Some reasons against Rick Warren. Is Obama going too far in his effort to be inclusive? There are truly many other evangelicals he could have chosen.
Why Gays Are Upset About The Rev. Rick Warren
Rick Warren’s work on the environment, poverty and AIDS make him hard to pigeonhole, but a recent interview, during which he compared homosexuality to incest and pedophilia, crossed a line.
Would anyone who made similar remarks about women or Jews be invited to have an important role in the inauguration? Would such a person be received at the White House?
The Rev. Rick Warren is a complicated figure, and his pairing with the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights hero, may ultimately serve some happy purpose.
Obama has not selected an Iman to speak at his inauguration, he picked a right wing preacher.
I think he picked a largely moderate, slightly right-wing preacher. He’s against homosexuality, true, but so is most of mainstream Christianity. His “purpose-driven life” message is bland and largely irrelevant beyond creating more Christians, but it’s also less extreme than those offered by many other religious leaders. He also lacks the baggage of someone like, say, Billy Graham.
Warren is the Thomas Kinkade of theology. I think it’s safe to say that Obama’s message here is one of populism, not religious or social idealogy. He’s reaching out to middle America in an attempt to show that he’s the President of the people, not of the Democratic party. If he’s smart, he’ll bring all kinds of popular right-wingers and left-wingers into his sphere. With Warren on his side, he’s got an “in” with everyone who listens to the man’s sermons, which will be helpful come 2012.
Obama has not selected an Iman to speak at his inauguration, he picked a right wing preacher.
I think he picked a largely moderate, slightly right-wing preacher. He’s against homosexuality, true, but so is most of mainstream Christianity. His “purpose-driven life” message is bland and largely irrelevant beyond creating more Christians, but it’s also less extreme than those offered by many other religious leaders. He also lacks the baggage of someone like, say, Billy Graham.
Warren is the Thomas Kinkade of theology. I think it’s safe to say that Obama’s message here is one of populism, not religious or social idealogy. He’s reaching out to middle America in an attempt to show that he’s the President of the people, not of the Democratic party. If he’s smart, he’ll bring all kinds of popular right-wingers and left-wingers into his sphere. With Warren on his side, he’s got an “in” with everyone who listens to the man’s sermons, which will be helpful come 2012.
Yep, I sort of got the message but, why, then, are Obama supporters so PO’d? All the same to me, just a topic for discussion but a lot of people, including my wife, are saying no, big mistake?
Yep, I sort of got the message but, why, then, are Obama supporters so PO’d? All the same to me, just a topic for discussion but a lot of people, including my wife, are saying no, big mistake?
I think a lot of people want Obama to be some kind of one-man force of left-wing vengeance, and to single-handedly make this country non-racist, non-sexist, non-homophobic, religiously tolerant and economically stable. And spit in the face of the Republicans while he’s at it, because they’ve done so much more than that to the ideologies of the left in the last eight years.
Anything less than that is a disappointment, and actively reaching out to the right—which is what Obama said he’d do from the start—is seen as treachery, because a lot of people voted for him to strike back at the conservatives. I think a lot of people mistook his message of “hope” for “revenge.”
Revenge might actually feel good for a few months, but ultimately that will only make things worse, and Obama knows this. To push through the massive reforms that are coming as the economy continues to sink, he’s going to need overwhelming popular support. If he irks the gays for a few weeks by reaching out to the right in a politically irrelevant gesture of letting a popular preacher who happens to be a homophobe speak at the inauguration, that’s a small price to pay.
Amen Steve. Obama is far from the savior people want him to be. I think all of the left wringing their hands and licking their lips at the thought of “getting back” and pushing their agendas through is just as sickening as the right was in 2000.
It’s strange though, isn’t it? I mean Obama made it perfectly clear many, many times during the campaign that he thought the divide between Republican and Democrat was nonsense. He’s actually trying to unite people, and a fraction of the people who voted for him are getting all pissy about it because they don’t really want to be united with people they disagree with. He’s trying to fix bigger problems than some minor ideological rifts, so I don’t have any problem with him extending an olive branch to the conservatives. It’s refreshing, even if I find some of the specifics to be personally distasteful.
It’s strange though, isn’t it? I mean Obama made it perfectly clear many, many times during the campaign that he thought the divide between Republican and Democrat was nonsense. He’s actually trying to unite people, and a fraction of the people who voted for him are getting all pissy about it because they don’t really want to be united with people they disagree with. He’s trying to fix bigger problems than some minor ideological rifts, so I don’t have any problem with him extending an olive branch to the conservatives. It’s refreshing, even if I find some of the specifics to be personally distasteful.
This is why i think the “right” really wanted hillary to be pres. She would have just continued this kind of soap opera politics that we have gotten used to. Personally, I think its great that obama appears to be operating on a completely different level. Although I have not been happy about a few of his choices, in general i feel like i see the point he is making. As far as the left-wing partisans who just want a liberal version of bush/cheney Fudge ‘em. That kind of politics is fudging ruining our country, and creates a massive divide that caters to the likes of sara palin.
This is why i think the “right” really wanted hillary to be pres. She would have just continued this kind of soap opera politics that we have gotten used to.
This is why i think the “right” really wanted hillary to be pres. She would have just continued this kind of soap opera politics that we have gotten used to.
True that.
Thats why I maintain that Obama is more of a post-boomer President than a “black” or “Democrat” or “Liberal” president. And that drives people like TomH and travelah nuts. Because it puts them in the same boat, and forces them to see they NEED each other to play their silly partisan game.
This is why i think the “right” really wanted hillary to be pres. She would have just continued this kind of soap opera politics that we have gotten used to.
True that.
Thats why I maintain that Obama is more of a post-boomer President than a “black” or “Democrat” or “Liberal” president. And that drives people like TomH and travelah nuts. Because it puts them in the same boat, and forces them to see they NEED each other to play their silly partisan game.
Depending on how you define the term, he could be viewed as the first Gen-X president. Certainly post-Boomer, though.
This is why i think the “right” really wanted hillary to be pres. She would have just continued this kind of soap opera politics that we have gotten used to.
True that.
Thats why I maintain that Obama is more of a post-boomer President than a “black” or “Democrat” or “Liberal” president. And that drives people like TomH and travelah nuts. Because it puts them in the same boat, and forces them to see they NEED each other to play their silly partisan game.
Speak for yourself sonny. I cannot be driven nuts, already there and you, apparently, do not really know me or my political views. You’re just guessing. Fact is, I am unaffiliated I supported Obama, but no, I don’t want him to rule from the left. I’m a dead centrist all the way, pragmatic get er done sort of guy. I am, to put it succinctly, opposed to extremism on either side. My motto is, if it works, you found the right answer. Now, please do not speak my name in vain again, please, or I’ll come over there, wherever yolu are, and lay my belt on your hind end like your poppa should have long ago. By the way, I’m a prewar baby WWII that is. Show some respect.
Now, please do not speak my name in vain again, please, or I’ll come over there, wherever yolu are, and lay my belt on your hind end like your poppa should have long ago. By the way, I’m a prewar baby WWII that is. Show some respect.
that is, until you go back and change the content of your post…
Now, please do not speak my name in vain again, please, or I’ll come over there, wherever yolu are, and lay my belt on your hind end like your poppa should have long ago. By the way, I’m a prewar baby WWII that is. Show some respect.
that is, until you go back and change the content of your post…
Not this time ya young whipper snapper.
I’m ouhtta here. Going to the Porter Center to hear Steep Canyon Rangers, Shannon Whitowrth and some other pickers. Hee haw!
