John Danforth Talks About The Wrongs Of The Republican Party

[Jon8503]

The New York Times
By JOHN C. DANFORTH

St. Louis — BY a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians. The elements of this transformation have included advocacy of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, opposition to stem cell research involving both frozen embryos and human cells in petri dishes, and the extraordinary effort to keep Terri Schiavo hooked up to a feeding tube.

Standing alone, each of these initiatives has its advocates, within the Republican Party and beyond. But the distinct elements do not stand alone. Rather they are parts of a larger package, an agenda of positions common to conservative Christians and the dominant wing of the Republican Party.

Christian activists, eager to take credit for recent electoral successes, would not be likely to concede that Republican adoption of their political agenda is merely the natural convergence of conservative religious and political values. Correctly, they would see a causal relationship between the activism of the churches and the responsiveness of Republican politicians. In turn, pragmatic Republicans would agree that motivating Christian conservatives has contributed to their successes.

High-profile Republican efforts to prolong the life of Ms. Schiavo, including departures from Republican principles like approving Congressional involvement in private decisions and empowering a federal court to overrule a state court, can rightfully be interpreted as yielding to the pressure of religious power blocs.

In my state, Missouri, Republicans in the General Assembly have advanced legislation to criminalize even stem cell research in which the cells are artificially produced in petri dishes and will never be transplanted into the human uterus. They argue that such cells are human life that must be protected, by threat of criminal prosecution, from promising research on diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and juvenile diabetes.

Rest Of Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html

[diddlysquat]

1. Link doesn't seem to work.

[kaitykaity]

3. Try these.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html?pagewanted=print&position=

[Pachamama]

4. Here is the editorial from John Danforth in the NYT:

Here's the article and link - one has to also sign up to the NYT online to access and read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html

About John Danforth:
John C. Danforth, a former United States senator from Missouri, resigned in January as United States ambassador to the United Nations. He is an Episcopal minister.

(excerpt):

During the 18 years I served in the Senate, Republicans often disagreed with each other. But there was much that held us together. We believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation and regulation. We encouraged the private sector, so that a free economy might thrive. We believed that judges should interpret the law, not legislate. We were internationalists who supported an engaged foreign policy, a strong national defense and free trade. These were principles shared by virtually all Republicans.

But in recent times, we Republicans have allowed this shared agenda to become secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.

The historic principles of the Republican Party offer America its best hope for a prosperous and secure future. Our current fixation on a religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction. It is time for Republicans to rediscover our roots.

[Pachamama]

2. Question to all the GOP'ers in America: Is this really the party that was

the GOP your parents and Grandparents had? Is it REALLY representing your interests?

I grew up in a Republican household...I was taught the following (and ofcourse why Dems were so bad):

The Republican/GOP party stands for:

1) Fiscal Conservatism
2) State Rights
3) Keeping Gov't small
4) Keeping Gov't out of Private Lifes
5) Separation of Church and State and protecting the Constitution

Hmmmmm.....Does this sound like the actions of the current GOP and the Congress, Senate and President?

How come every time I ask a Republican friend or family member that when I ask them now what it means to be a Republican and why they are a Republican, they quickly change the subject and start talking about them damn liberals and dems....

So, I'll ask you again, what is it again about this administration and the current GOP party that makes you a member of it and supporting it? Is this REALLY your party that you seem to have more allegiance to than to your country? What is patriotism? Loyalty to a party or to your Constitution and protecting that? :shrug:

Think of it this way if you decide to no longer vote Republican and support this administration...you didn't leave the GOP, they left you.

[The Doctor.]

7. I cannot and do not support these 'Republicans'.

They are nothing like the GOP of decades past.

They have become callous and opportunistic.
They have become decadent and corrupt beyond reason.
They have turned on America herself while convincing themselves that they are serving 'the greater good'.

Many Democrats are not much better, but the lion's share of the hypocrisy is on the right lately.

I consider myself a Republican because I still believe in fiscal conservation, limited government intrusion, and the principles of self-determination.
I could not possibly care less about a gay couple getting married when our foreign relations are goingto hell, our energy supply is dwindling, our economy sliding, and our rights eroding.


These people are not Republicans. Period.

[Pachamama]

9. I'm no longer a Republican...I was a registered Independent for the last 4

years and I registered as a Green Party member right after the election to send a message to the Democratic Party too...

But I will say that when I look at my father who worked in both the Reagan Administration for 8 years and then Daddy Bush for 4 years and who thought Reagan walked on water, there is absolutely NOTHING my father talked about (with the exception of taxation) that this administration and the current GOP stands for that my father taught me about being a Republican. My own father who has only voted Republican all his life, did not vote for Bush...he voted Libertarian in the last elections because he's sickened by what he sees...when I talk to him about what is going on now, he is livid....

I don't believe the "polls" on the corporate controlled media, but I'm willing to bet a lot more Americans who have considered themselves GOP are starting to "wake up" and go :WTF: about this administration and the direction the GOP is going....

[The Doctor.]

12. Yes, the real supporters of the Republicans are

dwindling, yet they maintain the illusion of popular support with their big ol' Rush-style megaphones.

[Pachamama]

13. You said the key word "Illusion of Popular Support"....

That's what it is....they are propped up by a mere illusion, supported and funded by a corporate media feeding the great big lie to American's watching their so-called "Reality TV"....

[havocmom]

11. BRAVO! That is pretty much the message I am trying to get across to my

older brother. Surprisingly, it is the message many of my neighbors here in Eastern (and very GOP) Montana. They are beginning to get it.

First noticed the wheels turning in their heads the morning after SOTU speech in 02. There was a palpable sense of disappointment in their reactions to the speech. Things started getting defined as the community buried its first Iraqi war dead, yet there was still belief that Iraq must've been guilty of something worthy of punishment.

Now, the general feeling is that it is the US Constitution which is really in danger and not from enemies foreign but rather from domestically grown foes. They are seeing the betrayal FINALLY.

Let's hope the decide to remove the feeding tubes keeping fear, hate and confusion alive in the GOP. Time for them to take back the honorable traditions and clean their own house.

[housewolf]

5. Here's a link

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html?pagewanted=print&position=

[Mend]

6. Clarence Thomas

was almost single-handedly put on the supreme court by this man....I wonder if he can connect the dots from that mistake to the 2000 supreme court coup d'etat to the current theocracy. Look in the mirror Mr. Danforth, if you can stand the sight.

[stray cat]

8. Way to go John!

[Pachamama]

10. Here's two great "Letters to the Editor" in response to this Editorial:

To the Editor:

"In the Name of Politics," by John C. Danforth (Op-Ed, March 30), was a candle in the darkness.

There are many in this country who have been alarmed by the influence that conservative Christians have with the Bush administration, as well as by the seemingly steady erosion of the separation of church and state, a cornerstone of liberty in our country.

Mr. Danforth's Republican credentials are impeccable. He was a conservative voice in the Senate and an able representative at the United Nations. He is also an Episcopal minister.

It is refreshing, therefore, to read his staunch defense of stem cell research, and his concern that his party's longtime agenda of limited government and lower deficits has become secondary to the agenda of the Christian conservatives.

If there are more Republicans out there who agree with Senator Danforth, let their voices be heard now.

Philip Birnbaum
Brooklyn, March 30, 2005
•

To the Editor:

I'll be voting for Democrats from now on. The Democrats now stand for fiscal responsibility, limited government interference in our private lives, separation of church and state, and business policies that help all Americans.

I share John C. Danforth's concerns. As a Christian, I'm fed up with the hard-right Christian conservative agenda that is taking this country away from its tremendous past.

In the past, America was the moral leader of the world.

Now we look for ways around the Geneva Conventions so we can torture prisoners legally. It is disgusting.

Kyle Cole
Atlanta, March 30, 2005

[Eloriel]

14. This is most interesting -- John C. Danforth has always struck me

as among those who were very comfortable with the rightward AND religious lurch of the GOP. I think he benefitted from it personally.

This is interesting (and no, it doesn't make me like him more).

[JPZenger]

15. He Should be Secretary of State

John Danforth was the logical choice for Secretary of State when Powell retired. Instead, we are stuck with Condi.

Danforth announced his resignation as UN Ambassador right after the announcement about Condi was made. That was not coincidence - he couldn't stand it any more.

Danforth was the only American official who cared about the genocide in Sudan. A couple months ago, Danforth was providing strong leadership in the UN on the issue. After he left, has any U.S. official bothered to do anything on the problem?