Richard Land Betrays Conservatives
September 26, 2007
Evangelical “Leader” and President of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has went on the attack against James Dobson, a man that all people of faith can respect.
As you know, Dr. Dobson expressed reservations about Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson because:
- Fred Thompson does NOT support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman.
- Fred Thompson not only favors, but was instrumental in passing, McCain-Feingold, which limits the ability of conservatives to spread our message.
- Fred Thompson consistently avoids speaking about his beliefs, political and religious, and has underwhelmed on the campaign trail.
In addition to Dobson’s complaints, Fred also recently shunned Values Voters by refusing to appear at a Values Voter Debate in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Over 63% of the delegates in that debate ended up supporting Mike Huckabee.
Richard Land defended Fred Thompson by claiming that people were angry with Dr. Dobson and that although Fred Thompson’s positions are problematic, he is our best shot at winning the White House. There are two problems with his logic.
1. Mike Huckabee is the Republican’s only shot at winning the White House.
Land recently commented that “nobody thinks Mike Huckabee can beat Hillary Clinton.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Mike Huckabee has all 5 of the Reagan characteristics that made him win in a landslide, something no other candidate can claim. http://huckamania.wordpress.com/2007/08/30/25/ He is the only candidate that can defeat Hillary Clinton.
In contrast, Senator Thompson has largely underwhelmed and could end up embarrassing the movement. http://huckamania.wordpress.com/2007/08/30/25/
2. Our ultimate goal should not be power: “If you gain the whole world, but lose your soul, then what have you gained?”
Land also said his desire to defeat Hillary “outweighs just about everything.” Land is saying in that comment that he is willing to win at any cost.
One conservative leader once wisely told me this: “We have to be faithful to God, to the principles that guide us, and to our supporters who are looking to us for leadership. We should be reminded of the oft repeated truth that God has not called us to be successful; he has called us to be faithful.” That has guided me in everything I do politically.
This seems to mean nothing to some of our Christian “Leaders” today. They seem obsessed with power and obsessed with being insiders and appointees, rather than interested in actually leading any kind of movement and changing American culture.
Since Mr. Land believes that it is winning that is important, why doesn’t he just hop on board to team Giuliani? After all, he’ll appoint strict constructionist judges. When a conservative leader says his desire to defeat Hillary outweighs everything and implies he is willing to sacrifice principle, I consider an unforgivable betrayal of the movement and values they claim to represent.
IF WE LISTEN TO LAND, WE LOSE
When we are true to our values (Reagan, Contract with America, 2000/04) we win. When we are obsessed with power, we lose (Read my lips, 2006 elections). Conservatives would have no trouble winning and governing if we actually fought for and enacted the fiscal and social conservative values that we claim to believe in.
Watch this Video from http://abuckforhuck.blogspot.com
Our Friend over at A Buck for Huck created this video. Since Dr. Land heard from so many people angry with Dr. Dobson, let’s let him hear how many people support Dobson!
September 30, 2007 at 6:15 am
this is a great post. informative, comprehensive and encouraging.
i loved the quote, “God has NOT called us to be successful; He has called us to be faithful.” good stuff.
if all Christian leaders embraced this mantra, we would have a revival of unity within the Christian community and action and progress amongst the Christian values based movement.
great job! keep up the good work!
October 2, 2007 at 8:33 pm
These are the people who need to be contacted to inform of our displeasure in the actions of Richard Land.
Daniel Akin, Ph.D., President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Don Buckley, M.D., Family Physician, Pensacola, Florida
L. Russ Bush III, Ph.D., Academic Vice President; Dean of the Faculty Emeritus; Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Religion; and Director of the Center for Faith and Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina
David Dockery, Ph.D., President and Professor of Christian Studies, Union University, Jackson, Tennessee
Barrett Duke, Ph.D., Vice President for Public Policy and Research, Director of the Research Institute, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Leland House on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Timothy George, Th.D., Dean and Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama; Executive Editor of Christianity Today
The Late Carl F. H. Henry, Th.D., Ph.D., Theologian and Author; Founding Editor of Christianity Today, Watertown, Wisconsin
Richard Land, D.Phil., President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tennessee
Steve Lemke, Ph.D., Provost and Professor of Philosophy and Ethics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana
C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D., Director, The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity; Associate Professor of Bioethics and Contemporary Culture, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois; Editor, Ethics & Medicine: An International Journal of Bioethics; Consultant on Biomedical Ethics and Life Issues, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tennessee
R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Ph.D., President and Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky
Paige Patterson, Th.D., President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas
Craig Blaising, Th.D, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Provost, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, 2002
Douglas K. Blount, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Ethics and Philosophical Studies; Editor of the Southwestern Journal of Theology; and Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, 2003
Daniel R. Heimbach, Ph.D., Professor of Christian Ethics, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina, 2004
Jerry A. Johnson, Ph.D., President, The Criswell College, Dallas, Texas, 2004
Craig Vincent Mitchell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, 2005
Jeffrey B. Riley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Ethics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005
R. Philip Roberts, Ph.D., President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri, 2003
Shannon Royce, J.D., Executive Director, The Arlington Group; Legislative Consultant, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Leland House on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., 2000
Randy Singer, J.D., Adjunct Professor, Regent University School of Law, Virginia Beach, Virginia; Legal Advisor, The American Center for Law &
Justice, 2000
Jerry Sutton, Ph.D., Senior Pastor, Two Rivers Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, 2001
Gregory Thornbury, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Christian Ethics; Associate Professor of Christian Studies; and Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Christian Leadership, Union University, Jackson, Tennessee, 2001
Malcolm Yarnell, D.Phil., Director of the Center for Theological Research; Assistant Dean for Theological Studies; Director of the Oxford Program; and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, 2002