(September 10, 2012 at 1:27 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: When did the republicans become the god party anyway?
It was a gradual process, one I'm familiar with having been a secular Republican at one time.
You could trace it back to the 80s with the election of Reagan, though he seldom darkened the doorway to any church. At the time, the evangelicals were regarded as useful throwaways, much like how the Democrat Party treats liberals today. Reagan would toss them a bone or two like a half-hearted push for prayer in schools.
Then came the 1988 election when Bush Jr. led the evangelicals to elect his dad as president. There was a definite shift in power in the Republican ranks. The secularists and libertarians were in denial for much of the 90s but, in retrospect, that's when they really took control.
The election of Bush Jr. as president was the sign that the GOP had become the evangelical party. Now its the libertarians that are the useful throwaway group, as evident by Ron Paul's treatment at the recent GOP convention. I'm sure Tiberius or others could comment further on that issue.
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"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist