Sober Christianity congressional assessment from a very good moderator last night
From the daily email Todd Rehm sends out:
Collins and Hice
I
moderated the debate in Oconee County between Mike Collins and Jody
Hice for the Republican nomination for Congress in the Tenth District.
Hice is a fine candidate on the stump and outperformed Mike Collins, but
one thing he said gave me pause.
The
question was whether Christianity is under attack in America, the role
of Christianity in government, and whether the federal government
should play a role in the issue.
Jody Hice said,
"Government has every reason not to restrict and suppress religion and Christianity but to embrace it, and promote it, and allow it to flourish. For therein, and only therein, is an environment in which limited state government can exist in our lives."
That's a small snippet of a longer answer to the question, but that excerpt concerns me as a Chrisitan and a Conservative.
The
concern I have is that as a Conservative, I believe that government is
an inefficient tool for solving social and cultural problems.
Looking
at the war on drugs that began in the 1980s, after nearly thirty
years, government intervention yielded stronger and more effective
horrifying drugs like the rising popularity of methamphetamine, a jail
system so overcrowded that many states, including Georgia, are
rethinking and reducing drug sentences, and a culture that is more
tolerant than ever of the recreational use of drugs and alcohol.
If that's the kind of results we could expect from government embracing and
promoting Christianity, as a Christian I'd say, "no, thank you."
The most contested portion of a debate between the remaining Republican candidates vying for the 10th Congressional District came after Jody Hice took a jab at his opponent Mike Collins' father, former U.S. Rep. Mac Collins."You've said a number of times that your political philosophy is closely identified with that of your dad. He was very good on some social issues, but he went along with the establishment. ...This looks like a sequel that's a nightmare," Hice said after citing several votes by the elder Collins to raise the debt ceiling, his own salary and to approve the No Child Left Behind Act.Collins defended his father's conservative voting record before pointing his finger at Hice for statements in his 2012 book perceived by some as anti-Islamic."In order to be a good congressman, you've got to be effective. My opponent wants to limit First Amendment rights for certain American citizens," Collins said.Hice rebutted by saying Collins was "truth-challenged" and said his published statements were taken out of context and lain with liberal talking points in recent news reports.Rather, he said, his statements "clearly made a distinction between peace-loving Muslims who want to worship and Islamic radical terrorists and jihadists."In the end, both men said they are in favor of protecting the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens.
Former Congressman Mac Collins spoke to me after the debate and said,
"If Jody Hice is going to attack my record, I should be given time to respond to it."
I
hadn't realized that Mac Collins was in the audience, but if I were in
charge of the next debate, I'd give serious consideration to allowing
that opportunity.
There
was a lot more to the debate, and I got home late last night, so I
will discuss more of what happened in the next couple of days. I want
to thank the Tenth District Georgia Republican Party, Tenth District
GAGOP Chairman Brian Burdette, and Dennis Coxwell, chairman of the 10th
Congressional District Republican Debate Planning Committee for
allowing me to participate.
The
hundred chairs set out by Dennis Coxwell and Oconee County GOP Chair
Jay Hanley were filled with voters, many of whom were not the "usual
suspects" who show up for GOP meetings, but instead ordinary voters
looking for information. It was one of the best debates I've attended.
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