By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
I'm not sure if Joe the Plumber's voice matters in the Republican Party or the conservative movement anymore, but he did campaign with John McCain last year and has reported from Israel for Pajamas TV, becoming a folk hero for many rank-and-file conservatives.
Which is why I found Christianity Today's interview with Joe—Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher—so interesting. It's rare to see a prominent religious conservative be so unvarnished about his views of homosexuals—or the GOP.
An excerpt:
I've had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn't have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they're people, and they're going to do their thing.
Does the Republican Party reach out to evangelicals enough?
No. None of them stand up for anything. They use God as a punch line. They use God to invoke sympathy or invoke righteousness, but they don't stay the course. That's why I think that all needs to be taken out of the federal level and give it back to the states. We've lost our American history. Every state has "In God we trust" or "With God's help" in their constitution. God is recognized as, if you will, America's religion.Who do you see as the emerging leaders for the Republican Party?
There isn't one. You got the RNC talking about repackaging principles and values to make them hip and cool to the younger generation. You can't repackage them. They are what they are. You can't make what they are.I like Sarah Palin a lot, actually. I just don't know if that's where God's leading her. I just know the Republican Party's done its best to blackball her....
Who do you see as the emerging Christian leaders?
James Dobson. I love Dobson....
Read the full interview here.
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Neil and Bob of NY 4:05PM June 03, 2009
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