Scary Stuff: Candidate Forum at Focus on the Family

[CanonRay]

If anyone wants to help Jay Fawcett out, here's the link: http://www.fawcett4congress.com/

Candidates talk religion at Focus forum

By ED SEALOVER THE GAZETTE


Politics and religion mixed at a Focus on the Family congressional forum Monday, as answers that may have raised eyebrows elsewhere played perfectly before this crowd. Five Republicans and one Democrat seeking the open 5th Congressional District seat fielded questions on abortion, campaign integrity and the war in Iraq.

The answers were much the same as they have been throughout the campaign, but in front of a crowd of 220 made up mostly of employees of the Christian ministry, the candidates often referred to God and their faith. Bentley Rayburn spoke of opening Iraq to the word of Jesus. He and Duncan Bremer said they had been called by God to campaign for Congress.

An exchange on abortion between Democrat Jay Fawcett and Jeff Crank was illustrative of the event. Fawcett explained his pro-choice stance by saying: "I have no desire to dictate your faith to you, and I hope you have no desire to dictate mine for me." Crank, who supports outlawing abortion, shot back that votes on abortion always are based on the faith of the member deciding them. "We need to stop this phony baloney about not bringing faith into the public square," the former Chamber of Commerce vice president said. "We absolutely need to bring faith into the public square."

The debate at the headquarters of the influential, conservative Christian ministry was the next-to-last one scheduled before the Aug. 8 Republican primary. Five of the six Republicans in the primary to replace retiring GOP Rep. Joel Hefley have cast themselves as the true conservative in the race. Former El Paso County Sheriff John Anderson, considered the most liberal Republican candidate on social issues, did not attend.

Rayburn, a retired Air Force major general, framed several answers in terms of what "we as Christians" would do. As he has throughout the
campaign, he described the war in Iraq as a battle against radical Islam and said establishing a democracy in Iraq would send a message.

"That will open up hope within these countries for the gospel of Jesus Christ to change hearts," he said. Rayburn and Bremer, a former El Paso county commissioner, said they believe God had called them to run for office. "I want to be God's man in Washington," Bremer told the crowd. "I want to represent the heart of this district . . . whether people who are saved and working side by side with you or whether people who are unsaved." Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera noted his lifelong Catholicism as the basis for his anti-abortion stances; Doug Lamborn said he became a Christian when he was 19.

More at link...
--------------------------------------------------

EDIT: COPYRIGHT. PLEASE POST ONLY 4 OR 5
PRAGRAPHS FROM THE COPYRIGHTED NEWS SOURCE
PER DU RULES.

[MissMarple]

1. CD 5 Republicans are completely loony toons!

So Bremer an Rayburn take calls from God, they must be on his speed dial. Crank responds to a comment about not dictating or putting into law our personal and individual faiths by saying we must have religion in the public square. As long as it is his personal faith, he's fine with authoritarian theocracy. He is just as bonkers as Rayburn. For a general Rayburn is shockingly misinformed and naive. It must come with the kool aid they serve at his church. His purported strategy is already in the shredded tatters of failure in the Middle East as we speak. Lamborn is just in it for the power pandering away and cynically using unethical attacks on Rivera and Crank. Bremer thinks using his religion and his family ties to brother Paul Bremer of Iraqi coalition authority fame will give a boost. Now how many billions of dollars in cash disappeared into unknown pockets under brother Paul's watch? 11 billion sounds about right. And the projects that money was supposed to fund....not done, abandoned, at best, way behind schedule. Linking Bremer to Halliburton and corruption by way of incompetence should be a walk in the park.

It may be a toss up between Rivera, Crank, and Lamborn. The country club Republicans will probably go for Crank or Rivera. The insanely religious will go for Lamborn, Bremer, or Rayburn. A few sane Republicans may shake off the fog caused by wondering what has happened to their party and vote for Anderson. Anderson has probably realized that all the relatively reasonable Republicans have been marginalized and is trying to at least let them know that their party has been high jacked by the neocons and the radically religious wing nuts. He actually seems like a decent, level headed guy. The worst thing he has done is to bring up that tough on prisoners sheriff from Arizona. To me that pales in comparison to the religious superiority and infallibility professed by the rest of this crew. And, yes, I'd put Rivera in with them, as well. He supports theocracy, he just isn't as overt about it.