Gingrich Becoming GOP's Voice for Conservative Christian Concerns

April 20, 2009 RSS Feed Print

By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

What do these three things have in common? President Obama's upcoming appearance at Notre Dame; last week's mini-flap over the White House covering a Christian symbol during Obama's appearance at Georgetown University; a recent proposal in Connecticut's state legislature to force Roman Catholic parishes to reorganize.

Sure, all three developments riled religious conservatives—particularly Catholic conservatives—but that's too obvious.

Give up? All three were decried by Newt Gingrich while they escaped mention by any other national Republican figure. The former House speaker knocked Notre Dame on Twitter for inviting Obama, slapped the Connecticut legislature in a recent interview with me, and invoked the Georgetown coverup in a new Q&A with Christianity Today. At a time when Christian conservatives have few outspoken allies on their issues in the upper echelons of the Republican Party, Gingrich is stepping in to fill the void.

Michael Gerson wrote last week that "the religious right, at least in its cruder expressions, is indeed a phenomenon without a future." As he tries to consolidate his position as an architect of the GOP's future, Newt clearly believes otherwise.

Tags:
Christianity,
conservatives,
religion,
Newt Gingrich,
republican party

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I would suggest as sinners we all fall short. That is why redemption through Jesus Christ has been offered to all, even the most heinous of sinners. However, the scriptures tell us that there are sins which will not be forgiven (without confession, repentence and a change of heart). Those are the killing of innocents (abortion) and sins against the Holy Spirit. Whether our neighbors and friends have taken care to do this is definitely between their conscience and God. The anti-Christ will tell you your conscience does not override the pleasure of the current President of these United States. I leave it to you to come to a correct decision.

Peggy of OH 10:16AM April 22, 2009

response to opal of ca. If you search obama's background you will find that his associations are extremely left leaning with several of his mentors being communist.Be that as it may the republican candidate wimped out when it came to pressuring obama on his past associates so the american people bought obamas fluff and elected the most liberal,abortion loving, inexperienced,excuse for a christian to the presidency.Why is obama fighting to conceal his birth certificate which if validated would put all the conspiracy theories to rest?Why aren't his college records made public?Obama is leading our country to disaster. Wait and see when all these hugs and smiles and bows with american hating dictators come back to bite him.I pray for the safety of our great country and hope we can survive the pro abortion,pro anti traditional values of the obama presidency.IT'S NOT ABOUT PARTY AFFILIATION> IT's ABOUT VALUES>

sabby of NY 8:21AM April 22, 2009

Dear God and Country: So Obama is a Muslim??? Funny how he continues to worship in a Christian Church--no devout Muslin would even consider doing that. And, I guess that was a Koran hidden in the Bible he held during his swearing-in ceremony. And born in Africa??? No proof would satisfy you and others who continue your delusional (non) thinking. You folks continue to make false accusations without any proof. If you don't like his politics--that's fair.Offering constructive criticism of our elected leaders is our right and responsibility as citizens.But repeating your old and tired rumors is s o o o childish and ineffective.

Opal of CA 12:33AM April 22, 2009

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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.

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