I felt like punching my radio after hearing this "values voter" profiled on Morning Edition.

[alp227]

NPR Morning Edition did a story "Complications, Contradictions In A Fla. Swing County". Steve Inskeep interviewed a nurse in Hillsborough County, Florida, the county where Tampa is located. The story begins with the nurse named Sofia Martinez describing her childhood in a farming family that often moved between Ohio and Florida. So far so good. She then says she supports the DREAM Act, based on her experience working with many Latino immigrants as a nurse and being Mexican-American herself. Sounds like a nice person, I think. But then comes the question: who will you vote for president?

Martinez said: "From my core values, what my core values are, I will be voting Republican." Core values? What...?

Martinez was raised Catholic, is now Baptist, and is the mother of two daughters.

"Sometimes the stories that come back from school —even the teacher isn't giving my child a good moral compass or example," she says. "The desensitization of our children to violence and sex, it's hard.

"And hopefully public school won't get any worse than it already is."

One of Martinez's co-workers joined our conversation. She said Romney is closer to what she calls "God's values," and mentioned Obama's support for gay marriage.

To which Martinez adds: "I don't hate Obama by any means. You know, he has done an OK job. I don't think he has done a terrible job. I don't think he's, you know, put our country in the sewer by any means.

"But for me, I mean, I would think that if the country got back to some basic core values, maybe we'd all do a lot better."

What "core values"? It frightens me to hear an educated, working Hispanic woman echoing this authoritarian loaded language pushed by evangelicals, "core values". Does she not realize that Jim Crow laws or women barred from voting or working or women not having equal protection under the law all were once "core values"?

And WAH WAH WAH! Your kids' public school is not upholding good old biblical morality? Either learn what separation of church and state is, or transfer your kids to a private Christian school.

But I give Martinez credit for not repeating [link:rationalwiki.org/wiki/PRATT|PRATTs] like "Obama is a Kenyan-born communist" or "the stimulus was a failure". We don't need to hear THAT tripe on NPR.

Oh, another FAIL on her part:

To those who would argue that the Democrats are the ones who speak up for immigrants and advocate for the DREAM Act, Martinez says: "Unfortunately, I don't think either party makes the best advocacy for migrants or farm workers.

"The Democrats have touted a lot about their DREAM Act and maybe, you know, doing a lot of promises. But still the DREAM Act has been going on for how long and still hasn't been in effect."

Um pardon me, Sofia, but the party you are voting for due to those so called Christian values nominated someone who promised to VETO the DREAM Act and whose senators FILIBUSTERED the bill for the past 11 years? Such cognitive dissonance.

I wonder how many voters like Martinez exist: they are fine with Obama's economic policy but feel he is not pro Christian enough? Especially since the president himself has rejected the norrob that the US is a Christian nation.

Furthermore, do you think NPR would interview a Muslim living in Dearborn, Michigan who said he would vote for Obama because Obama "respects Muslim values"? Imagine the hysteria: Michele Bachmann would accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of infiltrating NPR, Peter King would hold hearings on the threat of sharia law, right wingers would be panicking...

Mike Malloy has this to say about evangelicals who feel govt needs to enforce religious values:

[louis-t]

1. "Core values" = phony repube bullshit talking point.

The party of robbery, theft, corruption, greed, hatred, and fear wants you to have Romney's "core values".

[KansDem]

2. NPR = "New Presstitutes for Republicans"

Or, if you prefer, "News Prostitutes for Republicans"

I gave up on NPR during the 2000 campaign when Cokie Roberts reported on the Bush "charm offensive."

[intheflow]

11. Funded by the CORPORATION for Public Television.

Almost entirely staffed by Repukes. NPR jumped the shark when they poo-poo'd Democrats protesting the 2000 election and have stayed that course ever since.

[1StrongBlackMan]

3. Yeah, right ...

She's going to vote republican because a POTUS can affect the "Sometimes the stories that come back from school —even the teacher isn't giving my child a good moral compass or example," she says. "The desensitization of our children to violence and sex, it's hard.

But then again, mabe that's true ... If the gop did what the "values-voters" wish, all schools will preach "proper values" (Read: abstinance and only righteous violence.)

[uponit7771]

4. I didn't understand why the person interviewing didn't correct such open false statement. I couldn't

...be one of these guys these days..

You have to accept whatever tripe is coming out of someone mouth and sit back and say nothing

[YoungDemCA]

5. The Republican Party and fundamentalist evangelical Christianity are now one and the same

And they have condemned everyone who disagrees with their political/religious views as being "evil."

When you have a worldview that is so absolutist, and so dogmatic, that everything is viewed as a struggle between Good and Evil, and you are on the side of Good, then you don't have to practice what you preach. Just believing what you believe gets you into heaven, and everyone who disagrees is going to hell, regardless of what you actually say or do.

[Smilo]

6. Core values

such as lying and cheating on tax returns
such as being cruel to animals
such as deciding women are second class citizens
such as blocking the Democrats from providing for this country
such as wasting money on trying to prove a lie is not a lie
such as not caring about those who are unemployed and have no opportunities
etc., etc., etc.

If you are that concerned about core values - they should be taught at home - school is about education; not indoctrinating every child into one belief - then start at home, don't belly ache that it is the fault of the school system that your child does not follow biblical practices.

[sdfernando]

7. My first thought

after reading this is that she is NOT an educated woman. To not understand what Separation of Church and State mean with respect to public education...to not understand how Congress works and how bills are created and passed...to not understand that the party she intends to vote for is the very one that is keeping the Dream Act from becoming reality....to not understand the roadblocks Congress has placed in the President's way to get this economy back on track!?!?!?...no she is definitely not educated. She may have a profession and may be quite good at it, but she is still woefully ignorant.

As a Mexican-American myself I am embarrassed by this woman!

[alp227]

13. Well she's a nurse, so she has to have at least a bachelor's degree.

She has bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing from the University of South Florida. And obviously such a degree should require a general education background (see the graduation requirements of U of S Fla's undergrad nursing program here). The place she works at is located in FL-9, represented by a Republican (Dennis Ross).

As for Martinez being ignorant, well what else do you expect in a nation where Fox News and right-wing talk radio are very effective at pushing anti-liberal, pro-religion messages and insisting that America=Christian nation? Especially since the "Newsradio" station in Tampa (Newsradio 970 WFLA) is all right-wing talk all the time with Fox News Radio as the hourly news provider. Tampa also has this "820 News" station whose news provider, "America's Radio News Network", is basically Republican talking points dressed up in a radio news format (and ARNN is run by the Washington Times, very telling).

[RockaFowler]

8. That was eye-opening

There are some people who have never heard of the internets before. Ms. Martinez could have done a search on the Dream Act if she really wanted to know more about it. Instead she blamed the President for it not passing. Or even better, she will vote for a man who doesn't even believe in the Dream Act. Was she a plant or something?? People can't be this gullible. Or is it that Religious angle again?? I think she needs to read up on Mormons. I don't think her core-values will jive with that religion as much as she thinks it will!!

[jaysunb]

9. As I've said: working class republicans are

just "misinformed" Democrats. "

[bongbong]

10. I hate to say this

I hate to say this, but:

uneducated voters come in all shapes & sizes & ethnicities. Lack of education is a big marker for being susceptible to the lies & slogans (none of which they actually follow) of the Greedy Old Pedophile party.

Karl Rove admitted in an interview that somebody being more educated tends to make them vote Democratic.

[spanone]

12. what values does rmoney possess?

the value of being a caucasian