Onward, Christian soldiers

We need a party that speaks to the whole mission of not just social conservatism, but true social change that elevates the poor without impoverishing the whole

Faith and Freedom Coalition
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster))

My good friend and fellow Christian conservative Matt Lewis warned Republicans yesterday that they risked losing the next generation of Christians by adopting the political hardball tactics used by the left. Matt referenced an April 2012 column from another friend of mine (and Townhall colleague), John Hawkins, exhorting young conservatives to fight fire with fire by employing Saul Alinsky-like tactics. The headline assumes that the Republican Party itself champions these tactics and that this effort actually has resulted in disaffection, but Matt makes a subtler and better argument, one which Christians have faced ever since Nero made bonfires of them in the Circus Maximus: How can Christians engage publicly while still being Christians?

John explicitly framed his tit-for-tat argument to appeal to Christians, with a dozen references to the faith. He expressed frustration over the Republican Party's retreat on social issues when the vast majority of Americans (76 percent, according to John) identify with Christianity. Liberals like Bill Maher trash Christians, John argues, and the Democratic Party has become hostile to Christians. The column appeared four months prior to the Democratic National Convention, where an attempt to reinstitute a reference to God and Jerusalem to the party platform after a committee removed it ended up in boos and catcalls on the convention floor, an embarrassing but not fatal political blunder, as it turned out. Why should Christian conservatives take that lying down?

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.