Was Bush really part of the religious right?

Anarchist420

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Feb 13, 2010
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I think he just "paid lip service" to it. He wasn't raised in that type of lifestyle, his own morals were against not only the New Testament, but also the Old Testament, and he was a classic neocon.

I also don't remember him talking about going to church frequently, or even invoking the name of God in his speeches all that often.

OTOH, Karl Rove was a campaign manager, but that's not enough to convince me that Bush himself was a member of the religious right.
 

LumbergTech

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Sep 15, 2005
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No, he was not...I believe there are negative comments on record about religious crazies from him and his admin.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
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IIRC, he became a religious shitbag after he recovered from cocaine and alcohol problems. I use the word "recover" in a very liberal way...
 

Blackjack200

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May 28, 2007
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IIRC, he became a religious shitbag after he recovered from cocaine and alcohol problems. I use the word "recover" in a very liberal way...

Yeah, after he was done with all his drugs and hiding from the airforce, and running businesses into the ground, and after his wife was done killing people with her car, they found Jesus.

Isn't that cute?
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
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I believe GWB personally had little personal respect for religious right nutjobs, but GWB had tremendous political respect for the power and influence pandering to the religious right could gain him. As GWB also perceived that failing to pander to the religious right cost his daddy a second term. And with Karl Rove on the GWB side to hone his message, he by in large had the religious right eating out of his hand.

The only time he alienated the religious right is when he appointed Harriet Miers.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
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Yeah, after he was done with all his drugs and hiding from the airforce, and running businesses into the ground, and after his wife was done killing people with her car, they found Jesus.

Isn't that cute?

Cut him some slack. It's really hard to find Jesus when you're busy failing at life :biggrin:
 

Scotteq

Diamond Member
Apr 10, 2008
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Cut him some slack. It's really hard to find Jesus when you're busy failing at life :biggrin:


Well - it *has* been said that:

"The theory seems to be that so long as a man is a failure he is one of God's chillun, but that as soon as he has any luck he owes it to the Devil."


Apt, no?
 

Scotteq

Diamond Member
Apr 10, 2008
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That's incredibly pessimistic. Who said that?


H.L. Menken :)



and I believe on his 40th birthday, the encyclopaedia was updated to show his picture immediately following the word "Cynic".
 
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Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
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Was Bush really part of the religious right?

No. And I remember a lot of talk even from the Dem side about he courted them and then ignored them, basically used them for political purposes.

IMO, GWB was a creation of the Repub political establishment and they don't necessarily like the RR.

Fern
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
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That has always been the GOP sell to the religious right. Since even the RR realizes that they never will have the legislative clout to repeal Rowe v Wade with legislation, the GOP instead promises they can get the judicial branch to over rule it by packing SCOTUS.

And a President McCain might have gotten the RR over the hump if they had supported him.
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
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I would say that it doesn't really matter since he was more than willing to pander to them. The fact that he supported faith-based crap, abstinence only sexual education, and banned use of government funds for embryonic stem cell research is enough.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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I would say that it doesn't really matter since he was more than willing to pander to them. The fact that he supported faith-based crap, abstinence only sexual education, and banned use of government funds for embryonic stem cell research is enough.

I think that was GWBs own thing. What the RR really wanted was a ban on abortion, and that went about 3 inches or so. Still it was enough to have them support him the second time around.

The Dems of course have their own folks they use. It's the American way, or as PT Barnum supposedly said "there's a sucker born every minute".
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
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I think that was GWBs own thing. What the RR really wanted was a ban on abortion, and that went about 3 inches or so. Still it was enough to have them support him the second time around.

The Dems of course have their own folks they use. It's the American way, or as PT Barnum supposedly said "there's a sucker born every minute".
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But what is more typical of a sucker born every minute than all the worlds religions demand that we accept their dogma on only blind faith? And to cap the historical stupidity, has been the grand historical human traditions of burning heretics at the stake to enforce zero tolerance deviations from religious dogma.
 

Hayabusa Rider

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Jan 26, 2000
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But what is more typical of a sucker born every minute than all the worlds religions demand that we accept their dogma on only blind faith? And to cap the historical stupidity, has been the grand historical human traditions of burning heretics at the stake to enforce zero tolerance deviations from religious dogma.

I suggest a broader perspective. One can be an atheist and not only enforce dogma by stakes, but by tanks and starvation. You'll have a bit of trouble finding Stalin and Mao reciting catechism.

People are social creatures. In the quest for social dominance some will go to extremes. Being the ultimate predator, we prey upon ourselves. Religion, political ideologies, tribal culture and a whole host of others can be used as tools to establish a higher social status. The simplistic and false assumption that eliminating religion or any "ism" will make war go away is ridiculous. We'll just make up another reason.

Part of being human means that for all our pretense of civilization given the right reason you'll kill when it's not absolutely necessary. You may deny it, but you and I and everyone else are mere thousands of years form a time when we developed a sense of territory which we defend against anything or anyone.

We are practiced executioners. We fight against it. We establish societal standards and use nice words. We imagine humans close to evolving to a ST:TNG being, Homo Superior if you will. Flowers and perfume for the Beast.
 

MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
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dum ass posts like this are ruining these forums....

Why so touchy? Did the post cut too close to the truth about the born again buffoon that believed the voices in his head were that of god? The really sad thing is that people still defend that bastard traitor even in light of his lies and crimes. But when you have nothing, you post nothing like your little tantrum exhibited above. Really dude, kinda pathetic............
 

Siddhartha

Lifer
Oct 17, 1999
12,505
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Perhaps the membership of the "Religious Right" reflect a political spectrum when it comes to its core beliefs. IIRC, Mr Bush says he was born again but maybe he does not agree 100% on everything with the Religious Right's leadership.
 
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