Andrew Sullivan featured a link to this article on his website this afternoon, so I thought I would share it with you. The title of the opinion piece is, "I Should Be Supporting Allen. Instead, I'm Leaving the Party."
In the article, Frank Shaeffer says:
I'm a Christian, a writer, a military parent and a registered Republican.On all those counts, I was disgusted by an e-mail I just received that's being circulated by campaign supporters of Republican George Allen, who's trying to retain his Senate seat in Virginia.
The message goes like this: "First, it was the Catholic priests, then it was Mark Foley, and now Jim Webb, whose sleazy novels discuss sex between very young teenagers. ... Hmmm, sounds like a perverted pedophile to me! Pass the word that we do not need any more pedophiles in office."
Shaeffer comes to Future Senator Webb's defense:
Democrat James Webb is a war hero and former Marine, wounded in Vietnam and winner of the Navy Cross. He was writing about class and military issues long before me and has articulated the issue of how the elites have dropped the ball on military service in his classic novel Fields of Fire. By the way, that's a book Tom Wolfe calls "the greatest of the Vietnam novels."
Schaeffer goes on to say that Jim Webb is a leader who should be respected, if for nothing else, because he's paid his dues. He finishes off the article with this:
My wife and I have reached the tipping point. We plan to go to town hall to dump our Republican voter registration and reregister as independents. I don't care anymore what party someone is in. These days, what I care about is what they're made of.Wartime demands leaders with character and moral authority. The political party smearing Mr. Webb proves it has neither.
Excellent article in favor of an excellent candidate.
Schaeffer is one of the intellectual godfathers of the religious right movement in the US. they still adore him and his books. I admire deeply his intellect, even though i disagree with much of his theology. Hope the Webb folks will realize what a stunning testimony they have now to reach white evangelicals...
His son chose to enlist in the Marines, which at first troubled Schaeffer, but in a sense drew him to begin rethinking many of his attitudes.
Within evangelical community many may not know of his conversion, but most knowledgeable evangelicals will know about his father, who still retains legendary stature.
It is almost worth finding one or mroe of our supporters who has access to evangelical email lists or websites to post the link and the summaries.
This is an issue that is very painful to Catholics, yet Allen is even attempting to get mileage out of it.