Contracts with Devils

If the Republicans can so easily toss aside their Constitutional duty and willingly make contracts with Devils, what might Americans expect from them; a National default or worse?

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - Christianity is the most prevalent religion, but certainly not the only one represented in the Congress. However, most Republicans, if not all, are beholden to Evangelicals who pull the Party’s political strings, and to Grover Norquist who holds signed promises from most Republicans not to raise taxes under any circumstance.

And now Senators Bachman and Santorum have concocted another contract which they want others to sign; The Marriage Contract, another deviation from the logic of the Constitution they prefer to ignore.

All are contracts with the Devil, inasmuch as Republican representatives, who most often vote as a block, do so because they have abdicated their right and duty under the Constitution to which they are supposed to be the servants in the interest of all citizens, not to Evangelicals or Grover Norquist.

If their allegiance was only to the Constitution, there should be no obstacle too great which they and the Democratic members cannot overcome in the best interest of our Nation.

Unfortunately, because Republican intransigence is based on faith and emotional commitment rather than accommodation, their members seem not inclined to go against the Tea Party whose desire is to limit Barack Obama to just one term.

But if the Republicans can so easily toss aside their Constitutional duty and willingly make contracts with Devils, what might Americans expect from them; a National default or worse?

Kenneth G. Ramey, Salem-News.com's Religion and Philosophy Writer, confronts the hard issues of politics and religion from a logical point of view that combines interesting insight with history into the truth, or lack thereof, that underlies the strengths and weaknesses of the Religious Right’s determination to use American politics for its own misguided, or selfish, interest. It’s rare for a writer to balance his writing between religious values and the secular guarantees of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights with the knowledge that Ken possesses, and to do it so effectively.

Ken was born in Minnesota but was raised in California since 1932. He is the youngest of four boys raised by his mother alone during the dark years of the Great Depression. He Graduated from SFSU in the 1970s when in his mid-forties, majoring in Spanish North American History, and added three years of post-graduate study, much of it in Philosophy and Religion. We live at a critical time in history and believe Ken's views represent the view of many who are tired of the commercialism and false interpretations about religion today. Watch for Ken's articles on religion, philosophy, politics and history. View articles written by Kenneth G. Ramey You can email Ken at: darken1@sbcglobal.net

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ken ramey July 12, 2011 2:40 pm (Pacific time)

Colli; Always enjoy your comments, and I don't disagree with you except to say that I perceive reasons why the GOP acts as it does, and I don't like it, I vote Independent because I will swing the other way if it seems to be in the Nation's best interest. Alberto: RE, same sex marriage, I really prefer that they have all the rights, but that they be joined by Civil Union. Marriag is justr a word after all; it is the equal rights that count.

Allen July 12, 2011 9:38 am (Pacific time)

Ken it appears you agree with many other people as per the theme of this article. Though you are part of a distinct minority that is diminishing in influence

as per the below Gallup analysis. How do you feel about other faiths that influence government policies? Some are pretty much in your face type powers that exercise very intense blowback if you don't follow their dogma. These are also faiths that have nothing to do with theological worship, in fact just the opposite. So I guess which ideological dogma hinders the individual the most?

"Liberals, Democrats More Likely to Disbelieve Bible, Says Gallup Poll." http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/liberals-democrats-more-likely-disbeliev

COLLI July 12, 2011 9:19 am (Pacific time)

Ken: I enjoyed reading your article and feel that you are on the mark with what you say . . . with one exception. That exception is the premise that the Democratic Party is free of similar failings. If only I could believe that, I would be a happy man. The greed, which drives Washington is not one sided at all. It permeates both houses of Congress and the Whitehouse to the very core. I firmly believe that it is the structure of our electoral process, lack of term limits, and lack of campaign spending limits that have caused our government to putrefy. After viewing the all of the Presidencies since Eisenhower, I cannot believe that the inflexibility you refer to exists on only one side of the aisle. The smell resulting from the purification I mentioned earlier is equally strong on both sides of the political aisle. I can only dream that the greed and hunger for power could be replaced by a true desire to clean our government up and vote based on the needs of its citizenry. Sadly, I fear it is only a dream.

Alberto July 12, 2011 8:26 am (Pacific time)

It seems that most members of congress agree that it would not be wise to raise taxes during a recession, regardless of any pledges some groups want them to sign. Of course during the lame duck session last December the democrats had control of everything and could have allowed the previous ten year tax rate to expire. They did not, why? They did not have the votes, that's why. Now with the so-called debt limit being the latest political diversion, we see the same politickin' going on rather than coming together and doing the work they were elected to do. So who is really playing the people? In 2006, then Sen. Obama, voted against raising the debt ceiling claiming that it was irresponsible to future generations. Last December he said it was unwise to raise taxes, now he says let the current Bush tax rates expire 1/1/13. So if you're in business and are making plans, a year and one half comes pretty quick, so you gonna hire more people? Expand your business? Or just maintain and adopt a wait and see, ergo, status quo? My guess is the latter, so no new jobs are coming people. The unemployment rate is ticking up, and the recent high school and college graduates (hundreds of thousands of them) have no jobs, and they are not even counted in the unemployment rate. Regarding marriages between gays, in California nearly 3 out of 4 blacks voted against that, I wonder if they signed some pledge? In all states that voted on this matter (18 so far), no one passed to allow gay marriage. All those states that allow it did so either by judges or through state legislatures, never allowing the people a direct voting choice. So statistically, is the will of the voters being listened to on most anything?

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