by TChris

"There is no better way for a political party to establish the legitimacy of its political point of view than to declare that Jesus is one of its members." Steve Duin quotes Tony Campolo to explain why Jesus joined the Republican Party in the late 1980's.

Duin notes that the Bush campaign is striving to turn churches into campaign field offices and suggests that the churches should try to cut a better deal in exchange for their support.

Why not insist on universal health care and cheaper drug prices for the elderly so middle-class Republicans can focus on immediate family needs? Why not order the administration to replace John Ashcroft at the Justice Department with Eliot Spitzer so the White House can train its guns on white-collar criminals rather than septuagenarians seeking autonomy at their own end times?

Instead, they give up their time and votes in trade for unenforceable laws banning abortion procedures and meaningless squawking about threats to the sanctity of heterosexual marriage. With Jesus on their side, you'd think they could do better.