General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPhil Gingrey walks out on Barack Obama’s prayer address
A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey confirmed this afternoon that the Marietta Republican walked out of President Barack Obamas address at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, offended by what the congressman said was an injection of political rhetoric into an occasion of non-partisan reflection.
He was glad that the president attended, but he felt that there were 364 days in a year to give a speech on your policies or campaign rhetoric, said Gingrey spokeswoman Jen Talaber.
She said Gingrey enjoyed the remarks by the events keynote speaker, conservative author Eric Metaxes, who was in South Carolina last month campaigning with GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum.
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/02/02/phil-gingrey-walks-out-of-barack-obamas-prayer-address/
northoftheborder
(7,572 posts)gateley
(62,683 posts)spooky3
(34,460 posts)Then there shouldn't be any confusion about religion/state/policies/rhetoric agendas at the same event.
GoneOffShore
(17,340 posts)A National Prayer breakfast has as much place in Washington as a National Cathedral.
kenfrequed
(7,865 posts)Otherwise known as "The Family."
Our president should break this tradition once and for all. The organization backing this is involved in the advocacy of violence against homosexuals in Uganda. There is no excuse for this. The organization has a long anti-labor history among other problems.
oldhippydude
(2,514 posts)kind of a must show for presidents, so of like Rick Warren, doing his dog and pony show..another card to punch politically.. glad the Preident's remarks were about social justice, rather than the right wing fear generated crap that tese folks always hear..
Initech
(100,081 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)Needing to make a name for themselves?
theophilus
(3,750 posts)WI_DEM
(33,497 posts)They just didn't like the true 'Christian' message that Obama was delivering about the Christ's teachings about helping the poor.
gopiscrap
(23,761 posts)I don't even know why Pres. Obama attended this thing...don't give these fuckers any credibility...I am reading the book called The Family and am on the chapters where it talks about the founder of the National Prayer Breakfast...much of the early energy around this was pure out and out union busting in the guise of religion.
lpbk2713
(42,760 posts)Was there a Faux camera present at the time?
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)separation of church and state.
dembotoz
(16,808 posts)and that can be very bad from what i am told
Bruce Wayne
(692 posts)Is that the custom at these things? Here's the excerpt from the speech that Gingrey might have gotten into a snit about:
[font face="times new roman" size="1"]Note to mods: This is more than four paragraphs, but the president's speeches are always public domain.[/font]
And so when I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street, when I talk about making sure insurance companies arent discriminating against those who are already sick, or making sure that unscrupulous lenders arent taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy stronger for everybody. But I also do it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in Gods command to love thy neighbor as thyself. I know the version of that Golden Rule is found in every major religion and every set of beliefs - from Hinduism to Islam to Judaism to the writings of Plato.
And when I talk about shared responsibility, its because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, its hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to myself, if Im willing to give something up as somebody whos been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think thats going to make economic sense.
But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesuss teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required. It mirrors the Islamic belief that those whove been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and consideration for others.
When I talk about giving every American a fair shot at opportunity, its because I believe that when a young person can afford a college education, or someone whos been unemployed suddenly has a chance to retrain for a job and regain that sense of dignity and pride, and contributing to the community as well as supporting their families -- that helps us all prosper.
It means maybe that research lab on the cusp of a lifesaving discovery, or the company looking for skilled workers is going to do a little bit better, and well all do better as a consequence. It makes economic sense. But part of that belief comes from my faith in the idea that I am my brothers keeper and I am my sisters keeper; that as a country, we rise and fall together. Im not an island. Im not alone in my success. I succeed because others succeed with me.
And when I decide to stand up for foreign aid, or prevent atrocities in places like Uganda, or take on issues like human trafficking, its not just about strengthening alliances, or promoting democratic values, or projecting American leadership around the world, although it does all those things and it will make us safer and more secure. Its also about the biblical call to care for the least of these - for the poor; for those at the margins of our society.
It seems pretty clear that this president, much as I admire & support him, was using the prayer breakfast speech to discuss his policy decisions in the context of his faith. That may be fair game, but I don't know if this is the operating standard practice for these obstensibly nonpartisan events. I agree with the policies and the morality of the policies, but I'd like to know if other presidents have done this sort of thing. If they have, then Gingrey can bite me. But if not, I don't think this was a wise thing to politicize.
xfundy
(5,105 posts)Every damn time any RW "preacher" opens his mouth, out comes politics. Jesus hates this, Jesus hates that, Jesus was no librul and he hates libruls and gays and pro-choice and "gubmint insiders" (but not Grinch!) and short skirts and separation of myth and state.
Face it, christianity in America has GONE, replaced by dangerous, power-hungry liars whose followers are eager to do precisely the opposite of Christ. When I, a child, was dragged to church Sunday AM, PM and several other nights, they always told us that the only one who could convince christians to do bad over good was THE ANTICHRIST.
(Scary music)
And the Rolling Stones were of the devil and their hair was too long like the damn hippies and 'the blacks' had it too easy in 'Murrica. And snakes could talk, as did bushes on fire. And donkeys. And, oh, yeah, by this time next year Jesus will have come back and we'd all fly up to heaven, unless we liked rock music.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)that's the best part.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)Phil Gingrey as a Democrat. And it wasn't even a Fox station.
lpbk2713
(42,760 posts)It will be on a scroll just before a commercial break that will last 1.25 seconds.