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Rick Santorum, Jeremy Lin, Attribute Success to Faith in Christ

February 22, 2012 in By Paul, Politics, Religion with 0 Comments

It’s often said American’s love an underdog in sports and politics. If that’s the case, then there is good reason former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and NBA newcomer Jeremy Lin are riding high. What is ago getting attention is they are crediting God for their success.

“I’ve survived the challenges so far by the daily grace that comes from God,” Santorum said shortly after the Iowa caucuses. “For giving me His grace every day, for loving me, warts and all, I offer public thanks to God.”

Since then, Santorum has had much to be thankful for. After being discounted shortly after the South Carolina primary in late January, Santorum has steadily risen to the top of state and national polls in the GOP quest for the White House.

Lin’s success has taken a similar path. After a standout career at Harvard, few if any thought he would have an impact in professional basketball. Initially signed as a free agent, he was cut by a couple of clubs before being picked up by the New York Knicks.

Then, after shooting a winning three-pointer last week to win the game, Lin commented, “I just thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for that shot.”

Yet for all the credit both have given God for their success, their detractors have come out of the woodwork to criticize their faith.

David Brooks, a noted columnist for The New York Times, addressed Lin’s use of religion and even compared it to politics in his Feb. 17 column. Brooks questioned how crediting God with athletic and political success is possible when both are filled with self-absorption and putting ones self ahead of the greater good.

“Jeremy Lin is now living this creative contradiction,” Brooks wrote. “Much of the anger that arises when religion mixes with sport or with politics comes from people who want to deny that this contradiction exists and who want to live in a world in which there is only one morality, one set of qualities and where everything is easy, untragic and clean. Life and religion are more complicated than that.”

For Santorum, the stakes may be even higher. As he seeks to remain atop the GOP polls, his faith will more likely become an even greater issue.

Not only is his chief rival, Mitt Romney hitting him hard on his support of past legislation, the Obama campaign team has already started reminding voters of his support for Terri Schiavo when her husband was fighting to take her off life support.

NBA fans seemed more than infatuated by Jeremy Lin’s prowess on the basketball court. However, voters in will most likely determine Santorum’s public confession of his faith, along with his political success, over a dozen states within the next two weeks.

Does Santorum Have Evangelical Women’s Vote in the Bag?

February 21, 2012 in By Paul, Politics with 0 Comments

Rick Santorum’s campaign has taken on a whole new dimension within the last two weeks. His surprise sweep of Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota has placed him front and center in a GOP primary, but he still needs to wrap up a greater percentage of women – specifically, evangelical women.

Santorum’s legislative credentials on issues such as partial birth abortion and traditional marriage give him tons of credibility within the ranks of female social conservatives.

Still, some evangelical women have drifted toward Romney or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, saying those candidates were best suited to addresshealth care and economic issues and defeat President Obama in November. Now that mindset seems to be changing.

Penny Nance, the CEO of Concerned Women for America, has known and worked with Santorum for a number of years. Although the organization she leads doesn’t endorse candidates, Nance has personally thrown her support behind the former Pennsylvania senator and she thinks the next few weeks will be a “make-or-break” period for both Romney and Santorum.

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Prop 8 Appeal: Will Supreme Court Decide Gay Marriage Once and for All?

February 14, 2012 in By Paul, Politics with 0 Comments

Legal scholars say the U.S. Supreme Court may have to decide whether federal court has the power to overturn a state protection of traditional marriage in the wake of the controversial 9th Circuit Appeal Court decision negating California Proposition 8.

But it is not clear this is the case that either protectors or challengers to traditional marriage want the high court to decide. American Center for Law and Justice attorney and legal scholar David French says he is somewhat perplexed by last Tuesday’s ruling by the 9th Circuit Appeals Court and questions how the Supreme Court would handle the case.

“They certainly tried to make the ruling as narrow as possible,” French told The Christian Post. “Still, I believe they made a mistake in the sense that when talking about marriage – they discussed the importance of marriage as an institution. Yet they gave no legitimate reason for marriage when advancing the state’s interest. I think it only complicates the issue.”

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Evangelical’s ‘Outraged’ by Obama’s Contraceptive Compromise

February 11, 2012 in By Paul, Politics with 0 Comments

President Obama’s attempt at a “compromise” in his new contraceptive coverage rule seems to have backfired and only further fanned the flames among evangelicals and conservative Catholics.

“Southern Baptists and people of other various faith communities are outraged with President Obama’s so-called compromise on his administration’s abortion mandate,” Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, told The Christian Post.”

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Romney’s Tax Return Could Be a ‘Teaching Moment,’ Says Expert

January 24, 2012 in By Paul, Politics with 0 Comments

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney relented to pressure and released two years of tax returns today, an action that an expert on investing and entrepreneurship believes can be used as a “teaching moment” to educate voters on the nation’s complicated tax structure.

The Romney’s 2010 tax return shows the couple paid 13.9 percent in taxes, and an estimate of their 2011 return shows an estimated 15.4 percent tax rate. With both years combined, this amounts to about $6.2 million in taxes on about $42.4 million of income. The returns are more than 500 pages and can be found here.

The couple gave around $4.1 million to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. ($2.6 million in 2011 and $1.5 million in 2010). They also contributed to The Tyler Foundation thus making their charitable contributions well above 10 percent.

One reason Romney may have been hesitant to release his tax returns are due to the complex nature of the return, it takes more than a 30 second sound byte to explain.

For example, the vast majority of the couple’s income has already been taxed, thus underestimating his total tax burden on the same dollar.

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Santorum, Gingrich Children Play Vital Role in Dad’s Campaign

January 23, 2012 in By Paul, Politics with 0 Comments

Charleston, S.C. – Voters are accustomed to seeing the spouses of political candidates stump for their better half’s on the trail. But in this week’s South Carolina primary, the children of two of the remaining GOP hopeful are fulfilling critical role in their father’s campaigns and in a unique ways.

The children of the other candidates may be more active, but none are larger than the Santorum clan of seven children ranging in age from 20 to 3 and a half. They include Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, Patrick and Bella.

The former Pennsylvania Senator and his wife Karen are tireless campaigners and public servants who have chosen to involve their children in all aspects of their political life. When Santorum moved from the House of Representatives to the Senate in 1995, the couple decided it was best to move the family to Washington so the Senator could come home, have dinner with the kids and put the younger ones to bed, before returning to the Hill for late night votes.

Seeing them on the campaign trail offers a unique glimpse into their family dynamics.

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Study: Presidential Candidates Expressing Their Faith May Be Turning Voters Off

January 20, 2012 in By Paul, Politics, Religion with 0 Comments

Charleston, SC – A new poll released by LifeWay Research shows that presidential candidates who share their faith on the campaign trail may not be helping their cause. The results of this study may go against the strategy being implemented by at least two of the GOP candidates this week in South Carolina as they try to woo evangelicals to the polls on Saturday.

The online survey of adult Americans was conducted Sept. 23-26 and asked the question, “When a candidate running for office regularly expresses religious conviction or activity, how does that impact your vote?”

According to the study’s findings, only 1 in 6 Americans, or 16 percent, are more likely to vote for a candidate who regularly shares their religious beliefs.

Even more interesting, 30 percent indicated they would be less likely to vote for a candidate expressing religious activity, 28 percent say it would have no impact on their choice of a candidate and 21 percent of Americans said it would depend on the candidate’s religion.

Despite this study’s findings, at least half of the GOP candidates have been touting their personal religious convictions when speaking to groups in Iowa, New Hampshire and now in South Carolina.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum refers to his faith and religion in almost every stump speech he gives.

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