Political Wire

Obama Will Greet Pope Francis at Airport

September 21, 2015 at 9:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

“Pope Francis will arrive at a military base outside the capital on Tuesday afternoon to open his first visit to the United States, and President Obama will be there to welcome him. It is a gesture the president has extended to virtually no other foreign visitor,” the New York Times reports.

“And little wonder. For Mr. Obama, there may be no more potent ally in the world in his quest to bend the arc of history, to use a favorite phrase, than a pope who helped him restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and who has spoken out on issues like economic inequality, immigration, climate change and criminal justice reform.”

Many Republicans Still Think Obama Is Muslim

September 14, 2015 at 8:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 79 Comments

A new CNN/ORC poll finds 43% of those who identify as Republicans believe President Obama is a Muslim, while only 15% of those who identify as Democrats agreed he is Muslim.

Conservative Dissent Brewing Inside Vatican

September 8, 2015 at 8:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

“As he upends church convention, Pope Francis is grappling with a conservative backlash to the liberal momentum building inside the church. In more than a dozen interviews, including with seven senior church officials, insiders say the change has left the hierarchy more polarized over the direction of the church than at any point since the great papal reformers of the 1960s,” the Washington Post reports.

“The conservative rebellion is taking on many guises, in public comments, yes, but also in the rising popularity of conservative Catholic Web sites promoting Francis dissenters; books and promotional materials backed by conservative clerics seeking to counter the liberal trend; and leaks to the news media, aimed at Vatican reformers.”

Trump Plans Meeting with Evangelical Leaders

August 26, 2015 at 3:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 88 Comments

Wall Street Journal: “Leading in the polls but lacking deep political roots with the religious right, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has summoned a group of evangelical Christian leaders to his office for a meeting next month.”

Pat Robertson Says Market Turmoil Is God’s Punishment

August 24, 2015 at 3:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 98 Comments

Pat Robertson says he believes the stock market’s massive sell-off this morning was God’s way of punishing the Obama administration for supporting abortion rights, Politico reports.

Said Robertson: “We will pay dearly as a nation for this thing going on. And possibly if we were to stop all this slaughter the judgment of God might be lifted from us. But it’s coming, ladies and gentlemen.”

Conservatives Lose Faith in Pope Francis

July 22, 2015 at 1:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 106 Comments

Gallup: “Pope Francis’ drop in favorability is even starker among Americans who identify as conservative — 45% of whom view him favorably, down sharply from 72% last year. This decline may be attributable to the pope’s denouncing of ‘the idolatry of money’ and linking climate change partially to human activity, along with his passionate focus on income inequality — all issues that are at odds with many conservatives’ beliefs.”

Franklin Graham Urges Halt to Muslim Immigration

July 18, 2015 at 3:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 63 Comments

In the aftermath of shootings in Chattanooga which killed four Marines, Franklin Graham urged in a Facebook post for a halt to all Muslims coming into the United States.

Wrote Graham: “Every Muslim that comes into this country has the potential to be radicalized–and they do their killing to honor their religion and Muhammad. During World War 2, we didn’t allow Japanese to immigrate to America, nor did we allow Germans. Why are we allowing Muslims now?”

Brownback Issues Executive Order on ‘Religious Liberty’

July 8, 2015 at 7:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 53 Comments

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) issued an executive order “prohibiting state government from taking action against clergy members or religious organizations that deny services to couples based on religious beliefs,” the Wichita Eagle reports.

“Among other things, the order is intended to protect religious organizations that provide adoption services for the state from having to place children with gay couples if that conflicts with their beliefs.”

New York Times: “The order comes nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, paving the way for gay couples to marry across the country. It is the latest sign that the battle has shifted to the issue of religious liberties, and how much leeway people of faith have to opt out of providing services to or recognizing gay unions.”

Ten Commandments Must Be Removed In Oklahoma

June 30, 2015 at 12:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 73 Comments

The Oklahoma Supreme Court said the Ten Commandments Monument at the state Capitol must be removed, Tulsa World reports.

“The plaintiffs said its placement at the Capitol constituted the use of public property for the benefit of a system of religion, which is banned by the Oklahoma Constitution.”

Jindal Says Gay Marriage Is a Religious Liberty Issue

June 28, 2015 at 1:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said that his state will comply with the Supreme Court’s order legalizing same-sex marriage, Politico reports.

Said Jindal: “We don’t have a choice. Our agencies will comply with the court order.”

But he added: “I think it is wrong for the federal government to force Christian individuals, businesses, pastors, churches, to participate in wedding ceremonies that violate our sincerely held religious beliefs. We have to stand up and fight for religious liberty. That’s where this fight is going.”

Pope Says Those in Weapons Industry Aren’t Christian

June 21, 2015 at 9:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

Pope Francis said that people who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, the Guardian reports.

“Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin.”

Santorum Says Shootings Were Attack on Religion

June 19, 2015 at 8:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 75 Comments

Rick Santorum called the church shooting in Charleston — which left nine people dead — a “crime of hate” and connected the event to a broader “assault on our religious liberty,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Santorum: “This is one of those situations where you just have to take a step back and say we — you know, you talk about the importance of prayer in this time and we’re now seeing assaults on our religious liberty we’ve never seen before. It’s a time for deeper reflection beyond this horrible situation.”

Rubio Says Christianity Is Under Threat

May 27, 2015 at 8:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 52 Comments

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told the Christian Broadcasting Network that Christianity faces a “real and present danger” from same-sex marriage supporters who cast opponents as intolerant.

Said Rubio: “We are at the water’s edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech, because today we’ve reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage, you are labeled a homophobe and a hater.”

He added: “So what’s the next step after that? After they’re done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church, is hate speech. And that’s a real and present danger.”

Pope Makes Trouble for Republicans

May 26, 2015 at 6:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

Politico: “Catholic Republicans are developing a pope problem. Earlier this month, Francis recognized Palestinian statehood. This summer, he’s going to issue an encyclical condemning environmental degradation. And in September, just as the GOP primary race heats up, Francis will travel to Washington to address Congress on climate change.”

“Francis may be popular with the general public, but key Republican primary constituencies — hawks, climate-change skeptics and religious conservatives, including some Catholics, are wary of the pope’s progressivism.”

Failed Candidate Plotted Attack Against Muslims

May 19, 2015 at 7:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

Failled Tennessee congressional candidate Robert Doggart (R) “admitted he spent months gathering weapons and plotting an all-out assault on the small Muslim enclave in Delaware County, New York,” the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

In a recorded phone call, Doggart told a woman “we’re gonna be carrying an M4 with 500 rounds of ammunition, light armor piercing. A pistol with 3 extra magazines and a machete. And if it gets down to the machete, we will cut them to shreds.”

Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population

May 12, 2015 at 7:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 111 Comments

“The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing,” according to an extensive new Pew Research survey.

“Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages.”

Walker Plugs Religious Book and Sales Skyrocket

May 1, 2015 at 8:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

After Gov. Scott Walker read from a book called Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence at an event in Iowa last week, “the book shot to the top of a couple of online retailers’ best-seller lists, including Amazon,” according to Religion News Service.

Pope Backs Equal Pay for Women

April 29, 2015 at 10:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 64 Comments

Pope Francis backed efforts for equal pay for men and women who perform the same work, saying that continuing disparities in pay for women are a “pure scandal,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Said Francis: “Why is it expected that women must earn less than men? No! They have the same rights. The disparity is a pure scandal.”