PoliticsUSA: Santorum sweeps Gingrich: Romney takes Pacific America, Paul an also-ran

An Associated Press news story under a Washington Post headline today, tells a most-telltale political fact — that neither Rick Santorum nor Newt Gingrich can benefit from a so-called "Deep South" strategy to capture the Republican Party's nomination as candidate for the USA presidency.  The vaunted more-Southern-than-thou vapours from the Georgia Windbag were indeed trumped by Saint Tore'im Up, checkmating the former, adding to the wannabe Saint's list of committed delegates at the August Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida (Aug27-30, see rW6 Calendar).  But those gains, in turn, were offset by the Pacific Strategy this round of Mitt Romney.  He piled on more delegates to his list by winning the State of Hawaii and the Territory of American Samoa.  "To date, Romney has won 52 percent of the primary and caucus delegates, while Santorum has won 28 percent and Gingrich has won 14 percent," says AP succinctly (for the stats, see WaPo).  The libertarian woud-be purist, Ron Paul, was a distant also-ran.  My analysis is that Santorum diverted a huge number of Evangelicals in Alabama and Mississippi who have become disgusted with the Windbag's serial mistresses-cum-wives life-long strategy (the same trend kept these forces from a primary vote for squeaky-clean moral-man Romney becawz he is a Mormon).  This evangelical trend delivered instead to the traditionalist Catholic of the pack, without giving an equal benefit to the Grinch who is a recent Catholic convert, after sojourns as a Lutheran and most of his adult life as a Southern Baptist. For AP's full story and stats, see here.

— Politicarp, refWrite Frontpage politics columnist <a href="https://twitter.com/Owlb" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="large">Follow @Owlb</a>
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Romney matches Santorum’s delegate haul with wins in Hawaii, American Samoa caucuses

PoliticsNetherlands: Secularistic political monopoly? : Three Dutch Christian political parties don't add up to electoral wins

High tide for a fusion of CDA, CU, and SGP

Reformatorisch Dagblad (March9,2k12)

A loose translation by refWrite's publisher, Albert Gedraitis, working from a Google machine-translation.  Hat Tip to Jet Weigand-Timmer, a CDA activist, education specialist, and culture maven.  The article is by Bert Brouwer, also active in the CDA.

The need of this time, is forcing the three faith-based political parties in the Netherlands -- CDA [Christian Democratic Appeal], Christian Union, and SGP [Reformed Statecraft Party] -- to think about a merger, contends Bert Brouwer.

The year 2012 ended the power of Christian politics. The CDA is busy building up the resources of the party, despite having become historically low in the polls. The Christian Union, has reached the limits of its potential voters and remains structurally dependent on five or six seats. The only bright spot is the SGP. This party, which now occupies two seats in the House, is consistently shown in the polls to trend toward three seats.

The sum is as sad as it is simple: together, the three Christian parties together have not yet polled thirty seats. CDA, CU and SGP are as big as the VVD [People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, which is an old-liberal party that "attaches great importance to private enterprise and the freedom of the individual in political, social, and economic matters".] 

Downright worrisome is the position of Christian Democracy in the Netherlands. For months, the biggest-ever party of the people of the Netherlands has registered losses in the polls.

Earlier, the Christian Democrats could still suffice with the message that the first party wants to provide a batch of renewed electoral baggage, and then to launch the right man as the face of the CDA. Meanwhile, it seems that the party-leader election will be achieved if the party wants to survive at all. [CDA itself was a fusion, in 1963, of two Protestant parties and the Catholic Peoples Party]

To many of the CDA members, this is water to the lips. Watch to see if the concern for the party's viability does more harm than good. The CDA strategy in the short term is to proceed(as the Labour Party is doing already) with choosing a list of competitors for the leadership role of the party. This process should be pursued now, rather than only in 2015, when national elections are held again [trusting that the present secularist coalition government doesn't fall in the meantime].

Revolution

However, we do not quite align with the apparent CDA strategy.  The Netherlands is confronted with the most aggressive form of secularism that you can imagine.  The followers of the Judeo-Christian heritage in this country will see their sacred cows in politics be slaughtered before our eyes. Egalitarianism now has branches in all corners of society, including the Bible Belt.

Meanwhile, there are firm atheist hands marking the beat of the pace for changes. These include further expanding the practice of euthanasia clinics and the murder of the Dutch Society for Voluntary Life.

Non-resuscitation tapes have found their entrance into well-known hospitals. Schools are no longer free to keep teaching students in their classes that sexual intercourse is only permitted, in principle, between a man and a woman. Under pressure from the gay lobby ["homolobby"] is working hard to render the Netherlands a pink sausage-making unit.

The new egalitarianism is steeped in dogma. Historical consciousness is gone. It is simply removed from the reading books. On public terrain, I may seek equality, freedom and brotherhood across the board, but only if I remain silent about Jesus.

It is high time to stand on the brakes. This is not optional. Against the secular 

equality- revolution stands the Gospel!

People's party

The awake Christian realizes that politics is eleven fifty-five o'clock. What a sad way, the times that the CDA scored forty or more seats are behind us. Although an appealing figurehead could, of course, accomplish much good.

We must be realistic: three Christian parties is too much of a good thing in this secularised pagan country. Apart from the separate origination histories of CDA, CU and SGP, the parties are programmatically not so far apart. Close cooperation is therefore obvious.

For me, the two sides. If the CDA on their own will prove able to find the way up, there should be round-table discussions organized by representatives of the CDA, the CU and SGP. Possibly the face-to-face conversations in a broad, Christian social conservative people's party.

This means that the three faith-factor parties on must step over their own shadow. They should realize that we desperately need each other in the year 2102. There is more that unites us than divides us.

It sounds radical, but it must be radical: New realities require a new interpretation of Christian politics. The above is inevitable. In such a case it is better to respond to the circumstances than to walk panting behind the secular facts.

The author is a publicist and member of the CDA.