Religion and Politics:

Today's Republicans: Mitt Romney: I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from the God that gave us liberty.i Rick Santorum: "The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country."ii "An America where the separation of church and state is absolute [was] not the founders' vision."iii The idea of strict or absolute separation of church and state is not and never was the American model.iv Ron Paul: The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. v Newt Gingrich: "Now [the left] will tell you, well they stand for separation of church and state. My answer to that is that they have perverted Thomas Jefferson's words beyond belief." vi Goldwater: On the Separation of Church and State: "I am a conservative Republican, but I believe in democracy and the separation of church and state. The conservative movement is founded on the simple tenet that people have the right to live life as they please as long as they don't hurt anyone else in the process." vii "By maintaining the separation of church and state, the United States has avoided the intolerance which has so divided the rest of the world with religious wars.... Can any of us refute the wisdom of Madison and the other framers? Can anyone look at the carnage in Iran, the bloodshed in Northern Ireland, or the bombs bursting in Lebanon and yet question the dangers of injecting religious issues into the affairs of state?....The religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy. They must learn to make their views known without trying to make their views the only alternatives.The great decisions of government cannot be dictated by the concerns of religious factions. This was true in the days of Madison, and it is just as true today. We have succeeded for 205 years in keeping the affairs of state separate from the uncompromising idealism of religious groups and we mustn't stop now. To retreat from that separation would violate the principles of conservatism and the values upon which the framers built this democratic republic." viii On the Influence of Religious Groups in Politics: "One problem today is with these neo-conservatives, the radical right, the religious extremists whose interpretation is very narrow and who want to destroy everybody who doesn't agree with 'em.

I see them as betrayers of the fundamental principles of conservatism." ix Like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'" x "I have seen many news items that referred to the Moral Majority, pro-life, and other religious groups as the new right and the new conservatism. Well, I have spent quite a number of years carrying the flag of the 'old conservatism.' And I can say with conviction that the religious issues of these groups have little or nothing to do with conservative or liberal politics. The uncompromising position of these groups is a divisive element that could tear apart the very spirit of our representative system, if they gain sufficient strength. xi "[The religious right] say that you have to go along with them 100% or, by God, they're going to get you. That's wrong, that's the way the Communists talk." xii On Televangelists: "I look at these religious television shows, and [televangelists] are raising big money on God. One million, three million, five million they brag about it. I don't believe in that. It's not a very religious thing to do."xiii "Falwell, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggert and other TV evangelists are not the only or necessarily the best representatives of the moral America in which most of us believe. Some of these checkbook clergy are too busy collecting money, Rolls Royces and private jets. Their lives are clothed in the materialistic ethic. xiv "I don't have any respect for the Religious Right. There is no place in this country for practicing religion in politics. That goes for Falwell, Robertson and all the rest of these political preachers. They are a detriment to the country." xv Every good Christian should kick Jerry Falwell right in the ass. xvi On religious groups' influence on the GOP: "When you say 'radical right' today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party away from the Republican Party, and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye." xvii "I'm telling you this Republican Party seems like it's hell-bent to destroy itself, and if they keep going to the right, where the religious groups are, that's exactly what's going to happen."xviii "The Republicans are selling their soul to win elections Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the Party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn

problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. The government wont work without it. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them." xix Notes: In the early 1990s, then RNC Chairman Haley Barbour attacked critics of the New Right, claiming that they were guilty of Christian bashing and religious bigotry. Barry Goldwater replied: Thats a crock. Hes way the hell off base, dead wrong. That religious bunch is crazy. Theyre dangerous. They'll destroy the Republican Party. Maybe eventually the Democratic Party too. xx

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4nULh2gUxk&feature=related http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-rick-santorum/story?id=15785514&page=5#.T0pQ6XJrOEs http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46518366/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/meet-press-transcriptfebruary/#.T0tvQMzow5Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UnbJaGubsI http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul148.html http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2012/02/26/gingrich-church-apologists-and-elites-imposing-will-citizens Pure Goldwater, 370-1. http://undergod.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001358 William H. Rentschler, Barry Goldwater: Icon of Political Integrity, USA Today Magazine, March 2000. http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/2012/03/samizdata_quote_982.html http://open.salon.com/blog/mark_ira_kaufman/2011/06/06/sex_and_politics_american_style http://books.google.com.au/books? id=IHnlmArhimYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false http://www.redstate.com/jgbennet/2010/09/07/barry-goldwater-the-lost-tapes-ii/ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19930822&id=9ElWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1945,6788367 Goldwater says Contra Scandal damaged Reagan, Lodi News Sentinel, 16 September 1988. http://open.salon.com/blog/mark_ira_kaufman/2011/08/09/for_whom_would_jesus_vote_not_rick_perry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f27hZXCX-Bs http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/daily/may98/goldwater072894.htm William H. Rentschler, Barry Goldwater: Icon of Political Integrity, USA Today Magazine, March 2000. Emphasis added. See John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience, 32. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-10-23/features/9410230239_1_barry-goldwater-presidency-words/3