CNN's Roberts equated "Christian conservatives" with "values voters"
SUMMARY: On Anderson Cooper 360, CNN's John Roberts said of Mike Huckabee: "[H]e brings Christian conservatives in the door, values voters." CNN personalities have repeatedly linked "values" and religious faith to conservative voters or politicians.
On the November 28 edition of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, CNN anchor John Roberts said of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee: "[H]e brings Christian conservatives in the door, values voters." As Media Matters for America has documented, CNN personalities have repeatedly linked "values" and religious faith to conservative voters or politicians. Recently, other media figures have used the term similarly. For instance, Politico congressional reporter Josephine Hearn suggested that a Huckabee win in Iowa would be "very damaging to Mitt Romney, because they're both going after values voters." In addition, BBC Washington correspondent Katty Kay posited that "values voters" can "say, 'We can take [Rudy] Giuliani as our president because we know we've got a Supreme Court that is already very conservative.' " Moreover, Roberts himself has previously asserted that Democrats are "perceived as a party of secular snobs" and described Romney as "pro-family."
On May 18, 2006, conservative columnist George F. Will criticized the media's use of the term "values voters" to refer to social conservatives in a Washington Post column titled "Who Isn't a Values Voter?" Will wrote that "[t]his phrase diminishes our understanding of politics. It also is arrogant on the part of social conservatives and insulting to everyone else because it implies that only social conservatives vote to advance their values and everyone else votes to ... well, it is unclear what they supposedly think they are doing with their ballots."
Roberts' remark about Huckabee came during a discussion of that evening's CNN/YouTube debate for Republican presidential candidates.
From the November 28 edition of Anderson Cooper 360:
COOPER: Let's get some final thoughts on the debate from our panel: David Gergen, Bill Bennett, CNN's Campbell Brown, Jeffrey Toobin, Jamal Simmons. Joined by -- as well as by American Morning's John Roberts, who's just joining us.
John, you had a chance to try to talk to some of the candidates afterward. What did you take away?
ROBERTS: Well, I talked with Giuliani for a little while, probably for about five or six minutes after the debate. He really seemed to be in good spirits.
I think it's pretty clear that he handled the debate very well, and he was on very friendly territory here in Florida. This is one of the places where he is doing best of all of the early primary states, a place that he hopes can be a firewall for him. And it's a place that's much more in tune with his ideas and his policies than, say, an Iowa or a New Hampshire.
They don't so much take offense to the nuance in his positions on abortion and gun control, as some of these other states do, though he did seem to be in a bit of a sticky spot on a couple of occasions when he was asked about gun control, trying to lay out his position here.
And it seems that he has shifted somewhat away from this idea of licensing guns that he was promoting when he was mayor, Anderson. So perhaps that's a real recognition that he knows the number of people here who are gun owners in Florida, and he has to temper his ideas just a little bit on that front.
But all in all, Giuliani thought it was a good night. I also talked with Mike Huckabee, who happened to be here with Chuck Norris, who's doing some campaigning for him as they try to push ahead in Iowa. And I can really see Huckabee perhaps setting up as a running mate to Rudy Giuliani. He brings to the table some things that Rudy Giuliani does not have. And that's really important for a running mate. What can the running mate do to augment your campaign?
With Huckabee, he brings Christian conservatives in the door, values voters, and that's something that Giuliani still has some problem with. So I wouldn't be surprised if Giuliani did become the nominee, that there's a good chance he could pick Mike Huckabee to be his running mate.
As we've seen over and over and over, these "Values" voters are only thinking of how much value they get from big tax breaks and other goodies the right-wing politicians give them.
Indeed ! The media can continue to use the phrase "values voters", they just need to explain the exact "values".
Btw, who came up with "values voters" ? Rove ? Luntz ? Whoever it was must smile each time they hear or see MSM use the phrase.
I don't remember who it was that coined "values voters." But it was Dan Quale who first started using the term "family values" during the 1992 campaign. Since then, we've seen how the RapePublican party exemplifies everything but.
Wasn't it Falwell?
oh, but they do exemplify "family values", it just happens to be the sopranos' family values.
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
I'm laughing now, I heard Roberts describe a Guiliani/Huckabee candidacy and can't help thinking:
THE GANGSTER & SNAKE OIL SALESMAN PRESIDENCY!
The hybrid Republican Cabal!
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
i agree.. the left has values. they value removing God from every aspect of public life, they value removing Christ from christmas. they value algore as the global messiah. but at least they only seem to have anti-christian values, because they don't seem to have a problen with the aspect of being overrun with militant muslims.
And now, after that brief detour, we return to planet Earth.
The only thing threatening Christmas, BO junior, is the overconsumptive ritual promulgated on us by big corporations who don't have enough of our dollars. This holiday has become a joke of crass over consumption. And that value is a firmly Republican value,
how does anyone "remove christ from christmas"? you're free to celebrate it any way you want. and saying merry christmas does not bother me, it's not an offense to me. what you want is to force your religion on others. in other words, you want to be like those "militant muslims" you claim to be against. since i have no problem bashing organized religion in this country, i do not have a problem pointing out the atrocious record of countries like saudi arabia, where religion is the basis for the some of the worst discrimination and violations of human rights in the world.
http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/saudi/report.html
how does anyone "remove christ from christmas"?
I think that would only seem possible to someone with very weak faith.If I believed in a God , and somebody else implied that my god was that much of a puss, I'd be a little insulted.
Paleocon, why do you come here to bash Christians?
how does anyone "remove christ from christmas"?
It's easy. Highlight the first six letters in the word "christmas" and then hit the delete button.
Nah it is YOU guys with anti Christian values. You value getting Americans killed in wars started with lies. You value starving children because you worship Mammon and Ebeneezer Scrooge. You value hatemongering and stupidity, your post is a testament to that. I never could understand why you value IGNORNACE so highly, could you help me out with that?
Yeah, I'm a liberal and high on my priority list is removing Christ from Christmas & God from public life. Great observation numbn*ts. Us real liberals don't talk about universal healthcare, the death of the living wage(i.e the middle class), corporate welfare and the military industrial conplex. No, we sit around trying to figure out how to take Christ out of Christmas. You right wingers are always mad because we aren't in awe of your religion. In your little brain that means we're trying to remove god from public life. When in reality we just don't care. P.S Anne Coulter has a big Dildo with your name on it. try not to chip a tooth.
Speaking as a Christian; it is my humble opinion/belief that Jesus Christ mightily disapproves of the "values" of this Cheney/Bush administration.
Their "values" are rooted in a cold calculated materialism and disregard for all manner of common human decency.
In other words, I dare say, if Jesus Christ were walking the Earth in the flesh today; He would be promoting peace, love, tolerance, undertstanding, generosity, empathy, community, compassion, gentility, social justice, economic justice, and just about everything paleo"conservatives" associate with liberalism/left wing Values.
And I certainly don't think Jesus Christ would be buying the implicit Republican line that waterboarding/torture is a good thing.
Even Republican luminary George Will said "who isn't a values voter?":
link
What a stupid thing to say. Huck evaded squaring his anti-choice stance with his pro-death penalty stance, he gave the pat answer that there is a difference between a fetus and a convict. Isn't that odd? A fetus is innocent when it suits his political agenda, but born into sin when he is selling Jesus to the unconverted. He dodged the follow up of who would Jesus execute by evading again. He said Jesus was too smart to run for public office. YukYukYukYuk hillarious evasion that shows no willingness to truly convey his values. Probably because his views on abortion and the death penalty are inconsistent.
Even more glaring lack of a values based worldview was the absence of any mention of healthcare, the surging wealth divide or how the poor would be made to suffer in a recession.
No mention.
No core values.
Just a lust for power.
I have to call this one for MMFA.
Not only was the evasion of the issues that really matter to Americans a heinous omission by the candidates it's a suckass ratings ploy by CNN to give the appearance of democratic participation.
The candidates cut and ran and CNN appeased them.
jesus was too smart to run for public office? so i guess that, by definition, makes huckabee a dumbass?
No, I thought that it meant he wasn't Jesus.
There has been some confusion in the past on the question, is the president Jesus? And since he had taken that phone call from god, well... well, there just might have been some confusion and he was clearing it up.
Or, at least that is what I thought.
Justice and Truth(tm) in the USA - Fact Check Edition:
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the term "values voter", so I would like to clear this up. First, let me just say that I'm not trying to argue this in a partisan way, I just want to increase the understanding of the term.
"Values voters" are people (generally middle class Republicans) who vote primarily based on feelings about love of country, love of family and love of their religion.
"Economic voters" (generally Democrats) vote primarily based on their own economic interest - increased welfare benefits, more government spending programs, etc. etc.
I hope this helps.
Like i said to you before, and you are proving it, you are going to die an intellectual pauper.
no, it doesn't help because you got it backwards. today's republican is a sunday christian. you can tell them right off the bat, they sing the loudest, pray the loudest and give big tithings and as soon as service is over, they get into their lincolns and hummers (which were illegally parked in the handicapped spot) and head off to the store where they push their way to the head of the line to buy christmas presents and spit vitriol at the teller if they so much as dare say Happy Holidays. Christ is a christmas gift who's value to them is determined by the price of the present.
Great stuff, Snoopy
“Values voters" are people (generally middle class Republicans) who vote primarily based on feelings about love of country, love of family and love of their religion.---Justicetruthus
Thank you. I think I got it now. Republicans are good people, especially as compared to the others.
Seriously though, the idea of loving a religion strikes me as odd. Usually the purpose of a religion is to bind the individual to the group or the tribe, to in effect practice ‘love’ for the tribe (or perhaps now the country theoretically)---but not to love the religion itself.
Maybe the whole monotheistic thing has thrown a monkey wrench into that, especially when God is personified as Jesus or even as a super-prophet like Muhammad. The religion becomes the important thing, not the people. The people become what the religion was---a means to an end. And the religion is transformed from a means to an end.
So the odds are that whatever religion was formed 2000 or 1300 years ago is not going to suit very well today’s circumstances. So you have to ask yourself, “How prominent in public (tribal) life should Christianity or Islam be?” My answer would be to keep it private as much as possible as it is maladaptive to an ever changing secular society. And that is what most Americans have done through history, including the founding fathers. And we prospered as a tribe (country). Maybe we’re not as good a Christian country as we could be, but at least we’re not living in poverty like so many Muslims are.
BINGO. Regardless of its origins, religion quickly evolved into a tool by which the few can control the many. This has been deftly demonstrated by the way Country Club Republicans have been able to lead their Evangelical voter base around by the nose in recent decades.
"Economic voters" (generally Democrats) vote primarily based on their own economic interest
Yeah, that's why the Democrats were asked by a Democrat in the debate last night to sign a pledge to never raise taxes.
Oh, my mistake. It was the Republicans being asked by a Republican.
Here let me clear it up for YOU since it is clear you arent very bright. Democrats vote their values, that is that we are all in this together, that we shouldnt send Americans off to foriegn lands to die when its not morally justifyable AND crucial to our country. That we should care about our nieghbor as a society and that government should be accountable. Mostly the GOP is a financial group their values are defined by Mammon and Ebeneezer Scrooge, and if it makes a rich man money they cant WAIT to get Americans killed anywhere they can kill brown people at the same time. I hope that helps
You imply that you're one of those"values voters" which I would assume means that you're all about God, family and country.
What have you done for your country, other than post comments on message boards?
What a load.
Here are your "republican values": http://www.armchairsubversive.org/
Real republicans value money and little else. The rich have used religion and issues that are a matter of personal choice and nobody else's business really to dupe the ignorant (evangelical chistians, and anyone who doesn't recognize the value of seperating church and state) into voting against their economic interests so that the rich can continue to rake in millions all the while pushing the working class )who voted their puppets into power) further into poverty.
GREED is the only value they have. This terms must be killed. It's slur against everyone else. It's a shame. It's a LIE.
Don't get mad at JusticeTruth. He just fell off the turnip truck. Democrats generally do vote for there economic interests as do the Republicans who own the media. It's your value voters who vote against their economic interests by voting for people who will raise healthcare costs and keep wages low. Thats not to say the Democratic Party isn't a joke..because it certainly is. But that's due to contribution money from huge corporations. Value voters elected Baby Bush twice. Although they desperately want to forget it. The same way you can't find anyone that voted for Nixon.
This business of tagging groups of people who vote alike is very racist. And those that do, probably never took a US history class or passed the test. How does one assume Democrats are not christian ?
Racist?
I get what he's saying, and agree with his, but yeah - maybe "racist" wasn't the best choice of words.
I'm thinking its just kind of a byproduct of the process of demonizing all precieved enemies of wingnutdom(dum de dum duumm).
Is there really a segment of our fellow Americans/voters that is stoopid enough to believe that conservative Christians are the "values voters"?
You've got to be kidding. This is so lame. Christian Conservatives are the Values Voters.
depends what you mean by " christian " and what you mean by " conservatives ". a strict interpretation of the Constitution or a strict interpretation of the Bible ? And which Bible ?
guliani and robertson's backing are a perfect example of those values.
Oh snap! That is dead-on, snoop.
I am still looking for the bible verse that says that people like you are allowed to make asses of themselves.
When the bible says that Jesus rode an ass, I don't think it was an allegory to describe the the conduct of a Christian in relation to Christ.
Name one person on earth who does not vote for their values. I'll wait...
I'll take that as a "yes".
That was in response to Compliantconsents volunteering as ValuesSucker.
YOU are so lame. You are among the STUPID voters. Where else could you POSSIBLY be. You vote the ignorant hivemind ticket.
No. They've just stolen the word "values." Just like the evangelical funny-mentalists have stolen what used to be my party, and the republican's are stealing words like "patriotism."
There's nothing "value" oriented about the Right Wing Christian Funny-Mentalist aganeda. They are dangerous, un-American, hateful people who want to force their crazy myth's down my throat, and down the thorats of my childeren.
It's not about "values" it's about POWER. "Values" is a bait-and-switch to get votes. They don't give a hoot about "values."
Man, for a minute there, I thought they were just spouting republican BS, but after you explained it so eloquently, I understand completely now.
Making the 2/3s of the rest of us ____ voters?
Anywho some examples would be nice, and unexpected, surprise me. Any links to your web site will be ignored.
"Intelligent" maybe? "Educated" ? ;)
"Dogma voters" is the more fitting label. "Values voters" is an invented label for people who like to think of themselves as championing good human values. What many of them are pushing actually is dogma."Values" are "the principles that help you to decide what is right and wrong, and how to act in various situations." Cambridge Dictionary of American English. "Dogma" is "a fixed, esp. religious, belief or set of beliefs that people are expected to accept without any doubts." Id. The two, we can only hope, overlap to some extent, but they are hardly the same. Some of what religious fundamentalists hold up as values others find plainly wrongheaded and even immoral.Labels count. Those pushing the "values voters" label hope it will help them pass off their dogma as values. If they want to push their dogma, that's their right. But "dogma voters" they are, and that's what I'll call them.
DOGMA VOTERS!!! I LOVE IT! YES! THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE! BRILLIANT!
I agree, Doug. One way to distinguish groups of voters is to ask which should take precedence in American Government...the Bible, or the Constitution. I strongly fear that a poll among Americans might give the statistical advantage to the Bible. How sad.
Very good. Yes Dogma voters is perfect
Even though the founding fathers themselves tried to keep "religion" out of the mix...Washington by the way was an agnostic that did not attend any church. Does that make him "Un-American" or a person devoid of "values".
They in thier great wisdom did this for two purpouses...To protect from this country becoming a theocracy and so i did not have to worry about government telling me (as a Buddhist) how I should worship.
OMG! You do realize you're going to HELL, right? ;)
All I know is that it's gonna be impossible to get into a good restaurant in hell let alone get a good table.
Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company!
great article here which may give you all a little insight into how and why this "values voters" stigma has lasted this long
Munite I hear some guy talking born again crap, I start looking for an exit. Damndest people.
ok, is it just me, or does this picture make john roberts look like someone just shoved a lubed corncob up his ass, and he's enjoying it?
hey, people want to know!