The Religious Right is Ruining the Republican Party

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Written by Cynthia Southern

Monday, July 27 2009 10:56

I am a Republican and have been since registering to vote at age 18. I supported Ronald Reagan in his bid for office in 1980. He promised to restore national honor, strength and dignity. He would free the American Embassy hostages in Tehran, Iran. He promised to break the Soviet Union. We would no longer tolerate those who meant our nation harm. He would strengthen and grow the United States military.

I loved those ideals and saw them every one of them enacted during the Reagan administration. The greatest victory was seeing the Soviet Communist regime crumble in 1991 because it couldn’t sustain itself or its bloated defense budget any longer.

I am proud that my party was founded to end slavery in America. The Republican Party believes in individuality, the Constitution and a great America. It also believes in a great economy for people of all financial classes. Low tax rates invigorate the economy and create jobs for every American.

In the past twenty years or so the Christian hard religious right has wanted to make their ideas the platform of the party. They believe government should legislate morality. Among their ideas are not teaching sex education and birth control; limiting the rights of Gay and Lesbian Americans, banning abortion, and giving tax breaks to those without children (There are Americans who are childfree and proud of it. They don’t wish to pay higher taxes because they don’t choose to reproduce.).

These folks are extremists in the true sense of the word. They fear technology, education, intelligence and all forms of media including movies and books. They are intolerant of those who are different than them. Many times people of different religions and faiths confuse and bewilder them. They forget that we have a Constitution with the First Amendment guaranteeing the freedom of speech. That gives one the right to watch the movies they want, to read the books they want and to say ‘I disagree with you and your ideas.’ I don’t want to live under a Christian Taliban.

Due to extreme religious intolerance Mitt Romney, a member of the Mormon Church, could not get further than the primaries in his bid to be the Republican presidential 2008 candidate. Mike Huckabee and other Christian religious right members wouldn’t allow him to compete to be our candidate. I felt he had good ideas and he would have made an excellent candidate.

For the record I am Christian and am pro life. I am NOT an extremist. I believe abortion should exist but only be used in the most dire of circumstances. This is between a woman and her doctor.

I believe in tolerance for others of different races, faiths, sizes, disabilities and perceptions. To be tolerant is to be a good American. Why can’t some Republicans be tolerant of others in their party? The Democratic Party has many different constituencies in their party. They come together and work for the common goal every election. I wish Republicans would do this as well. It is for this reason that I believe Obama became president not McCain.

The Republican Party is about secular politics not religion. Church and the pulpit are the place for religion. There are many different religions, denominations and beliefs for those who want to practice them.

Above all Jesus Christ taught us to love one another as he loved us. He wants us to practice tolerance. Intolerance has no place in any political party or in America.

I am proud to be a Christian, American and Republican. I will stay within my party to change it from within and make it the party I yearned to join at 12 years of age. We are a good party and can prove this to be true again.

Last Updated on Monday, July 27 2009 13:39

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