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Wait, confused how Bush brainwashed and manipulated evangelicals? The linked article discusses the Bush whitehouse reaching out to constituents. Are evangelical

Wait, confused how Bush brainwashed and manipulated evangelicals? The linked article discusses the Bush whitehouse reaching out to constituents. Are evangelicals really easy to brainwash?

rdtsc 11y ago
> Are evangelicals really easy to brainwash? Yes they are. They are in a way pre-brainwashed by their leaders so using just the right rhetoric you can get them to act as a block and get them to do your bidding. They also have a nice property that they congregate in large megachurches, you really just have to convince the pastor to preach your agenda, and you instantly got thousands of voters. Here is an excerpt from the link: "President Bush made his famous comment that his favorite political philosopher was Jesus Christ because he changes your heart, I was a little bit surprised by that. Surprised, because presidential candidates usually do not make specific sectarian references to their beliefs. …" Note, Bush Jr wasn't the only one who realized and exploited the potential. The AIPAC (Pro Israel Lobby) is also using Evangelicals. http://www.aipac.org/connect/communities/yourchurch http://www.aipac.org/connect/communities/yourchurch ^ The strategy is pretty clear. Identify pastors of megachurges and cater to them. Here is an excerpt from AIPAC's mission page: "Pastors and other significant community leaders have amplified their voices by inviting elected officials to speak about the U.S.-Israel relationship in church, organizing parlor meetings with members of Congress to lobby them on pro-Israel legislation and participating in AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference." I have seen the effect first hand, it was very effective. An elderly relative was a member in one of those churches. Maybe 20-15 years ago they couldn't show you where Middle East was on the map. And all of the sudden within 5 years they somehow started talking about supporting the state Isreal and their house filled with trinkets built by settlers as "thank you"s from thousands in donations she sent over there and so on. It was a bit baffling, at first. Then I watched one the sermons by her pastor once (she had a recording) and it become clear what's happening.
- damagedcake 11y ago
  Evangelicals aren't any easier to brainwash than so called "Progressives," Libertarians, White people, Asian people, Athiests, Republicans, or any human being categorized by any social group, demographic or other criteria you want to pull out. That said, just like all human beings they can sometimes be deceived, blinded by bias or just not put enough thought into their beliefs. 'Because, you know, we're human just like you and everyone else here.
  - rdtsc 11y ago
    One strike against them is they already believe in some magical deity who created Earth in 7 day or some such thing. That serves as a singal to other "predators" if you wish that means "I am easy to manipulate". Just say a few words about Jesus and they'll follow. Look at some of the quotes he used and language. It was very effective. Also, another plus, unlike other religious groups they already belong to large congregations, that makes it easier. > they can sometimes be deceived, blinded by bias or just not put enough thought into their beliefs Sure but just more so than others. Looking back it seems Bush Jr's campaign manager knew who to target and what to do. Maybe he was stupid, but people working him weren't. Didn't mean they couldn't have some kind of tea party following or something along those lines. But why work harder when you don't have to...
    - damagedcake 11y ago
      "Evangelical" is a pretty broad term. You seem to have cherry-picked some sets of beliefs and characteristics to support your belief. For example, not all evangelicals are young earthers. Also not all, and probably not even most, attend the type of megachurch you keep talking about. "Just say a few words about Jesus and they'll follow" is another straw man. There are plenty of Christians who wouldn't identify as evangelical who also will try to use the words of Jesus to their advantage. Even Bernie Sanders tried that tactic recently. I somehow doubt he's going to get a wide swath of evangelical support. Belief in God is not the same thing as giving up rationality; which you seem to indicate. That's a common bias a lot of people have. I think your post says more about you than the large group of people you want to stereotype and marginalize.
dang 11y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10447190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10447190 and marked it off-topic.

Wait, confused how Bush brainwashed and manipulated evangelicals? The linked article discusses the Bush whitehouse reaching out to constituents. Are evangelicals really easy to brainwash?

rdtsc 11y ago

> Are evangelicals really easy to brainwash? Yes they are. They are in a way pre-brainwashed by their leaders so using just the right rhetoric you can get them to act as a block and get them to do your bidding. They also have a nice property that they congregate in large megachurches, you really just have to convince the pastor to preach your agenda, and you instantly got thousands of voters. Here is an excerpt from the link: "President Bush made his famous comment that his favorite political philosopher was Jesus Christ because he changes your heart, I was a little bit surprised by that. Surprised, because presidential candidates usually do not make specific sectarian references to their beliefs. …" Note, Bush Jr wasn't the only one who realized and exploited the potential. The AIPAC (Pro Israel Lobby) is also using Evangelicals. http://www.aipac.org/connect/communities/yourchurch http://www.aipac.org/connect/communities/yourchurch ^ The strategy is pretty clear. Identify pastors of megachurges and cater to them. Here is an excerpt from AIPAC's mission page: "Pastors and other significant community leaders have amplified their voices by inviting elected officials to speak about the U.S.-Israel relationship in church, organizing parlor meetings with members of Congress to lobby them on pro-Israel legislation and participating in AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference." I have seen the effect first hand, it was very effective. An elderly relative was a member in one of those churches. Maybe 20-15 years ago they couldn't show you where Middle East was on the map. And all of the sudden within 5 years they somehow started talking about supporting the state Isreal and their house filled with trinkets built by settlers as "thank you"s from thousands in donations she sent over there and so on. It was a bit baffling, at first. Then I watched one the sermons by her pastor once (she had a recording) and it become clear what's happening.

damagedcake 11y ago
Evangelicals aren't any easier to brainwash than so called "Progressives," Libertarians, White people, Asian people, Athiests, Republicans, or any human being categorized by any social group, demographic or other criteria you want to pull out. That said, just like all human beings they can sometimes be deceived, blinded by bias or just not put enough thought into their beliefs. 'Because, you know, we're human just like you and everyone else here.
- rdtsc 11y ago
  One strike against them is they already believe in some magical deity who created Earth in 7 day or some such thing. That serves as a singal to other "predators" if you wish that means "I am easy to manipulate". Just say a few words about Jesus and they'll follow. Look at some of the quotes he used and language. It was very effective. Also, another plus, unlike other religious groups they already belong to large congregations, that makes it easier. > they can sometimes be deceived, blinded by bias or just not put enough thought into their beliefs Sure but just more so than others. Looking back it seems Bush Jr's campaign manager knew who to target and what to do. Maybe he was stupid, but people working him weren't. Didn't mean they couldn't have some kind of tea party following or something along those lines. But why work harder when you don't have to...
  - damagedcake 11y ago
    "Evangelical" is a pretty broad term. You seem to have cherry-picked some sets of beliefs and characteristics to support your belief. For example, not all evangelicals are young earthers. Also not all, and probably not even most, attend the type of megachurch you keep talking about. "Just say a few words about Jesus and they'll follow" is another straw man. There are plenty of Christians who wouldn't identify as evangelical who also will try to use the words of Jesus to their advantage. Even Bernie Sanders tried that tactic recently. I somehow doubt he's going to get a wide swath of evangelical support. Belief in God is not the same thing as giving up rationality; which you seem to indicate. That's a common bias a lot of people have. I think your post says more about you than the large group of people you want to stereotype and marginalize.

dang 11y ago

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10447190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10447190 and marked it off-topic.