Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Faithful Democrats

Home
Politics and Religion
I am not a Liberal Democrat

I am not a Liberal Democrat

Last updated on: May 9, 2013 at 6:20 am by Faithful Democrats

I am not a Liberal Democrat 2013-05-09T06:20:34-06:00 Faithful Democrats

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Every time, I hear a GOP Bushie propagandist refer to people like me who disagree with them as a Liberal Democrat, I just want to jump through the TV and slap them.

Every time, I hear a GOP Bushie propagandist refer to people like me who disagree with them as a Liberal Democrat, I just want to jump through the TV and slap them. No, I’m not a violent person. The slap is more of a tradition from centuries ago when someone’s honor was challenged.

I was raised in a staunchly Republican household. My father was very active in the GOP party in Texas back in the 50’s through the early 80’s, i.e. Ronnie’s first term. Since he was in the oil business, he was very much acquainted with the major players in the party at that time, including George HW Bush. He was asked on numerous occasions to run for office, but declined.

“I’ve never known an honest man that went to Washington that didn’t turn into a crook!” He told me when I discussed the notion of running for office. “If you can do it, you’re a better person than most.”

I was raised to believe in fiscal responsibility by government. I was raised to believe in the founding principles of our Republic like States Rights and a smaller Federal gov’t. I was raised to believe that we would all be better off if our Federal government stayed out of the practice of regulating business and personal values. In essence, I was raised Republican and damn proud of it.

I should note here, that I voted for both Nixon and Reagan, not that I’m really proud of that. Reagan was the last Republican President I voted for. Both men let me down BIG TIME. In fact, Reagan let my father down so bad, that this resolute conservative from Mississippi vowed to vote for Jesse Jackson before he would vote for another Republican for president.

But my separation from the Republican Party (NOT the Republican Conservative principles I was raised on) had more to do with the realization that TODAY’S Republican Party NO LONGER stood for the values that I was raised on and believed in.

TODAY’S Republican Party NO LONGER STOOD FOR Fiscal Responsibility. In fact, Reagan increased the size of the Federal Government by 400%. Reagan was responsible for a huge increase in our Federal Deficit. And Reagan’s “TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS” was a sham that PRIMARILY benefited RICH people.

And the Republican Party NO LONGER cared about people like me. It became VERY CLEAR to me that they didn’t give a damn about Poor people just trying to get by the best they could or Single working mothers trying to raise children without the benefit of child support, public aid or health insurance.

However, the last straw was when the NEW Republican Party started acting like a parent and treating me like a child. The straw that broke the camels back for me was when they started legislating INDIVIDUAL moral values. They wanted to tell me what I could do with and put in my body. They wanted to make me believe and act the way they thought I should believe and act. They behaved like they knew better than me what was good and right for my life.

Well as a parent myself, there comes a time in every parent-child relationship, where the child rebels against their parent. It’s necessary if the child is ever to go on to be a healthy, productive adult. No government is EVER going to tell me what to believe, what I can do with my body, what I can put in my body. PERIOD END OF STORY!!!!! And if that makes me a criminal, then SO BE IT!!!! Our founding fathers were considered CRIMINALS by the theocracy of King George.

I was raised to believe in the BILL OF RIGHTS that GUARANTEED my right to CHOOSE what I believe and how I express it. I mean, isn’t Religion just another word for Moral Values? Don’t our religious beliefs provide us with a STANDARD by which we live our lives? So if we are to have FREEDOM OF RELIGION, doesn’t that mean that we have the RIGHT to determine how we live our lives according to our moral standards?

Ok the fascists that are now running the Republican Party will try to use these words against me. No, I don’t believe that Freedom of Religion gives you the right to drive drunk or go on a shooting spree. But what I do in the privacy of my home, with my body, is MY BUSINESS, not anybody else’s and CERTAINLY NOT OUR GOVERNMENTS! EVERYTIME our government enacts legislation that regulates MY MORAL right to CHOOSE, they are moving more and more AWAY from our founding principles and TOWARDS governments like the theocracy of England that resulted in our independence or even worse, towards a totalitarian regime like the Communists.

I am a born again Christian. But there is a principle, acknowledged by the Declaration of Independence, which I firmly believe in. That is my Heavenly Father above gives me the right to CHOOSE. He allows me to CHOOSE to believe in him or not to believe in him. He allows me to CHOOSE to do the right thing or NOT do the right thing. He allows me to choose just as any parent must, to allow their children to make their own choices at some point in their adult lives.

A government that RESTRICTS MY RIGHT TO CHOOSE ON ANY LEVEL is NOT a government under GOD! Our founding forefathers knew that when they rejected the British THEOCRACY OF KING GEORGE!

RELIGIOUS LEADERS are not PERFECT nor are they ALWAYS RIGHT! If anyone in the world, past or present, could have been perfect, MY LIVING LORD AND SAVIOR would NOT have to have given up his life on the cross.

Jesus Christ called the RELIGIOUS LEADERS of his time Hypocrites. And perhaps those words are appropriate today. Because I can find no better comparison today than that of the Bushie GOP party to the Pharisees and Sadducees that Jesus condemned. They thought they knew best and as a result crucified Christ in the name of their religion. Today’s Bushie GOP party also thinks they know best and as a result our BASIC FREEDOMS, the foundation of our country, that so many people over the past 230 years have died for, are being crucified as well.

History is also full of so-called Christians that perform horrific acts that Jesus Christ would NEVER, EVER AGREE WITH! My Bible says that Jesus advocated forgiveness and turning the other cheek. My Bible teaches that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law replacing it with a NEW LAW that is “to Love God with all your heart” and “to Love your neighbor as yourself”.

I do not believe that Jesus Christ would approve of the wars we are waging no matter what the justification was.

Just because someone calls themselves a Christian, does not mean they are incapable of doing horrific acts. Hitler called himself a Christian and in so doing justified the annihilation of a race of people he held personally responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion.

My Bible says the following (Matthew 7: 15-20):

[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

I think that’s PRETTY CLEAR. Perhaps this is the rule of measurement we should be using when voting in November 2006.

My Savior taught that the Killing of innocent people is NEVER JUSTIFIED. But that’s not the part of the Bible that those so-called Bushie Christians cite to justify and excuse their actions. Instead they cite Old Testament passages that teach nothing more than vendettas when advocating “an Eye for an Eye”. Perhaps these so-called Christians just don’t completely understand what Christ did when he died on that cross and that’s why they fervishly cling to OLD LAWS that are no longer applicable to today’s Church.

I’m really happy to NOT BE PART of this Bushie GOP Religious Right Movement. But, I REPEAT, I am NOT a Liberal Democrat. However, I’m glad to vote for Democratic candidates because in my half of a decade in this world, the party that has CONSISTENTLY upheld the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence has been the Democratic Party. And the party that has CONSISTENTLY been there for the LITTLE GUY like me since the 80’s has been the DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

The problem is NOT that more people SUPPORT these GOP Bushies. The problem is that the MAJORITY of people who actually vote, SUPPORT these GOP Bushies. Historical Data from the last 20 years CLEARLY PROVES that the blacks, Hispanics and people under 30 DON’T VOTE in any significant numbers to speak of.

I find that VERY ODD indeed. You see, the only WAY that we as individuals have ANY CHANCE of changing things whether it is the misdirection of BIG government or the suppression of individual rights to choose, is to PAY ATTENTION and get up off our butts and VOTE. We find ourselves in the predicament we are in PRIMARILY BECAUSE people don’t pay attention and people don’t vote. Unfortunately for those of us who do pay attention and participate in our Constitutional Freedoms have to pay the price for those who are either lazy or ignorant. The excuse that it “just doesn’t matter because they are all the same” is PATHETIC. Clearly the last decade have proven beyond any reasonable doubt that when it comes to ideology, there are significant differences between the Democratic and the Republican parties.

Of course there are also similarities. They all lie. They all sell their souls for the cash they need to stay in office. But at least the last Democratic President to lie, lied about personal behavior that didn’t cost the lives of thousands of innocent but brave Americans. And in my lifetime, the Republican Party has been the party CONSISTENTLY responsible for SELLING OUT OUR LIVELIHOOD, OUR FUTURE AND OUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO CHOOSE! I’ll wager their response will be that there is no Constitutional right to choose. I think our Founding Forefathers would disagree fervently.

While the GOP Bushie Propagandists try to brainwash us that the Democratic party has no voice, that’s only because the Bushies are so busy shouting over any and every dissenting voice and attacking anyone and everyone that would oppose them with very hateful rhetoric.

I must do what I believe is right. I can no longer sit back and wait for people to wake up and smell the coffee. My conscious won’t allow it. I have to follow my heart and my heart tells me that things will change ONLY when more people stand up against this assault on the principles of Freedom and Justice for all. I can no longer sit back and watch these GOP Bushies sell off our country and our liberties one piece at a time. Action must be taken. The Declaration of Independence states the following:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

This is what I was raised to believe in. This is what I was taught in school. This is what I hold fast in my heart. This is what I have passed onto my children. And this is what I will forsake everything for. Because without the freedoms guaranteed to us by our founding fathers, our country is no better than the worst tyranny that we ourselves demonize.

I’m not a Liberal Democrat nor am I a Bushie Religious Right Republican. I’m an American!

Reader Blogs

Previous Post

September 5, 2006

Let Justice Rain Down

Next Post

September 5, 2006 Ann Coulter and "Godless"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Us About Us Action Center Advertise Ask a Theologian Ask a Theologian Blogs Books Campaign Blog Candidate Spotlights Commentary Donate Facebook Featured Writers Fellows Fellows From the Pulpit General Information Hillary Clinton Interfaith Blog Latest Media Center Media Center Media Center MyBlog MyBlog News Newsflash Newsflashes Our Team Reader Blogs RSS Sermon of the Week Shop Social Networking Static Items Support Talking Points Test blogs The Basics Theology Uncategorized YouTube

Select a Month November 2020 October 2020 February 2020 August 2019 July 2018 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 January 2006 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Naphtali" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Chosen One My struggle God is my rock The Lord is my strength