Redstate

Posted at 2:47pm on Mar. 3, 2008 Worshipping in the Church of Irony

By Hunter Baker

Over at the First Things blog, Matthew Milliner tells a story about his personal encounter with the Trinity Broadcasting Network that indicts himself and most of the rest of us.

Here's a clip:

At a stoplight on the way to the store that I never found, I looked up to a congress of ravens, so thick they seemed to blanket the telephone poles, and there the realization came. I had literally fallen over myself to make fun of a branch of Christianity that—I knew from personal experience—could transform lives. Yes, only an insider can know the ugly secrets of American evangelicalism. But what’s more, and what made mine more of betrayal, is that only an insider can know how much of it is undeniably good, sometimes even mystically so. I was such an insider, and rather than cherish and protect my memory of evangelicalism, I was willing to portray it in the worst possible light for some laughs.

Posted at 11:25am on Feb. 26, 2008 Origins. Academia. Anyone? Anyone?

By Hunter Baker

The first clips I saw months ago of Ben Stein's new documentary Expelled didn't look impressive to me, but the preview now in circulation holds a lot of promise.

Ben Stein seems to have his finger right on the pulse of the origins controversy. The question is whether human origins will ever be a subject that can be discussed freely without fear in an academic setting. Expelled gives every impression of being a film that will press that point ruthlessly.

Posted at 6:02pm on Feb. 9, 2008 Byron York on Romney's Campaign Suspension

By Hunter Baker

Really compelling reading from Byron York. His essay tells the story of Mitt Romney's campaign very successfully.

A tidbit:

When Romney tried to present himself as the most conservative of conservative candidates — remember when he said, playing on Paul Wellstone’s old line, that he represented “the Republican wing of the Republican party”? — a lot of conservatives in Iowa and South Carolina and beyond didn’t quite know what to think. When they saw video of him in the fall of 2002 — not that long ago, during a debate in his run for Massachusetts governor — vowing to “preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose” five times in a relatively brief period of time, they didn’t quite know what to think. When they saw video of him almost indignantly saying that “I wasn’t a Ronald Reagan conservative” and “Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan/Bush; I am not trying to return to Reagan/Bush” — they didn’t quite know what to think. And when they read the letter he wrote saying he would “seek to establish full equality for America’s gay and lesbian citizens” even more than Ted Kennedy, they didn’t quite know what to think.

Romney’s run from his past left a lot of voters asking: Who is this guy? He says he believes certain things deeply now, but he believed other things deeply not that long ago. And each time, it seems, his deeply-held beliefs jibed with what was most advantageous politically.

Posted at 12:07am on Feb. 8, 2008 Dobson Endorsing Huckabee

More Strange Timing

By Hunter Baker

Dobson will endorse Huckabee for the GOP nomination.

If not for letting the cat out the bag too early months ago and sending Dobson scurrying away, Huckabee might have actually gotten some steam out of this endorsement. Now, it's a little late.

Posted in 2008 — Comments (129)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:55pm on Feb. 4, 2008 Perils of Proportionate Primaries!

By Hunter Baker

Robert Novak details the Democrats move to proportional delegate assignment by the Democratic party in the seventies and how it plays out today. The short answer is that Obama is not in any danger of being shoved out on Tuesday:

There is no mathematical possibility of Super Tuesday balloting in 22 states for 1,681 delegates -- labeled the first ''national'' primary -- giving either Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama close to the 2,025 delegates necessary for nomination. That unexpected reality is produced by Obama's appeal, Clinton fatigue and extreme proportional representation adopted by the Democratic Party.

Republicans are ready to crown Sen. John McCain as their nominee. Democrats will still be battling.

Posted at 11:56am on Jan. 31, 2008 Humankindlovingandgenerous

By Hunter Baker

Anyone interested in words will love Lars Walker's discussion of the English and German languages. He uses the comparison to make a telling point. I'd give it to you, but then I'd spoil your fun in reading the mini-essay.

Posted at 1:01pm on Jan. 29, 2008 Virginia's Traffic Abuser Fees

By Hunter Baker

Looks like Virginia's outrageous and, sadly, Republican sponsored scheme to pile on huge fees for traffic fines in the state is on its way out.

Posted at 10:36pm on Jan. 28, 2008 Francis Beckwith Endorses John McCain

By Hunter Baker

Francis Beckwith made the religion news in a small way when he won his tenure battle against Baylor University and then in a big way when he converted to Catholicism in the midst of his tenure as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Catholic or Evangelical, Beckwith is extremely well-known in the pro-life community. He joins Sam Brownback in endorsing McCain.

You can read about it here.

Posted at 11:48pm on Jan. 25, 2008 Make Mine McCain.

By Hunter Baker

Re-published as a diary . . .

Some of our esteemed Redstate contributors have made formal endorsements this year. I've held off, not because I hate the field, but because I liked different things about different candidates.

Rudy performed a miracle in New York.

Huckabee has turned fewer dollars into more results than anyone in modern electoral history.

Romney is an obviously decent man, a top notch practicing capitalist, and loves America despite America's ambivalent attitude toward his church.

Posted in 2008 — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »