick Erickson of RedState had placed themselves as the Commissar of Conservative Campaigning, telling Governor Palin why she had no business of running after the Iowa events in July. (But it was ok for his man Perry to do so of course.). Michele and Marcus have gone through great emotional, physical and financial turmoil to run this race. She has been unfairly lampooned at many times (Newsweek Cover) and was inexplicably slandered by the Governor of her own state where she has to continue to run to keep her seat. She stood with the Tea Party when the Romney’s, Rove’s and Jeb Bushes ran; and she suffered disdain simply for starting classes on the constitution in Congress. And this evangelical’s message is:

“Gee thanks Michele, but we’ll make your decisions for you?”

Thanks for reemphasizing the negative “submission” stereotype. How insulting to conservatives, conservative women, Bachmann and her family to assume you have the right to ask someone to quit fighting for what they believe in. What are we teaching good conservative candidates who want to run next time. “Poor your heart, soul and money out to make sure the Evangelical voice is heard, but we will not only endorse someone else, we will stab you in the back by trying to coerce and steal your supporters for someone else?” Right. Just spread the wealth of support around instead of making the other candidate you want earn it. Nice conservative, (or Christian) message. More on that next week.

If God is in Control Why Are You Interfering?

We have the Arab animosity (Ishmael) toward Israel (Isaac) because Sarah offered her handmaiden to Abraham and (like most men) he wasn’t about to turn the offer down. They felt they had to engineer getting a baby themselves instead of just trusting God to make Abraham the “father of many nations.”

As a believer Van Der Plaats is in fact COVETING the Bachmann followers. And he’s not trusting God or letting HIM “lift up whom He will.” I understand the temptation. You fear Ron or Romney will get the nomination and the country will be lost. But whatever you don’t do of FAITH is sin. So just stop it.

Show a little of the faith of the Founders will ya? They didn’t even have a popular majority backing the Revolution or the army for great periods of the war. At one point in 1783, some officers decided to go take Congress by force to get paid, rather than obeying the laws of authority and Christian principle. George Washington explained that while they were owed it, it wasn’t worth the loss of their character, reputation and virtue to respect the mechanisms set up to handle such disputes. The officers rethought the whole matter and trusted their leader.

Van Der Plaats and conservative politico’s should buy a vowel or steal a page from this handbook. The leader IS the voters. No need to coerce, manipulate or lie to get your guy or your gal elected. In fact the bible teaches us that riches obtained by a lie will evaporate away.

This country didn’t get to it’s influence because of our great form of government that had failed in Greece and other places before and since. It didn’t become wealthy because of our resources that are far overshadowed by China or others. It didn’t survive 200 years of peaceful passing of power surviving the bad policies terms of Wilson, FDR or Carter by human will.

God has His hand on her, and always will, if we just acknowledge and trust Him. Make your best case, support who you will, and work to get the person you feel should be elected.

But please respect the rights, intelligence and principle of letting the candidates decide their own course of action, just as you would like the freedom to decide your own.

Ok. No more political rants until after Christmas.