tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post5962436925167041486..comments2024-02-19T07:24:42.397-08:00Comments on Anglican Curmudgeon: The Quiet Tribulations of a Christian Candidate for PresidentA. S. Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-5625044565996636312011-11-28T13:34:33.186-08:002011-11-28T13:34:33.186-08:00Dear Auriel,
I agree, that the ability to maintain...Dear Auriel,<br />I agree, that the ability to maintain a marriage should not be the "only" standard - but I put it forth as a "minimum" standard. Another example would be the pro-life / pro-choice debate. I will not vote for a pro-choice president. <br /><br />What that does for me is create boundaries. I will not vote for a divorcee for president, nor will I vote for a pro-choice president. <br /><br />A third example would be a warmonger president. I wouldn't vote for GWB on those grounds (though I confess and repent that I did support him in my youth). <br /><br />I fully expect my standards to narrow the field of candidates I could support to a very small number - potentially 0. If that happens, I will happily stay at home on voting day and lament whatever president you chain around my neck. I will not vote a compromise against my conscience, or engage in a false-dichotomy for the sake of "participation in the process".RMBIVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119704720010975657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-73947481345160509152011-11-23T18:49:52.360-08:002011-11-23T18:49:52.360-08:00Auriel Ragmon, that old canard about Newt asking h...Auriel Ragmon, that old canard about Newt asking his wife for a divorce when she was in the hospital for cancer is completely untrue -- in every respect. Read <a href="http://www.creators.com/conservative/jackie-gingrich-cushman/setting-the-record-straight.html" rel="nofollow">his daughter's debunking of that myth</a>, and please don't spread it any more.A. S. Haleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-69357014314315048202011-11-23T18:31:19.541-08:002011-11-23T18:31:19.541-08:00Dear RMBIV:
GWB is also the husband of one wife, a...Dear RMBIV:<br />GWB is also the husband of one wife, and look what he got us into, along with his dad, who is also the HOOF. and former president clinton who is also the HOOF.<br /><br />I think we gotta look at another paradigm here.Auriel Ragmonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08395216240172741261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-82733972399781411312011-11-23T18:27:11.595-08:002011-11-23T18:27:11.595-08:00Let's listen to Newt make a public apology and...Let's listen to Newt make a public apology and repentance to his former wife to whom he gave a divorce on her bed in a hospital.<br />then I will believe in anything he says<br />He's sure a smart cookie, but not a moral paragon.<br /><br />Jim of olym<br />PS: Not a moral paragon myself by any means but not as much in the public eye as the Newt fellow.Auriel Ragmonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08395216240172741261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-86417562921973918162011-11-23T15:24:10.223-08:002011-11-23T15:24:10.223-08:00I do admire Newt's honesty and humility in the...I do admire Newt's honesty and humility in these discussions, and am not certain he is a typical career politician. That having been said, I am convinced in listening to his policy prescriptions and considering his past ability to promise what was not delivered (thinking here of the "Contract with America"), whether through surrender or lack of votes, that I can not support him. My principal source of reticence is the fact that I am still convinced that he does not understand what must be done if this nation is to avoid experiencing either a Weimar Republic experience or a Second Great Depression, perhaps both.<br /><br />There is one candidate who actually does understand that all of those proposals put forth by the totality of his opponents are inadequate to the challenge. He alone, has proposed a paring of the Federal government which I believe is the <i>sine qua non</i> of an economic recovery with my remaining life expectancy (I have already turned 66). His first step, probably not sufficient buy an admirably daring start, is to simply disestablish five Cabinet departments. His plan parallels a part of what I would disestablish, and I strongly suspect that his five is not the full listing of the Cabinet departments which need to be eliminated, but I doubt that the economy could stand the shock of that many newly unemployed former Federal employees in one batch.<br /><br />The advantages of implementing his plan go beyond the deficit issue to reforming the Federal establishment to be closer to what is authorized by the Constitution. If he is not elected, I believe that the only thing that will forestall a lengthy depression, or worse, will be direct divine intervention.<br /><br /><i>Pax et bonum</i>,<br />Keith TöpferMartial Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11679584221923893460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-46869954907855347472011-11-23T11:42:48.753-08:002011-11-23T11:42:48.753-08:00This man's statements are truly extraordinary,...This man's statements are truly extraordinary, not so much as in the content, which one may hear every day<br />in church settings, but that he has<br />unabashedly introduced the doctrines<br />of repentance and salvation into a <br />political discussion.Patrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09880477052032384770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-69278523911117005522011-11-23T04:17:25.600-08:002011-11-23T04:17:25.600-08:00There is one and only one genuine man of integrity...There is one and only one genuine man of integrity and Christian running for president.<br /><br />I suspect that the ordinary conservatives already know who he is, and don't like him and that I don't even have to write his name.<br /><br />It's not Newt.TheOldCrusaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05944385246214730576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-77558167624217221212011-11-22T12:10:37.337-08:002011-11-22T12:10:37.337-08:00I confess to being enamored of Speaker Gingrich...I confess to being enamored of Speaker Gingrich's ability to speak in full sentences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-51198482538746174622011-11-22T08:15:50.058-08:002011-11-22T08:15:50.058-08:00Thank you for that comment, RMBIV. As I tried to m...Thank you for that comment, RMBIV. As I tried to make very clear in my post, I am not yet endorsing any candidate for the office of president -- we are still twelve months away from the election, and to expect to discern all the relevant factors at this stage would be to have a very exaggerated opinion of one's abilities.<br /><br />The point of the post was to illustrate how a simple Christian humility, born of painful knowledge of what others think of you because of what you have done, can at least strike a genuine note in politics -- one that is too rare these days. Newt may or may not be the genuine article; it's too early yet to tell for sure. But he's learning from his mistakes.A. S. Haleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-53698012381574994712011-11-22T07:41:28.863-08:002011-11-22T07:41:28.863-08:00I've been reading your blog for a few months n...I've been reading your blog for a few months now (lurking), but on this political issue I'm going to disagree with you. I agree that we should look at Newt (or any candidate) as another sinner, and not judge them too harshly. However, I'm not looking to Newt to be a brother in Christ - I'm looking for a leader for this nation. The standards are raised - higher even than I hold myself, because the office is higher than the one I hold. Can we expect this man to lead the country successfully when he can't lead his marriage(s) successfully?<br /><br />I would hope that we would exercise the same judgment when picking leaders in the church - in fact, the Bible lays out standards for leadership in those offices. I'm confused why you seem to be willing to give Newt a pass on these issues, just because his office is political instead of religious. Surely being "a husband of one wife" should be a minimum standard for any sort of leadership position.<br /><br />Find the candidate that has been married for 50 years, that is where you will find the honest politician. There is only one of them that I know of.RMBIVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119704720010975657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-58964102681108169262011-11-22T00:23:18.550-08:002011-11-22T00:23:18.550-08:00I'm not really enamored of any of the people r...I'm not really enamored of any of the people running. That said I do like Newt's confession. It had a note of sincerity I don't often sense with politicians. And to be frank some of his personal background was (and is) troubling to me. While this did not erase those concerns, it did help ease them somewhat.John (Ad Orientem)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14329907942477160166noreply@blogger.com