Health Care Reform Revives Christian Right

Evangelicals Rally around Opposition to Obama Heath Care Plan

(Washington Post)  This story was written by staff writer Jacqueline L. Salmon

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The Christian right, facing questions before the presidential election about its continuing potency as a force for cultural and political change, has found new life with Barack Obama in office, particularly around health care.

As the president prepares to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night to press for health-care reform, conservative Christian leaders are rallying their troops to oppose him, with online town hall meetings, church gatherings, fundraising appeals, and e-mail and social networking campaigns. FRC Action, the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council, has scheduled a webcast Thursday night for tens of thousands of supporters in which House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other speakers will respond to the president's health-care address.

"Movements do better when they have something to oppose," said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociology professor at Rice University who studies evangelicals. "It's easier to fundraise in those kinds of situations. It's easier to mobilize volunteers because you have an us versus them mentality, and that plays very well right now for the Christian right."

After seeing their bread-and-butter issue of abortion take a back seat during the election last year, the Christian right has been a prime force in moving it back to the front row by focusing on it as a potential part of health-care reform.

"It's a busy time," said Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus on the Family Action, the lobbying arm of Focus on the Family. He said donations to Focus Action have climbed beyond expectations, although he declined to say by how much.

Experts say the resurgent interest is proving that predictions of the death of the Christian right -- widespread before the election -- were again premature. But they say the recent flurry of activity does nothing to solve the underlying challenges facing the movement -- the lack of younger leaders to replace aging ones and ways to engage younger evangelicals who want the movement to embrace a wider range of issues.

But, for the moment, conservative Christian leaders are riding high on opposing health-care reform.

"Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and Henry Waxman have done more to energize Christian conservatives than any conservative leader could have done with this health-care package," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "I, who never believed that we were dead, did not believe that it would happen this quickly."

Polls show that the health-care packages on the Hill are widely unpopular among evangelicals. More than seven in 10 white evangelical Protestants in the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll said they are dissatisfied or angry about the Democratic reform proposals.

A coalition of three dozen conservative Christian organizations, representing 5 million people and calling itself the Freedom Federation, announced its formation last month. It has taken on opposition to health-care reform as its first issue.

"We're not having to build a grand new organization. We're using the strengths of other organizations that understand the needs of their particular constituencies," said Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law and an organizer of the Freedom Federation.

Christian right leaders say it is too soon to tell whether health-care reform will trigger a flood of donations, but they are encouraged by the response they are seeing in other ways.

Gary Bauer, who heads the socially conservative group American Values, said that the list of addresses to which he sends his daily e-mail alerts was down to 170,000 and that he was getting only 50 requests a week to sign up for it before the election. Now, he said, the e-mail list is up to 225,000, and he is getting 1,000 or more requests a week asking to be added.

"The passion that was so evident in the Obama campaign right now, at least, has shifted to our side," he said.

Laura Olson, professor of politics at Clemson University, said health-care reform has been a way to rally Christian conservatives and get them back into the national conversation.

"It has the potential to remind people in that sector. . . of the American electorate that, 'This is really one of our core concerns, and here's a new manifestation of it,'" Olson said. "It puts a whole new coat of paint on it and makes it even more useful strategically."

Polling director Jon Cohen contributed to this report.

[hankelvis]

GE clones the same Public Health program they implemented in the U.K. and Japan, VISA gets a transaction fee on every patient visit or payment. Unions pawn-off GM?s trillion-dollar retiree health care benefit portfolio. Ten million illegal aliens get deported using GE's personal identity database scheme. NY University "Health Training" programs get funded. Large and otherwise eligible Islamic-Amnerican population sticks to private healthcare as no accommodations can be made for thier religious practices in the Public Healthcare setting. Although spiritual health is a necessary component of human well-being, healthcare under government auspices invites establishment clause litigation. Removing bedside prayer for the dying is a slam-dunk in the Courts.

[diamruby]

I object to being forced to pay taxes on churchs because they claim they are tax exempt yet they run very large profitable businesses. I object to religous nuts forcing their beliefs on us. I object to raising millions of welfare babies that turn into adults that have more welfare babies etc. etc. I am for abortions & mandatory sterilization for all that cannot & will not pay & provide for the children that they bring into this world. The churches are always claiming that they will care for the children but we have yet to see that happen, in fact there is very little that churches do for people in need, but they are always there waiting & expecting money to attend their church services. Alot of people are getting rich off of the name "God".

[babooph]

These whacos have a rip off with their "church" property UNTAXED-the general public funds their delusions -TAX THEM NOW!!!

[babooph]

All those evangelical suckers-enjoying medicaid & medicare ,while they mindlessly scream against govt. healthcare for others,just one more example of their hypocricy.

[kansas1946]

Health Care Reform Revives Christian Right
**********************************

Well, that would figure. Try to do anything to help people, to give aid to the needy, to ease peoples suffering, and the Christian right is sure to oppose it with hate speech. Jesus would be SO proud.

[element51]

Speaking of BS I see Rowdy has signed on. This gal can spin it out so fast that your head will explode. She knows everything about everything and if you doubt me just try to disagree with her and you will be amazed at how quickly she can rip your heart out. I've been watching her for almost two years and finally realized that, to paraphrase the Borg, "resistance is futile." Well, I'm outta here. Hope you all have a great day....even you Rowdy.

[element51]

These fundamentalist "christians" never cease to amaze me. They twist and spin truth with the greatest of ease. As an atheist it is easy for me to stand back and watch objectively since I don't have a dog in the fight. I don't hate people because of their religious beliefs but it seems that there is a lot of hate among christians. They squabble with each other and it seems that one side takes a different view than the other. One side uses their religion to campaign against health care reform and the other side doesn't seem to have the will to stand up and fight for what they believe in. This issue is now dead in the water thanks to an all out war from the right. The republicans have done the job for their corporate masters as they usually do and the door remains open for the continued rape of the American people. Evidently there is a large portion of the American people who like being used and as long as they are happy with that nothing will change. To date, many of you have lost your homes and/or your jobs but evidently that wasn't enough. You seem to want to lose your health care as well. Just wait till your income drops like a rock and your health care premimus go through the roof. What happens when YOU become one of the uninsured? And I have a hunch that your hero Jesus would weep like a bride left at the alter at the way some of you use his name but trash what he tried to teach you. I'm sure if He were here with you He would be screaming for Obama's blood as He waved his AK47 in the air. And the sad part is that there is a man in the White House who really cares about ALL Americans and many of you are wishing for his death. With the help of Rush and Glenn and all their friends you will have your way. Sooner or later some right wing nut case will hear what they want to hear from their sacred radio and will somehow get to the president. That will surely be a day of rejoicing for you little neocons.

[pk1919]

How can anyone call themselves "Christian" and yet want to deny health care to another human being? Abortion is so bad, yet if you are older and have no health care, then you can just go off and die, because obviously, the ultra right wing nut jobs don't care. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" does not apply clearly. These people get far too much press; if the media ignored them, no one would hear their crap, and just maybe they would fade into the rest of the crap in the world. Real Christians don't wear their Christianity on their sleeves. Hypocrites do!!!

[jab232]

Does it strike you as ironic that those who claim to follow the great healer are opposed to health care reform in a nation where so many are without insurance or adequate health care?

[incog-nito]

As a lifelong conservative and Christian, I believe that the only righteous way to get health care is through insurance companies. Any other way would be sinful.

[pubsrtoast]

As a lifelong conservative Christian you wouldn't care about healthcare. You would be way to busy praying for the Rapture and Armageddon so that Jesus could slay your mortal enemies (the evil liberals) while they watch.

[pubsrtoast]

Should the Democrats succeed in pushing through the public option, I would love to see Obame stick a thumb in the eye of the Republican party and Christian right by standing under a "Mission Accomplished" banner when signing the bill into law.

[afmcalax]

Yes, the Christ I knew growing up would be against universal health care. He would be against food kitchens and fuel funds. He would rail against hospice care, good Samaritans, and charities. How dare people show sympathy and caring to their fellow humans. Jesus was more a survival of the fittest type of guy.

A little known fact is that after Jesus turned water into wine the disciples sent an invoice a week later. You should have seen the bills he sent those poor people he actually healed. Astronomical! Those with chronic conditions he just let die. Peter was actually an accountant not a fisherman.

Yes the christian right shows their empathy and sincere interest in following the word of their saviors. Unfortunately their savior hasn't been Jesus for at least the last decade it is the Prophets for Profit that have promoted themselves to holy status. They worship corporate idols. From what I have read I think there is a special place in Hades for all of them.

[pubsrtoast]

Well Christ was all about ROI and the bottom line you know.

[pubsrtoast]

Useful Idiots! They campaigned for Bush in 2004 and lost their jobs and houses. Now, they are working to make healthcare unaffordable for themselves. How nice that the Republican party and the Christian right have found each other, they can crash and burn together!

[parrots7]

by drsuz September 9, 2009 1:41 PM EDT
In 2008, a total of 2.6 million jobs were lost. So far, according to Money magazine for the first three months of this year (2009), 2 million jobs have been lost and it doesn't include how many since March have lost their jobs and here the year is almost over.


******
and you believe this is the TIME to leave things as they are and not get the Health Insurance Industry fixed to allow more of these people have access to some form of Healthcare that won't bankrupt them ..... The saddest part of all this, is that 90% of the most Rabid Repugs are just ONE (1) illness away from being DEMOCRATS. Dumb Repugs !

[wdrussell1]

Health care for the least fortunate is satanic.
More profits for the insurance companies is Christian.

And the American taliban wonders why they are called wacko fundis?

[DaVicar6]

Brilliant Comment!
Give yourself a pat on your hump.

[parrots7]

Davicar, ever thought about who actually benefits from the current system and our not making any improvements to it right now - If we fail this year, just imagine how many people may have had a chance that these Repugs have once again prevented from getting something as basic as Healthcare. Cheers!

[ChuckInTX]

Christ called them sheep with good reason. In contemporary English language usage, people who are timid, easily led, or stupid are often compared to sheep.

[DaVicar6]

If you think sheep are easily led, you obviously never worked on a farm.

[chonder2]

DiVicar-Keep both hands where we can see them!

[chonder2]

DaVicar- Did you get a purdy one?

[earlysaid]

The Christian Right is an rigid mean-spirited branch of the Republican Party. Opposing health care reform for American citizens has nothing to do with Christian values or Godly love and caring. It does have a lot to do with lies, fear mongering and ignorance among people who believe all the lies republicans dish out. As long as they can bleet about abortion and illegal immigrants the morons will droop all over themselves to oppose improvements in health care. How can anyone believe the Christian Right is anything but republican WRONG when they are lying as much as any other hypocrite republican out there.

[chitown639]

Do these people actually think Jesus would be against health-care for all?

[mjvwsr]

no but he might take exception to using my tax dollars to pay for your abortion.

[chitown639]

mjvwsr, Abortion is a DEAD ISSUE my friend....the Republicans have controled every branch of government for years and have yet to even attempt to reverse Abortion....that's because the fact of the matter is they have no intentions of changing the abortion law, they will NEVER pass a law forcing women to have babies...that will just NEVER happen!!! You're just being used my friend to push the Republican agenda!!!

[afmcalax]

mjvwsr - if you actually read the bill you would find what you just stated to be another lie from the christian right. The bill states that at least one health care plan have an abortion option. The people opting into that plan would then pay the premium. Your money would not be involved. Since an abortion is a legal medical procedure your moral, religious objection has no consequence. I really hate that religions are tax-exempt and get other tax breaks. This takes away money that could be used for the common good instead of religions that spread lies, hate, and division. But it seems you have no issue with that. The amount of lies and hate flowing from supposed christians has made me question the role of religion in a modern society. From what I see it offers lttle benefit.

[afmcalax]

Republican objections to abortion is a political ploy not a moral one. Even prior to Rowe v Wade rich white people had no trouble getting safe abortions. Their money afforded them options of sending their women to Europe or to a friendly doctor. Only the poor and middle class were left to suffer the medical malpractice of back alley butchers or home made solutions. Rowe v Wade did not make abortion more available it just made it safer for all women and leveled the playing field so it was no longer dependent on power and money. You get rid of Rowe tomorrow and the rich, white Republicans will still have easy and safe access; while the poor and middle class will again be left to back alley butchers. Rowe didn't start abortions; getting rid of Rowe won't stop them. The only result will be more dead and injured women. I guess that is another example of christian empathy.

[xanleft]

They don't care what Jesus would do or say. He was a big socialist, remember? He mixed with the heathens? He was tolerant. He loved. He practiced what He preached. He cared for the less fortunate. He wasn't rich landowner.

Our Christian right would EXILE Jesus if he appeared today. He does not represent anything they stand for. And don't forget being right for them is not debatable. They are always wrong. Sorry uninsured, you're on your own. Go ask God for help.

[Zann-Zel]

I don't ever remember reading that Jesus said he couldn't afford to heal people. I don't ever remember Jesus saying he would only heal the rich. For these people to call themselves Christian, while trying to stand in the way of people being helped and their lives saved, because to them money is more important, is just unbelievable!!!

[chonder2]

You can gather fearful, single issued ignorant people together and tell them anything, and they will eat it up!

[chonder2]

Were no "told" anything? The Hitler posters just flew out of their buttts?