Buck Naked Politics: Christian Conservatives Unite Behind McCain

Bnpolitics4_3 by Damozel | The evangelicals and other Christian Conservatives have decided that McCain is, after all, God's candidate. That is to say, while many of them feel that McCain was most definitely not God's first choice, God most definitely prefers him to Barack Obama.

So even though they -- meaning the lead mouthpieces of the Christian Right -- said they would never, ever do it, Senator McBack 'n Fill carefully repudiated his every principled stand during the primaries. Besides: he's incontrovertibly not Obama. They've evidently decided on these grounds that they have to support him for not being Obama, whether they like it or not. I get the impression that they don't much, even now, but are trying to make the best of him. That's so sweet.

But if I didn't already know how I am going to vote, I'd take their decision to unite behind McCain as a sign. As a small-C christian small-L liberal of the Quaker, or Friendly, Persuasion -- if of any persuasion -- I view the stance of the opposite sort of Christian as a fairly reliable indicator of on which side of the line I should not plant my banner.

A…person who attended the event, but asked not to be named, said that the group was motivated principally by a desire to defeat Barack Obama. "None of these people want to meet their maker knowing that they didn’t do everything they could to keep Barack Obama from being president," the participant said. "You’ve got these two people running for president. One of them is going to become president. That’s the perspective. That that’s the whole discussion." (Swampland; emphasis added)

Did you get that? They have reliable information, it appears, that God wants John McCain.

McCain has been reaching out to these people. If had no other reason to cast my vote for Obama, the following would be sufficient:

In recent weeks, the McCain campaign has been trying to spell out clear policy differences on social issues with the Obama campaign. Last week, McCain came out in favor of a constitutional amendment in California to outlaw gay marriage, which was legalized this spring by the state Supreme Court. Though McCain opposes an amendment to the federal constitution to ban gay marriage, he has previously supported similar state constitutional amendments.

More recently, McCain has said he wants to push for a Bush Administration proposal to allow faith-based organizations to make employment decisions based on religion even when using federal funding. Obama has said he supports applying state or local laws that prohibit hiring choices based on sexual orientation(Swampland).

I realize that Obama and I don't always agree; and I don't like what I consider to be his bait-and-switch election tactics. I have said so.

But for someone who opposes more erosion of that wall between church and state, there really isn't a third choice. McCain intends --- or says he does --- to pander to these social conservatives, despite his history of repudiating their views. Though I'm not sure what I think about Obama's faith-based initiatives plan (I need to know more about it), his explanation of how he'd want to see the plan implemented reflect that he intends to build in safeguards to protect the wall between church and state (Belief.net).

Besides --to contradict the social conservatives listed above --- I have reliable information that God wants Obama to become president. (Kidding. I'm kidding. I don't know that God has an interest, much less a preference).

Via Crooks and Liars:

[B]ack in 1999, McCain was walking a tightrope by calling himself pro-life on a personal level while at the same time assuring pro-choice voters for pragmatic reasons that “in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade.”
"Yet, today, McCain says bluntly right on his website that “John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned.”

McCain was against the repeal of Roe v. Wade before he was for it.

McCain was against torture before he was for it. Really for it....

McCain was against crazy right-wing preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson before he was for them....

McCain was against BJU because of its “hateful,” “racist and cruel” policies before he was for it.