Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Nation & World

God and Country by Dan Gilgoff

Gingrich's First Advice for GOP: Fight for Nation's Religious Heritage

June 09, 2009 05:37 PM ET | Dan Gilgoff | Permanent Link | Print

By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

When's the last time you saw a Republican say that the GOP's first step back to power relies on it fighting to recover the nation's religious heritage? Check out this clip from Newt Gingrich's keynote speech at last night's Republican Senate-House Dinner. He discusses the need to restore America's religious heritage ahead of economic and national security issues.

It's fascinating that religious conservatives are on the outs with the GOP's Washington-based leadership but that Republicans possibly running for president in 2012—Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee—all have very strong ties to that segment of the party's base.

Tags: Republicans | religion | Newt Gingrich

Tools: Share | | Comments (19) | Print

Reader Comments

Do The Right Thing - by Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee Fans continue to increase in numbers from coast to coast. Just since the elections, his fan base spans 50 States and 325 Counties. That's more than 10% of all the counties in America already. By autumn it will increase to 25% and 50% by spring.

/>>> http://www.freewebs.com/huckapedia

Ronald Reagan made a comeback win in 1980 after a loss in 1976 against Ford. Mike Huckabee is on his way to repeat another Reagan comeback huge upset in 2012. And his Huckabee Fans keep multiplying and expanding our 2012 Presidential organization day by day.

How does your home state rank in the number of Huckabee Fans? Click on the link above for constantly updated information on the growing movement for Mike Huckabee.

As the Huckabee Fan's like to say:

"One thousand small steps by Huckabee Fans and One Gigantic step for Mike Huckabee!"

Republican stand

Someone said that the republican party needs to rid itself of what it doesn't stand for and more on what it does stand for. That is exactly what Mr Gingrich was saying. At this point in time, the republican party does not stand for anything! It has no backbone and it has no solid platform. It is no more than wishy-washy and rolls whatever way the media tilts it. The way forward is to back off on principles? The party needs to stand UP for its principles, not abandon them. People aren't leaving the party because of religious beliefs, they are leaving the party because the party has not stood up for core conservative values. Responsible economic policies, smaller government, less intervention, etc.

When principles are abandoned, liberals win.

One Nation Under God

Listen to the message. Are the spoken words true? Did he invent the quotes, or are they accurate? Why attack the man? Is it because there are significant moral problems with one's own political position? Is it to divert attention from one's own shortcomings? While the founding fathers may not all have been pious, they did guarantee religious freedom in the Bill of Rights, and in closing, the Declaration of Independence states, "...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." Thus the founding fathers recognized the importance that religious beliefs and faith held for the American people.

In fact, as Mr.Gingrich states, we are the first country to give the people the sovereignty vice a sovereign set over the people. They did this through the creation of a republic founded on the idea of representative democracy. This was a conscious choice in response to desire to protect minority views from the despotism of absolute democracy. A strong sense of morality also guided the founding fathers.

Have we perverted the meaning of individual freedoms so much that one, or a few individuals, can protest the word God be used in public forums, or as part of our legal system? The evidence would seem to say yes in a society that bans, or attempts to ban, the use of religious statements in public discourse, and that pursues abortion and other acts that contribute to the tyranny of the individual rather than the protection of the inalienable rights of all mankind.

So, I say to all in this instance, Mr. Gingrich has touched on issues and matters that are critical to the foundations of our nation, and he is right. For those who wish to attack his personal shortcomings I say, address your own shortcomings before you attack others. If Mr. Gingrich's statement is wrong attack the position and not the man. Point out what is wrong with the statement. Too often, both parties have resorted to personal attacks rather than handling the debate on the merits of the positions themselves.

God Bless America, one nation Under God!

Add your thoughts

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

U.S. News Weekly

Subscribe Now!

Order the new U.S. News Weekly digital magazine at a special low introductory price!

Dan Gilgoff covers religion for U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War, and is a former politics editor at beliefnet. E-mail Dan at godandcountry@usnews.com.

advertisement

NEWSLETTER

Sign up today for the latest headlines from U.S. News & World Report delivered to you free.

RSS FEEDS

Personalize your U.S. News with our feeds of blogs and breaking news headlines.

U.S. NEWS MOBILE

U.S. News daily briefings are also available on your mobile device.

Public Poll

Is increasing access to healthcare a moral or faith-based cause?

View Results

Follow Dan Gilgoff on: Facebook | Twitter | MySpace

Photo Gallery

Delegates arrive at a gathering of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation at Windsor Castle today outside of London today. Britain's Prince Philip is founder of the Alliance and is cohosting the event with the United Nations. The gathering features representatives from nine world religions and was kicked off by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Faith Photo of the Day

See what's going on in the faith world across the globe every day.

SPECIAL REPORTS

A Muslim man lifts his hands up during Friday noon prayers in the southern holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Secrets of Islam

A guide to the world's fastest growing religion.

The Maqbara hermitage at the Lama Foundation where a person can go on solo retreat.

Sacred Places

Explore the significance, history, and enduring power of places people consider most sacred.

Special Report: Women of the Bible

Women of the Bible

The "daughters of Eve" play many roles in the Old and New Testaments.

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
Make USNews.com your home page.