{"id":580,"date":"2008-12-18T20:00:04","date_gmt":"2008-12-18T20:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/conservative-angst-about-obama.html"},"modified":"2008-12-18T20:00:04","modified_gmt":"2008-12-18T20:00:04","slug":"conservative-angst-about-obama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/conservative-angst-about-obama.html","title":{"rendered":"Conservative Angst About Obama’s Selection of Rick Warren"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"warren<\/a><\/span>
\nThough conservatives are excited that Barack Obama seems to have infuriated gay activists, I suspect they’re privately a bit worried about the Warren pick.
\nObama supporters fear that the invitation offers legitimacy to Warren and his anti-gay-marriage views — but some conservatives wonder whether Warren’s presence provides some legitimacy to the Obama presidency.
\nNicole Russell of American Spectator complained,<\/a> “Holding a forum forcing Obama to discuss his views is one thing. Supporting him publicly by praying\/speaking at his inauguration is another. Frankly, this is a spineless move on Warren’s part.”
\nThe Family Research Council opined, “Let’s hope that Rick Warren will use his channel of communication to the new President to press him for more pro-family policies-rather than simply being used by Mr. Obama to make political inroads with evangelicals.”
\nDavid Brody at Christian Broadcasting Network reports <\/a>he’s been inundated with email from angry conservative Christians.
\nAnd over at the very conservative online community Free Republic<\/a> posters lashed out at Warren with as much anger as gays who critiized Obama:<\/p>\n

Rick Warren should recuse himself from this ministerial assignment. Obama is a pro-abort extremist. That is hardly a position worth a blessing from a Christian pastor.
\n— by obamaisandrogynous
\nPray for them, yes! try to convert them, yes! Recognize their authority over you, yes!
\nSupport them and give them credence, no! Rick Warren is their to just cover up the smell. Front man and a shill for a corrupt presidency.
\n–by dirtymac
\nMethinks Mr. Warren’s pride is getting the better of him. Giving the invocation at a presidential inauguration IS a big deal, but I’m sure that standing before Jesus on Judgement Day will make it seem less than trivial.
\n–by MrB
\nRick Warren is one of those new age, book author, get rich thanks to Jesus like Joel Osteen – TV pastors. I thought Warren was decent but he is a phony.
\n–by Frantzie
\nPop star preachers love fame and the company of other pop stars more than they love Christ. Avoid them and their churches.
\n–by pallis
\nObama supports late term abortion and the killing of babies that survive abortions. That is infanticide. For Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama’s inauguration proves Warren is no true Christian. May he be shunned forever.
\n— by jrooney
\nThis is despicable.
\n–by trisham
\nGeez…the False Prophet swearing in the Anti-Christ…how nice.
\n–by ravingnutter
\nWhat Obama has in mind is to use religious socialists to move his socialist agenda.
\n–by stockpirate
\nDisgusting duplicity on Rick’s part. Perhaps Pastor Warren didn’t comprehend the signifigance of his own question he asked of the affirmative action fraud at Saddeleback forum. He certainly could not comprehend the depth of deceit in Obama’s response … surely. Seems Warren is more concerned with his own empowerment than the truth of LIFE. Satan has lots of help in that regard …
\n–by MHGinTN<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though conservatives are excited that Barack Obama seems to have infuriated gay activists, I suspect they’re privately a bit worried about the Warren pick. Obama supporters fear that the invitation offers legitimacy to Warren and his anti-gay-marriage views — but some conservatives wonder whether Warren’s presence provides some legitimacy to the Obama presidency. Nicole Russell…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nConservative Angst About Obama's Selection of Rick Warren - Steven Waldman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/conservative-angst-about-obama.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conservative Angst About Obama's Selection of Rick Warren - Steven Waldman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Though conservatives are excited that Barack Obama seems to have infuriated gay activists, I suspect they’re privately a bit worried about the Warren pick. Obama supporters fear that the invitation offers legitimacy to Warren and his anti-gay-marriage views — but some conservatives wonder whether Warren’s presence provides some legitimacy to the Obama presidency. Nicole Russell…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/conservative-angst-about-obama.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Steven Waldman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-12-18T20:00:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"swaldman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Conservative Angst About Obama's Selection of Rick Warren - Steven Waldman","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/12\/conservative-angst-about-obama.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Conservative Angst About Obama's Selection of Rick Warren - Steven Waldman","og_description":"Though conservatives are excited that Barack Obama seems to have infuriated gay activists, I suspect they’re privately a bit worried about the Warren pick. 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He's also the author of the Founding Faith: Politics, Providence, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America, which has been published by Random House. Before co-founding Beliefnet in 1999, Waldman was a political journalist, serving as National Editor of U.S. News & World Report and National Correspondent for Newsweek. 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