So Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani the other day. To quote Adam Sandler in one of my all-time favorite movies, “Well, whoopidee dooo!” Meanwhile, Sen Sam Brownback, I guess the standard bearer for Christianity in the Senate, has endorsed John McCain. Rev. Donald E. Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association, has endorsed Mike Huckabee (so did Chuck Norris FWIW). And a couple of weeks ago, Bob Jones endorsed Mitt Romney. All that while Dr. James Dobson and other evangelical leaders threaten to endorse a third party if the Republicans fail to nominate a pro-life candidate (see this post below). Do these differing opinions mean anything? Is it a harbinger of the collapse of the Religious Right?
Not really. It’s really more reflective of a reality of Christians overlooked by political “experts.” Remember, there are hundreds of different denominations split over things as important as whether or not you have Sunday School. Do you honestly think if Christians can’t be united under Jesus that some politician can unite them? And this is a good thing, really. I’d rather have a fractured “christian” political base than one united on only one or two issues. I’d rather not be shoe-horned into a political party just because of my faith. And I especially don’t want dishonest politicians pandering to me in the name of my Lord with the aim to be elected to office, not to bring Him glory.
There are a lot of people surprised by Pat Robertson’s endorsement. After all, Rudy doesn’t have the most conservative record when it comes to abortion and gay rights. However, this isn’t an indication of Robertson becoming less narrow minded. Instead, it represents his strong and very public stance on the Global War on Terror. As much as it seems he says some ridiculous things like Hurricane Katrina being about homosexuality, he talks much more frequently and more firmly about terrorism. So this news shouldn’t be taken as an encouraging sign of the Christian Right, but instead an endorsement of a 21st Century Crusade.
But again, these figureheads don’t speak for me. And I don’t pledge allegiance to any doctrine based on their words, but on God’s alone. There is some discussion online that this endorsement will drive moderates away from Giuliani. I don’t think so. I just think reality is finally exposing the mythology of the “value voter”. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. (For a counter argument on the state of the evangelical voter, see this article)