Rhetoric Race and Religion
In a recent campaign ad, Republican candidate Rick Perry condemned “Obama’s war on religion” by asking why “gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”
In a speech last March, Newt Gingrich proposed a deep and profound political change in response to the ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that the “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. He likened himself to Abraham Lincoln in Dred Scott v. Sanford and volunteered to put America back in touch with her founding roots, announcing his candidacy two months later. To put America back on track, Gingrich will free slaves bound by rather different chains: anti-Christian bigotry.
Republicans use of religious rhetoric to garner votes is not uncommon. Democrats, however, handle such rhetoric with much prudence, using religion only in carefully planned situations. For conservatives, more so than liberals, religious rhetoric often means Christian rhetoric.
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