Would Jesus if a voter be a Republican?

[Torie]

I ask, because of what Pawlenty said. Sigh. I guess now the idiot deserves grilling as to why he thinks Jesus is his political hero. Maybe he hates Wall Street and was inspired by Jesus's example of tossing over the tables of the money changers in the Temple or something. Or maybe he is inspired that Jesus helped solve a scarcity problem by turning water into wine. If not that, what?  

[King]

Jesus would live in Palestine.

[AUH2O Libertarian]

I don't know (nor care).

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Jesus was a hippie (long hair), family values hater (bachelor), soft on crime, probably also a welfare cheat.

[The Mikado]

He would be a citizen of the State of Israel, as mentioned above.

[anvi]

I think T-Paw is trying to perform a Bush redo (as when Bush answered an early primary debate question about his favorite political philosopher with the response: "Christ, because he changed my life").  

As for Jesus being a Republican voter now: well....

RNC phone bank:
"Sir, do you believe in lower taxes, the need to cut entitlement spending, the necessity of a balanced budget, the original intent of the Constitution, and that America, being a fundamentally Christian country, should stick to traditional family values?"

Jesus:
"What?  I don't understand.  I don't have a big problem with tax collectors, some of my best disciples were tax collectors.  I don't know why you are fretting over entitlements and balanced budgets, God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, so I don't see what all the fuss is about.  I've never read your Constitution, so I can't comment on that.  And, since I have come to set husband against wife and brother against brother, and count everyone who loves God as my father, mother and brother, I'm not sure how 'traditional' my family is.  And, by the way, what is a Christian?"

DNC phone bank:
"Sir, do you believe in raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans so that our seniors and the ill may receive hospital care?  Do you believe that women, minorities and homosexuals should enjoy equal rights and equal protections under the law?  Do you believe that our foreign policy should human rights first?"

Jesus:
"I ask all people, rich or poor, to give away everything they have, and come and follow me, and if they do, they will have eternal life.  I believe that, in God, there is neither man nor woman, slave nor free, American or Israeli or Chinese or Nigerian, and no matter how the earthly law treats them, they are all my father's children.  By the way, what are human rights?  I don't know what a 'right' is supposed to be.  I know that you are to love God and love one another, have faith, and follow God's law.  You can lay claim to nothing except what my father gives you, and asks of you."

In other words, Jesus would not have known what to make of our political differences, and I doubt he would go to the polls to vote for anybody, certainly not any of us.

[Torie]

The stumble is that word "political." That tells me what I already knew ... that T Paw is just not ready for prime time. Who knew?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

He'd banish the fundies to hell.

[CultureKing]

He'd banish the fundies to hell.

Yep. It always amazes me that many of Christianity's most fervent believers somehow twist a message of peace and compassion into gay hate and such.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Jesus would be a Hadash supporter, obviously.

[Gustaf]

To be fair, a political hero need not necessarily be a politician or someone who would be able to make sense of a current political debate.

I doubt anyone would raise an eyebrow over someone having Gandhi or Mandela as political heroes and the reasons for naming them would presumably be similar to those for naming Jesus.

Regardless, if he's running hard for Iowa mentioning Jesus is probably a good idea irrespective of context.

[Torie]

To be fair, a political hero need not necessarily be a politician or someone who would be able to make sense of a current political debate.

I doubt anyone would raise an eyebrow over someone having Gandhi or Mandela as political heroes and the reasons for naming them would presumably be similar to those for naming Jesus.

Regardless, if he's running hard for Iowa mentioning Jesus is probably a good idea irrespective of context.

What's the political agenda of Jesus that Pawlenty endorses? 

[Keystone Phil]

I really dislike when people do the whole "Jesus would be a _____" routine.

Maybe he hates Wall Street and was inspired by Jesus's example of tossing over the tables of the money changers in the Temple or something. 

Is Wall Street on some type of religious site that I'm unaware of?

[anvi]

To be fair, a political hero need not necessarily be a politician or someone who would be able to make sense of a current political debate.

I doubt anyone would raise an eyebrow over someone having Gandhi or Mandela as political heroes and the reasons for naming them would presumably be similar to those for naming Jesus.

Regardless, if he's running hard for Iowa mentioning Jesus is probably a good idea irrespective of context.

I certainly agree that a political hero need not be a politician and that mentioning Jesus probably helps candidates in Iowa.  But Gandhi and pre-presidential Mandela undertook overtly political causes.  It is not clear that Jesus did undertake an overtly political mission, but if he did, it was a much different one than Republican candidates who now rely on his name imagine.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Jesus is too good for any political party.

[Nichlemn]

The answers will split down partisan lines, as anyone selectively quoting Jesus can make it seem like he supports their political philosophy. Boring. Is there anyone out there who would say "I'm a Democrat and a Christian, but I think Jesus would support Republicans" or vice versa?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Jesus is too good for any political party.

This is the only good non-hack answer.

[Penelope]

Jesus would be a citizen of the state of Israel, and would probably be a viewed as a theocratic madman by the majority of US citizens (assuming his identity is not known).

[Gustaf]

To be fair, a political hero need not necessarily be a politician or someone who would be able to make sense of a current political debate.

I doubt anyone would raise an eyebrow over someone having Gandhi or Mandela as political heroes and the reasons for naming them would presumably be similar to those for naming Jesus.

Regardless, if he's running hard for Iowa mentioning Jesus is probably a good idea irrespective of context.

I certainly agree that a political hero need not be a politician and that mentioning Jesus probably helps candidates in Iowa.  But Gandhi and pre-presidential Mandela undertook overtly political causes.  It is not clear that Jesus did undertake an overtly political mission, but if he did, it was a much different one than Republican candidates who now rely on his name imagine.

Oh, sure. I mostly meant that he might view, say, Jesus perseverance in face of opposition and principled stand for concepts like love and brotherhood to be things to guide his political endeavours.

I don't think most Western politicians naming Mandela or Gandhi are fighting apartheid or colonialisation in their own countries. Nor are they in jail or referring to those politicians domestic programmes.

[anvi]

The stumble is that word "political." That tells me what I already knew ... that T Paw is just not ready for prime time. Who knew?

Yes, Pawlenty so far has turned out to be a featherweight who can do little more than talk in tv ads.  I can now see why the GOP did not want him to run for a Senate seat in Minnesota.  I used to think that conservatives in the GOP might prefer T-Paw over Romney, but the former is such a bad candidate, I no longer think that's even remotely the case.  I'm still a little surprised, though, that even Bachmann, for all of her incredible lunacy, has turned out to be a much better candidate than Pawlenty.  That, I wouldn't have been able to guess.

[Zarn]

He would be disgusted with the corruption of both parties.

[Dr. Cynic]

I think Jesus would refuse to participate.

[angus]

I ask, because of what Pawlenty said. Sigh. I guess now the idiot deserves grilling as to why he thinks Jesus is his political hero. Maybe he hates Wall Street and was inspired by Jesus's example of tossing over the tables of the money changers in the Temple or something. Or maybe he is inspired that Jesus helped solve a scarcity problem by turning water into wine. If not that, what?  

There's nothing really wrong with what Pawlenty said.  He named a bunch of folks that give Iowa voters the warm fuzzies.  Lincoln, Reagan, and Jesus.  Folks like to exploit Jesus' name.  My guess is that it does more good for him than harm, given the audience.  

As for your question, Jesus is a criminal and he was sentenced to capital punishment.(Mark 15:6-15)  So I'm thinking that in most states he wouldn't get to vote at all.  If he could vote, he probably would.  He said that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and he recognized mortal authority (Mark 12:17).  I seriously doubt he would be a member of the Democrat or Republican parties.(Matthew 7:12)  He might want to reduce the deficit (Romans 13:8 ), but I can't imagine him endorsing any current members of congress (Matthew 7:15).

But none of that is relevant.  Mentioning Jesus is like mentioning 9-11.  Or the flag.  You just work it into a sentence.  It doesn't have to make sense.

Reporter:  "Mister Smith, what will you do, if elected, about the recent recalls of millions of children's toys manufactured in unregulated sweatshops in China by major U.S. companies which were found to contain lead and chromium and arsenic?"  

Mister Smith:  "Well, it's just like when the terrorists attacked New York on 9-11.  We weren't shaken and we will not negotiate.  Our faith in Jesus remains.  We still support traditional values and we are still Number One in commerce and freedom!  And that's why I support a constitutional amendment prohibiting the burning of the U.S. flag.  Who's with me?"  (and the crowd eats it up.  Next question.)

Besides, your article points out that Pawlenty didn't sign that ridiculous pledge.  His handlers probably told him to make up for that, by mentioning his Christian faith somehow.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUqxoPrX25I

[Yelnoc]

This is too easy.  Jesus was a radical Marxist.  Just replace Lenin/Mao with God.