Christian Right Playing Big Role in Challenging Establishment GOP Candidates

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The problem the republicans have is they say they are fiscally resposnible yet they have never been so. GW Bush and Ronald Reagan both expanded the size of the government and the size of the deficit. LBJ was next in line. Oddly it was Clinton who reduced both the size of government and the natioanl debt leaving a surplus which GW and Congress wasted, of which both parties are to blame.

if you recall during reagan's term everyone was excited over the deficit. Kenyesean economists were not concerned and reagan listened (despite the supply side rhetoric). He raised taxes and ran the huge deficit to bring the country out of recession. People forget Reagan was fiscally minded but understood economics and knew one had to run a deficit in order to turn things around.

During Bush's Presidentcy Dick Cheney was heard to say: "Deficits don't matter, reagaon proved that". Well this is only partly true MAynard Keynesproved it in the 1930s and won the Nobel prize for leading the US out of the Great Depression. even Dick Cheney didn't know he was a Keynesian.

Jim of CA 4:38PM December 07, 2009

the right is now waking up now and doing whats right! Support the candidate that has your values not who you think is has a better chance in winning! And now we see that the challenger is now the front runner! Wow! 2010 is gonna be a clean house! And it starts in Florida. Go Marco Rubio!!!!

FLORIDA REPUBLICANS AGAINST GOV. CRIST! of FL 1:02AM December 07, 2009

The liberal base of the Republican overreached by thrusting a RINO in a moderate district.

By wasting millions of dollars in supporting the candidacy of Scozzafava, the opportunity for a Republican win was squandered.

If the Republican had backed Hoffman early on, with the dollars behind his candidacy, he would have defeated the Democratic opponent.

Lesson learned: Support candidates who represent mainstream core Republican values, not extreme Democratic values.

When there is no difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates in an election, that only means the Republican is a RINO.

(Republican in Name Only) And the voters will reject that candidate.

B.O. of CA 12:56AM December 06, 2009

...are a Democrat's prayer answered. Some may think that the extremist millenialists and end-timers are not "the driving force," but don't tell the Family (aka The Fellowship) that. This group, which includes prominent government and corporate officials throughout the U.S., has since 1953 sought a theocratic takeover of the nation in order to establish a political "Kingdom of Christ" in America. The country would then be run by a small, select group of WASP males with everyone else in their service. Libertarians who are averse to a theocratic, social police state are indeed in deep conflict with these and other conservative "Christians." May the libertarian and "Christian" wings of the GOP continue to consume their party and leave Democrats and progressives in power.

torqueflite of CO 10:00PM November 24, 2009

This is just yet another weak attempt to tie a positive reform movement to something you can label as a negative. Obama's favorite indoor sport. There is very little cohesiveness in the outbreak of conservatism within the party EXCEPT around fiscal conservatism. Finally people are waking up to the fact that the Big Government Neo-Conservatives have to be gone before we can rid ourselves of these hell bent for bankruptcy Liberal fools in charge now. It needed to happen years ago. This article completely ignores the FACT that most of these active change agents are Libertarian in political philosophy, NOT religious Right. The religious right are welcome to come along because they actually show up on election day. They are not the driving factor. You missed the mark, and for my money, you are doing it on purpose, pandering to the weakening house of cards these DEMS have built around the beloved Obama.

John of VA 8:09PM November 24, 2009

News flash: the Republican Party got taken over by the Talibangelicals. Nothing new to see here, move along...

not a talibangelical of AZ 6:49PM November 24, 2009

Hasn't anyone stopped to notice that the Christian Right is closer in politics to Al-Qaeda than they are to mainstream Americans?

The only thing separating the Religious Right from the Middle Eastern Al-Qaeda is 700 years of forced social evolution imposed on by western society, an evolution that mostly passed by the citizens of the Middle East.

Al-Qaeda wants to interpret the Koran literally; the religious right wants to interpret the bible literally. Women are unclean and must cover their hair when in public; when I was a boy women were not allowed to show their hair in church.

I would think any American should be concerned that allowing the religious right to demand others succumb to their beliefs is only different as a matter of degrees than Al-Qaeda's goal to impose Sharia law on everyone.

Wake up America it is time to recognize the Religious Right for what they truly are: America’s version of Al-Qaeda, somewhat weaken by 700 years of forced social evolution, but nonetheless just as dangerous to freedom.

Jim of CA 6:38PM November 24, 2009

While in that particular race the fact that the Republican nominee was pro choice certainly played a role. However the major backlash againt the Republican party can be placed squarely on the shoulder of the big spending, big government types who took over when George W. Bush was elected.

You're going to see conservatives more concerned with Republicans economic record than their social one. While this current health care reform is a horrible idea Medicare part D (Prescription drug plan) which was a baby of the Republican party will end up adding trillions to the national debt. It's that kind of flagrant spending that doomed the Republican party in 2008.

The whole Tea Party movement is about fiscal issues, not social ones.

If you're a big government, big spending Republican your days are numbered.

Michael Simpson of NM 6:03PM November 24, 2009

Honey it's all politics and way past time to admit most of these so called churches are nothing more than PACs and rescind the tax breaks.

sylvia of IN 5:50PM November 24, 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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