Apology accepted. You are spot on that the solutions will be found in local communities. At least they should be. Social Conservatives are sick and tired of having the courts stomp all over them. In pushing to have these issues decided on the state and local level is probably an area where so called social conservatives and the Republican party establishment may be able to compromise. It seems to me that, if the Republican party and the Conservative movement are to survive, we will all need to find a way to work constructively together.

It wasn’t the comments about evangelical Christians I had a problem with (since I’m not one) - it was your ‘broad brush’ smear against Iowans. They have the highest literacy rate of any state. They grow our food and send their sons and daughters to war in disproportionate numbers. And they’re considered probably the most decent and authentic people in the country. I only visited once when I was a kid. I grew up in California and live in New York. But my mom grew up in Ida Grove, Iowa - and her mom in Dayton, Iowa. I’ll accept your apology for them.

Eric.

The problem is that you (what ever that turns out to mean) agree, apparently with all of the other commentators on the world that there is a monolithic “Left”, and a monolithic “Right”, one of which is godless, the other of which is Bible-thumping, people-dunking, etc, etc, etc.

And there is the problem.

People really do not sort well.

And some of us resent the attempts.

Yes, it’s always wise to respond to criticism with personal-based attacks. Oh well, as you wrote “the overwhelming majority” also believe you are wrong. Lots of complexes there for professional long distance diagnosis! Certainly easier than actually addressing the questions. For example, the need to manufacture strawmen to knock over. (A “strawman” is what’s called a “logical” or “informal fallacy”.)

I think you’ve made a good choice in not writing more on this until you’ve had time to cool down and to look at things less emotionally. It’s obvious you haven’t thought through some things - an example of the contradictions you’ve offered is how you’ll have your version of “just, moral order” (derived from who-knows-where) all the while complaining about any other concepts of “just,moral order”.

“And if you don’t know that a “just moral order” is a basic tenet of conservatism”

Just to make sure we’re reading the same page of the “Conservative Bible” - which chapter and verse are you citing? I’m especialy interested in the definitions and how they were derived. Since anybody can pull their personal version of morality & justice outta their backside (witness Charles Manson), it’s one of those things I’m not inclined to give a pass on.

“you illustrate perfectly the reason Huckabee should be consigned to the outer darkness – along with those who agree with him.”

Final Solutions rarely tend to work out well.

And so much for “local communities” deciding good and bad - “local communities who will decide for themselves the definition of “moral order” - since, in another contradiction, you don’t respect Iowans who did just that.

Again I’m not sure why you think it’s wise to declare jihad and demand the ejection of GOPers who disagree with you. And, as I said, I’m not sure - once you think about it - that you’d really want do so, since it reinforces the “Elite” vs. the “Avg God-fearin’ Working Schmucks” paradigm. Also, with those types being responsible for twice sending GW Bush to the Oval Office, you’d be lobbing off the nose just to spite the face.

Better luck when you next you revisit this topic.

I could never vote for him or Ron Paul. Is it true that Paul actually does want to pursue bin Laden in the caves? One wag asked whether it didn’t make more sense for Pres. Paul to pay a bounty hunter $50 mil for Osama’s head on a platter rather than spend “$2.6 Trillion” bombing caves. The hyperbole is amazing. Why not just send the FBI and arrest the dude? I mean the ronbots will even admit that they truly believe that America is the root cause of most of the world’s ills.

At least Guliani and Romney governed in hostile environments and Rudy did fine against the Italian mafia and NY street crime. The Huck thinks if you slaughter some innocent and then repent and find Jesus in prison, you are rehabilitated and should be given another chance (to rape and kill again). And let’s raise taxes too. We need music and arts in school provided by fed rules.