Billy Graham Quotes
The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.
The evangelist had become disillusioned by his experiences with the right wing of the Republican Party in general and President Nixon in particular as he concluded that they had been using him and his ministry for partisan political purposes. He had originally assumed to the contrary. See {629697} .
Billy Graham, Christian Protestant Evangelist, 1981, Quoted in The Washington Post, July 24, 2011
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Critics were divided as to whether this illustrated that Graham was very naïve or very hypocritical. Graham had given Nixon a platform but he attended many Nixon events and was thought of as close to the President. When Watergate finally broke out in the open, Graham, had a major realignment of his view of politicians and has never gotten as close to any politician or appeared to favor a politician since.
When Dole was the Republican Congressional Leader, the Republican Party had a spectrum of liberals and conservatives and Dole was considered to be at the conservative side. However, right wing extremists first gained much influence in the party and then gained control. They then tried to purge the party of those Republicans who were not as far right as they were and were successful in many cases. Liberal Republicans found themselves isolated and tended to retire, become independents, or switch parties. This drove the party even further to the right stimulating Dole’s quip.
He was referring to the Evangelical Protestants who had skillfully dominated on cultural and religious matters the Republican Party.
What was particularly unusual about this quote was that Cronkite had always been so circumspect about his own political views and opinions and rarely expressed personal criticism of any group or movement. When he was the national anchor for CBS News, he was so non partisan that he became the “most trusted man in America.” By 2007 however, most of the radical religious right had organized a serious movement which unlike other self interest groups which wanted to expand their rights or benefits, much of the radical religious right strove to curtail the rights of other Americans who differed from them as to religious interpretation, concepts and role of government, sound family structure and relationships, gender equality, sex, and personal freedom.
Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente
He was reacting to the Republicans in Congress passing a special law for a single right to die case in Florida. Ironically Danforth himself had always been considered a conservative and he also was an ordained Episcopalian minister.
Political Parties go through transformations. In the 1950s the Republican Party had a core that was viciously attacking opponents and calling them Communists and traitors. In the early 21st century, their concern for the National Interest again was dwarfed by the desire to win and hold power, only this time intentional gridlock was added to the slanders. The Democrats have gone through unpatriotic ethical lapses as well. Parties are dynamic and change.
- Born: November 7, 1918
- Died: February 21, 2018
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Evangelist
William Franklin Graham Jr. was an American evangelist, a prominent evangelical Christian figure, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. One of his biographers has placed him "among the most influential Christian leaders" of the 20th century.
