Gibson writes: "Even conservative Christian students at the university where Rick Perry made his remarks about leading by a Christian example agree that it's 'un-Christian' to deny life-saving medical care to the uninsured. And plenty of Christian leaders are still calling for an end to brutal budget cuts that kill jobs and force more working families into poverty."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to the first general session of the 2010 Republican Party of Texas Convention in Dallas. (photo: LM Otero/AP)
Texas Republicans Should Read the Bible
19 September 11
Reader Supported News | Perspective
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exas Gov. Rick Perry recently said America should be guided by "the Christian values that this country was based upon." Even though Article 11 of the John Adams-endorsed Treaty of Tripoli states "the Government of the United States of America, is not in any sense, founded on the Christian religion," I'm sure it warmed the hearts of Christian voters in the room. However, Rick Perry is the absolute worst model of a Christian leader.
The scriptures are clear about the necessity of helping the sick and the poor. Proverbs 3:27 instructs those to not withhold good from the deserving when it's in their power to do so. Jesus defined the Christian's role of aiding the needy in Matthew 25: 35-41, adding that those who deny the needy the help they need do it to him also. Jesus also warns, speak out against religious hypocrites in Matthew 23. The idea of wealth redistribution isn't new - Luke the Apostle actually advocated for it in Acts 4, in a passage called "Believers Share Their Possessions."
Yet, Rick Perry instead chose to deny public healthcare to tens of thousands of his fellow Texans with reckless cuts to Medicaid. 4.6 million Texans are living in poverty, with a poverty rate three percentage points higher than the national average. After Governor Perry cut millions from volunteer firefighter and forest service budgets, Texas' wildfires are raging to this day.
Instead of redistributing wealth, Perry's friends in the capitol denied help to struggling people in his state in the midst of a $27 billion revenue shortfall, and chose to reward owners of $250,000 yachts with a generous tax break. Perry, who constantly criticizes federal entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare as "unconstitutional," apparently feels entitled to $600,000 in taxpayer money to spruce up his rented mansion.
Not to be outdone, Ron Paul recently hinted during the CNN-Tea Party debate that allowing the uninsured to die was "what freedom is all about," before finally relenting and saying churches and charity could likely pay for life-saving healthcare for a hypothetical uninsured patient in intensive care.
This is a pretty callous statement coming from Paul, considering his 2008 campaign manager Kent Snyder lacked health insurance and died of pneumonia two weeks after Paul's campaign concession. Snyder's mother is unable to pay the $400,000 cost of her son's medical bills, despite help from churches, charities and a website set up by his friends.
Even conservative Christian students at the university where Rick Perry made his remarks about leading by a Christian example agree that it's "un-Christian" to deny life-saving medical care to the uninsured. And plenty of Christian leaders are still calling for an end to brutal budget cuts that kill jobs and force more working families into poverty.
If America is to truly be guided by Christian values, Christians would do well to vote for those who actually practice what they preach. While Perry and Paul demand cuts to public programs and healthcare for the uninsured, President Obama is finding his inner Luke and asking the richest Americans to share their possessions to help lessen the burden of deficit reduction already on the shoulders of working families. The Tea Party's favorite candidates should take a cue from the president and truly embrace the Christian values they speak about.
Carl Gibson, 24, of Lexington, Kentucky, is a spokesman and organizer for US Uncut, a nonviolent, creative direct-action movement to stop budget cuts by getting corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. He graduated from Morehead State University in 2009 with a B.A. in Journalism before starting the first US Uncut group in Jackson, Mississippi, in February of 2011. Since then, over 20,000 US Uncut activists have carried out more than 300 actions in over 100 cities nationwide. You may contact Carl at carl@rsnorg.org.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
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They want to put the big banks and big hedge funds and big insurance and big phrma and big agriculture in charge of everything we think, do, say, breathe, eat, drink, smell, hear, drive, sell, whatever.
Thank you to those patriots in that room who invited Nancy Pelosi the reactionary to reveal her true colors.
They want to put the big banks and big hedge funds and big insurance and big phrma and big agriculture in charge of everything we think, do, say, breathe, eat, drink, smell, hear, drive, sell, whatever.
Thank you to those patriots in that room who invited Nancy Pelosi the reactionary to reveal her true colors.
I also wold choose being on the edge of warrant and free speech rights over not trying to find the people who want to blow up innocents.
Me too, but since 2000. And I became a pariah among my liberal friends for NOT swallowing obonbya's campaign rhetoric. My friends, most of them wt least ware finally seeing what a terrible mistake they made in supporting the murderer.
She's no more leftist than Blair or Billy-Bob Clint' was.
So true. Please, everyone remember it was Pelosi who could have ended the Iraq invasion singlehandedly, but REFUSED TO DO SO!
This only proves once again that the people deserve the government they choose. They voted for Pelosi instead of Sheehan in 2008 and they got what they deserved, the same old BS.
You're absolutely correct, IF THE VOTES WERE NOT STACKED AGAINST SHEEHAN...
I live in Arizona and therefore could not have voted for Sheehan as much as I would have liked to, but the election was completely one-sided. Cindy Sheehan had no chance whatsoever of winning.
I would agree that Nancy Pelosi did her very best to keep Sheehan completely out of the public's eye as much as humanly possible, and Pelosi absolutely refused to debate her, but the voters in Pelosi's district clearly were stupid enough and naive enough in a reasonably honest election to vote Pelosi back into office for another term over Cindy Sheehan.
Therefore, as I have stated in my initial comment, they deserve what they are getting right now and since the 2008 elections.
At this point all she does is deliver essentially meaningless platitude-heavy speeches. Her vote to stop the War Party's madness is what I demand, not reassuring and comforting speeches.
If I were so inclined, I would assume the fetal position and suck my thumb any time I chose. I certainly don't need Pelosi's Pavlovian-bell prompts to do it for me...
Ahem, once proud? When was that? Was it when women could not vote? Was it before the voting rights act? The true mark of a conservative is to mythologize the once glorious past as the baseline from which modern departures can be gauged. Only problem is there is no glorious past. Empire is empire.
It has been challenged only once, actually rather benignly, by JFK and we have evidence as to how they reacted to that. All the poor guy was proposing to do was bring the CIA and JCS under control.
Prior to this, old Ike, a willing participant during his two terms in office, had toward the end, second thoughts of his own. To his credit, he gave us a modest warning in his farewell address to the nation.
Ever since, it's been a pretty much a scam. National "security" utilized as rubber stamp for all sorts of money making mischief. Aided by the CIA/MIA shadow government, supported by their corporate sponsors by way of a bought and paid for government.
The idea that we can produce some politician or group of them, who will change things is merely an extension of the con game. The Kucinichs, Feingolds even the Ron Pauls of the world, will be allowed voice only so long as they're no where near the seat of power.
A placebo, to keep the illusion of "representative " government in the forefront of public discourse while the real powers behind the throne, that is the MIC/CIA and their corporate sponsored friends, call the shots.
The GOP sold their soul in 1952.
The Dems mortgaged theirs in 1964 and finally sold it in 1992.
The politically interesting question is, will either one rediscover it?
If so, when?
In the good ol days we used to think Feinstein was the cat's Meow. Wonder who bought thwt woman?
http://news.yahoo.com/pelosis-defense-nsa-surveillance-draws-boos-183845402.html
When Mac Perkel was forcibly removed from the audience because he dared to ask Nancy Pelosi a question during her Netroots Nation presentation after she condemned Edward Snowden & supported Obama & the illegal NSA spying, some in the audience shouted leave him alone.
This was the Netroots Nation political conference. The article also states that some in the audience got up & walked out in support of Perkel. The total shame of it all was that not every person in that audience, down to a man, didn't get up & walk out in support of Perkel.
To add insult to injury, after the few walked out, most stayed & continued to listen to Pelosi's political BS. As the article states, Pelosi's remarks criticizing the Republican majority in the House & encouraging powerful women brought applause, cheers & laughs as if they actually believed she was being sincere after openly supporting the illegal NSA activities because Obama supported it.
The behavior of the majority of the audience being so forgiving of Pelosi & hanging around to listen to the rest of her BS after one of their so-called compatriots was forcibly removed as if this was a Republican conference just shows how badly fractured our side is & their support for the hired thugs who were there to forcibly kick people out if they wanted to speak up.
This goes against the whole idea of Netroots Nation.
Dumb person...he didn't violate the constitution like you did Ms. Pelosi!