Evangelicals Looking for Walker to "Do Nothing" in 2016 Election
http://religiondispatches.org/evangelicals-looking-for-walker-to-do-nothing-in-2016-election/
BY SARAH POSNER MARCH 9, 2015
When speaking to religious audiences, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker likes to remind people that he goes to church and knows his Bible. These reminders frequently come as Walker seeks to distinguish himself from political opponents in Wisconsinthe ones, he claims, whove sent his family death threats and harassed his kids on Facebook; the literally thousands of protesters outside our family home in Wauwatosa. Some of these protesters have, according to Walker, driven past the house and given him the finger as he and his family raked leaves on a Sunday afternoon after church and before the Packers game.
Speaking in 2012 to a teleconference with activists from Ralph Reeds Faith and Freedom Coalition, Walker said his faith has enabled him to rise above the vitriol, and the constant, ongoing hatred during the recall election he faced in the wake of his anti-union legislation, which has crippled the states once-iconic labor movement. Along with the unmistakable contrast of his church-going family with the profane and progressive activists, Walker cited two Bible verses. He didnt recite them, but for anyone who knows their Bibleas Walker, the son of a Baptist pastor, doesthe meaning was clear. The verses that helped him withstand the hatred were Romans 16:20 (The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you) and Isaiah 54:17 (no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.)
Should he run for president, Walker may very well turn out to be the 2016 cycles evangelical favoritenot because he ticks off a laundry list of culture war talking points, pledges fealty to a Christian nation, or because hes made a show of praying publicly to curry political favor. Although by no means universal, some conservative evangelicalsthose who eschew the fever swamps of talk radio, yet share the same political stances of the religious rightare weary of the old style of campaigning. Theyre turned off by the culture war red meat, the dutiful but insincere orations of piety.
Emphasizing that ours is a Christian nation and pushing hot button issues as a style of campaigning has been detrimental to evangelicals, said Mary Jo Sharp, who teaches apologetics at Houston Baptist University and analyzes political campaigns as part of a class she teaches there. Its very difficult to hear that kind of rhetoric, she said. Christians are not supposed to be the dividers.
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