Culture War Watch is back from an all-too-long absence. Did you miss us?

This week we'll be catching up on what's been going down with the Culture Wars while we were out.

Shocking new Development: Non-Divisive Faith and Values Discussion to Occur
Talk of religion has been all over the campaign trail this year (if you disagree, Culture War Watch extends you a warm welcome back from your cave). So news of a presidential forum to discuss these issues may not sound shocking. What sets the Compassion Forum at Messiah College (coordinated by FPL) apart, however, is the emphasis on in-depth discussion, rather than sound bites, values' impact on policy, rather than personal piety, and common-ground solutions over polarization. With endorsers ranging from Mike Huckabee to Bob Casey, it's no surprise that the Dallas Morning News called the event "hard to tag." With labels often doing more harm than good in our public debates (see the next item below) we wouldn't want it any other way.

Terms 'Pro-Life' and 'Pro-Choice' descend to New Levels of Uselessness
Perhaps no labels have figured more prominently in the culture wars than "pro-life" and "pro-choice." After years of serving to boil down the public debate on one of the most divisive issues to simple sloganeering, it looks like "pro-life" and "pro-choice" have officially jumped the shark.

Example 1) an Idaho man changes his name to Pro-Life and plans to appear on the ballot as a candidate for U.S. Senate. He has yet to explain how printing the words "Pro-Life" on an official ballot will prevent any abortions. (But if this does succeed in eliminating abortion in the state of Idaho, Culture War Watch is officially changing our name to "End all War, Stop Global Warming and Give Everybody Free Ice Cream on Tuesdays" and running for Mayor of D.C.)

Example 2) Conservatives are embracing the term "pro-choice." No, hell hasn't frozen over. They are making a heroic stand on one of the most critical issues of our time: preserving the incandescent light bulb. There's even a bumper sticker! (A fun exercise for the strong stomached is to check out World Net Daily's full line of ridiculous bumper stickers.)

This is not the Way to Solve the Trade Deficit
Family Research Council Vice President Peter Sprigg announced he wants to "export gays." In response, Culture War Watch announced a campaign supporting the export of Peter Sprigg. We hope this doesn't get us in trouble with the WTO, which will have to make a ruling on the Sprigg Tariffs that will inevitably crop up.

UPDATE: Sprigg has apologized (sort of) for his comments.

The Scorecard: The Compassion Forum is major progress for the Common Do-Gooders. Not only does it look like a great event, but it demonstrates the real hunger in this country for a substantive discussion on issues that really matter to people of faith. Add the Culture Warriors stepping in rhetorical messes of their own making, and this week is Common Do-Gooders all the way.

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We thought we had seen it all from the Culture Warriors, then came the allusions to genocide.

BREAKING: FRC Uncovers Evil Democratic Mass-Murder Plot! Tony Perkins is urging his supporters to help stop the reauthorization of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, because of amendments which would eliminate the abstinence only education earmarks as well as give clinics more flexibility in administering family planning services. Abortion providers would still not be eligible for funds. This fact, however, did not stop Tony Perkins from asserting, "Berman and the Democratic leadership are plotting to turn the program into something that would help eliminate Africa's next generation." So, you heard it here folks. The Democrats are trying to wipe out Africa...with AIDS relief?

Coming to you from Tallahassee, it's Inherit the Wind: Live! The latest battle in the "monkey wars" took place in Florida where the state school board approved science standards mandating teaching the theory of evolution. You may be thinking, "wait, shouldn't we have solved this by now? Haven't we been debating this for like, 100 years?" You would be pretty much right. Since the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925, schools have been grappling with how to present evolution in the classroom. Fortunately, teachers no longer face criminal charges for talking about evolution. Unfortunately, many of them still face intense social pressure from conservatives...and I don't think Spencer Tracy would star in that movie.

Department of Sadly, this is not a Joke (again) Culture War Watch celebrates Congress' recent action to ban water boarding...but mourns the fact that 1) we had to pass such a ban in the first place and 2) the ban will most likely be vetoed by President Bush.

The Scorecard: Unfortunately, the Culture Warriors seem to have the upper hand this week. Let's hope next week the Common Do-Gooders can mount a comeback!

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Happy Valentine's Day Culture War Watchers!

While recovering from your chocolate coma you can check out what's going on this week in the no-love-lost battle between the Common Do-Gooders and the Culture Warriors.

NEW SURVEY: 100% of Culture War Watch Bloggers want Major Medias Outlets to Fix Their Exit Polls Readers of this blog will know that the exit polling during the primaries has consistently stereotyped Evangelical voters as the sole political property of the Republican party. This really bothers Culture War Watch. Thankfully, Faith in Public Life teamed up the the Center for American Progress Action Fund and took matters into our own hands. Our polls in Missouri and Tennessee demonstrated that there was indeed a sizable contingent of Evangelicals, and people of all faiths, voting for both Democratic and Republican candidates. The story is making its way around in state and national media. Apparently, reporters find complete information useful while writing stories. Who'd have thunk?

Richard Land...liberal? Culture War Watch is ever so pleased to see that Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention is encouraging Americans to "rely on their values — and not their pocketbook — when choosing their elected representatives." What a great commitment to move beyond narrow self-interest to investment in the common good...like protecting the environment and ending poverty and... Oh wait...that doesn't seem to be at all what he meant. Nevermind.

Dept. of Sadly, this is Not a Joke: Bill Keller fashion plate and administrator of votingforsatan.com is claiming credit for Mitt Romney's recent departure from the presidential race. His "a vote for Romney is a vote for Satan" site launched shortly before Gov. Romney called it quits. To sane people, this would seem like a coincidence, but to Keller this is victory. (Keller, you see, is logic-challenged. The votingforsatan.com site claims it is "in no way meant to tell people who to or who not to vote for." Leading one to conclude either 1) if Satan was indeed to form some kind of "Satan/Beelzebub '08" third party campaign Keller would not discourage people from voting for him or 2) Keller is nuts). Anyway, votingforsatan.com now proudly proclaims, "Bill Keller being credited by many for helping to end
Romney's bid for the White House." Quite a trick, especially when he wasn't trying to tell anyone who to vote for. Keller, however, doesn't give examples of who any of these "many" might be. Culture War Watch has no idea why...

The Scorecard: With old culture warriors like Keller grasping at straws to stay relevant, this week goes to the Common Do-Gooders. Polls show them sweeping every demographic.

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In the announcement that is sure to keep the chattering class chattering at least 'till next week, Culture War Watch is prepared to announce its support for the Common Do-Gooders.

Focus on the Family Action NOT Endorsing a Candidate, Only a Coincidence that Mitt Romney is Pure Good and the Rest of the Candidates are Evil. Focus Action wants the (liberal, of course) Mainstream Media to stop reading into things and lose the idea that Focus on the Family Action made a "stealth endorsement" of Governor Romney in their online voter guide. They are shocked that their mostly positive portrayal of Romney and largely negative commentary on the other candidates would even be mentioned in the same sentence as "endorsement." Culture War Watch is siding with Focus on this one. After all, mischaracterizing your candidate's position on his own religion and then refusing to correct the error is more clumsy than stealthy.

Beck to Churches: Drop the Politics (like helping people in need) and Stick to Non-Controversial Topics (like apocalyptic Israel policy) Political and theological expert Glenn Beck sure knows where to draw the line between church mission and political action. He lays it out very clearly in this interview with Rev. Walter Coleman, whose congregation is currently giving sanctuary to an undocumented immigrant. Beck chastises the Rev. for taking such a position and tells him he should have his tax-exempt status revoked. Interestingly he seems to have spared Rev. Hagee, a strong advocate for very specific public policies with regarding Israel, similar criticism. We expect he'll soon be sending an Epistle to the Missouri Bishop's conference correcting them on their deep theological errors.

Moderate Baptists Gather, Tell World to Stop Looking So Surprised Contrary to popular belief, moderate Baptists exist and claim a rich religious tradition. Next week, 20,000 Baptists, including sitting Senators and ex-presidents, are gathering to identify common ground and ways to collaborate on social justice issues--Culture War Watch wishes them luck.

The Scorecard: This week goes to the Common Do-Gooders, who are still enjoying the Culture War Watch endorsement bounce.

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This week in the epic battle between the Culture Warriors and the Common Do-Gooders we learn more about the true priorities of the major players.

Jesus was a Carpenter and He only Built Three-Legged Stools At least, that is the only explanation Culture War Watch can think of for the ridiculous graphic and the accompanying article chiding the GOP for not keeping the "three-legged stool" of social, economic and defense conservatives together. Looks like Perkins is expanding on his "there's only one way to be a values voter" brand by opening a "there's only one way to be a Republican" franchise.

Since Legislative Solutions to the Abortion Issue Have Worked so Well in the Past: The Sequel Abortion is the main source of ammunition for Culture Warriors of all stripes. Culture War Watch has long been a critic of the way this issue is used as a political weapon. This year, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade brought with it the predictable protests and counter-protests. Luckily for the rest of us, there is a lot more to this issue than what has felt like a 35-year cultural tug-o-war. Pro-life individuals are expressing nuanced views on what it means to embrace that term, and in Congress pro-life and pro-choice advocates collaborated to pass a groundbreaking abortion reduction measure which commits resources to supporting women and families. More of that please. And less like this.

(We'd be remiss to not cheer the just-released statistics showing that the abortion rate has fallen to its lowest point since Roe vs. Wade. It's hard to hate on pro-choice and pro-lifers for scrapping over those spoils.)

Stereotypes still Handier than Actual Evidence FPL has been on a bit of a crusade about poor polling of Evangelical voters in the primaries. We have high hopes that this will be remedied by the time the Democrats vote in South Carolina this weekend. In the meantime, inquiring minds can turn to resources such as Beliefnet's recent poll and the panel they co-hosted today with Sojourners at GW University. One would think that this would be enough to get across the idea that Evangelicals have diverse political priorities and allegiances. But of course, this requires one to actually think.

The Honorable Ebenezer McMean Representing the State of New Heartlessness was the only "No" Vote The House of Representatives says poverty is bad and we have a moral obligation to fight it. It's about time.

This Week's Scorecard: The Roe anniversary is usually high season for the Culture Warrior, but the commitment of people of faith to speak out for their true values and the anti-poverty vote in the House are pretty big scores for the Common Do-Gooders. But, the entry of one more voice for the common good in the blogosphere from our friends at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is what put the Do-Gooders over the top this week.

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As the Culture Warriors battle it out in their never-ending quest for general cultural supremacy, they not only wound each other but manage to land a few blows on bystanders whose only crime is standing within earshot. This week, stories of those who have been taken a few punches from the Culture Warriors, even though they may not have been the intended target.

Well Those Christians Get on my Nerves Many conservative culture warriors have framed their fight as a crusade to keep the U.S. a "Christian nation" (as if it were ever a Christian nation in the first place). Unsurprisingly, this has led a large portion of non-Christians to conclude that Christians are annoying and hypocritical, and has prompted moderate Christians to say thanks but no thanks to those Culture Warriors who "speak for" all Christians.

I am Not a Muslim...not that There's Anything Wrong With That Okay okay. We grant that some culture warriors are actually are trying to damage the reputation of Muslims and Islam, but most at least claim that their qualm is with "extremism." Fine. It actually doesn't matter much. The Culture Warriors have managed to inflict enough damage to the reputation of one of the great world religions that presidential candidates actually have to take time out of nationally televised debates to address rumors circulating online and employ some rather Seinfeldian rhetorical flourishes in the mean time.

Ok, I'm Going to Wrap This Up Before the List Gets Too Long Culture War Watch has just realized that when you start to number those hurt by the Culture Warriors you're basically counting the whole world. So, here's one last post to sum it all up. During this year's "war on Christmas" the culture warriors showed their dedication to style over substance. While the U.S. heads into a recession and the planet develops a fever, culture warriors are busy thanking Wal-Mart for saying "Merry Christmas." Thanks Culture Warriors! We'll send in our thank you note shortly. It might be a bit late since we're trying to help the Common Do-Gooders bring us back from the brink of economic despair and the extinction of our species. Please forgive our rudeness.

The Scorecard: Even though I didn't write much about the Common Do-Gooders, I'm too depressed now to give the Culture Warriors any more points after writing this post. Do-Gooders get the week.

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This week, Culture War Watchers learn what happens when events occurring in the real world do not fit neatly into preexisting categories. (Hint: we take a strange journey into an alternative universe where Mike Huckabee is the "religious left".)

(Pst. Hey You, yeah you, the Media, I have a secret: some evangelical voters vote for Democrats! Shh don't tell anybody) After goofing up big-time in its coverage of evangelical voters in Iowa, the media missed an opportunity to correct itself in New Hampshire. Despite the best efforts of so many people in the common good faith movement, the MSM is still learning that neither party "owns" the faith vote. People of faith, including--gasp--Evangelicals are diverse in political opinions. They are liberal, conservative and moderate and vote for independents, Democracts and Republicans. While the poor polling and ridiculous reporting continues ("pious" people apparently only vote Republican) the chorus of voices crying "foul" is steadily increasing. We'll give the MSM the benefit of the doubt one last time though. I mean, it's not like there are any nationally known progressive and moderate religious leaders or a simple place to locate progressive people of faith like, say, a map.

Focus on the Family soldiers on in noble quest to "help families"; Reluctantly spends millions on political action Culture War Watch appreciates Culture War icons like Focus on the Family because they keep us in the blogging business. Confronted with the hard facts that a new generation is turning away from its agenda and embracing new leaders, does Focus throw in the towel, admit it was wrong and adopt a new agenda? No! Focus President and CEO Jim Daley vows to keep up the good work and claims Focus still has its finger on the pulse of youth culture due to the young folks (the women at least) recognizing that "nothing is more important than being there for your kids." (No word on James Dobson's involvement in trying to keep the environment--a huge priority for young people of faith--off the Evangelical agenda). Daley also seems to be trying to take the emphasis off Focus' political activities by saying Dobson was reluctant to enter the advocacy realm. (Again, no word on how once they got in, they seemed to like it just fine. Or at least, enough to spend millions of dollars a year through Focus on the Family's political action arm.)

I'm sure Gov. Huckabee appreciates this
Since the Iowa caucus, several conservative commentators, troubled by some of Mike Huckabee's economic record, have labeled him the leader of the "religious left". This label is most likely confusing for Huckabee, who describes himself as conservative, and for those who actually self-identify as the religious left, who have serious differences of opinion with Huckabee. But wait, there's more. Mark Steyn thinks that a general election match-up between Huckabee and any of the Democrats would end up being a contest between the "secular left" and the "Christian left." Steyn does not seem to take into account the fact that the two Democrats currently leading in the primaries are people of strong faith or that Mike Huckabee is actually pretty conservative on several issues (other than the great liberal cause of creating a flat tax). But, no matter. Our handy stereotypes have served us so well so far. That's how we know that Democrat=godless and that Mike Huckabee=as far left as you can get while still being "Christian." If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The Scorecard: This week goes to the Common Do-Gooders, voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are showing that they are taking serious looks at all the candidates and defying the conventional wisdom on what kind of voters vote for what kind of candidates. The culture warriors do get an "A" for effort, however, for doing their best to resurrect their familiar themes and to keep on culture warring in the face of an ever unfriendlier reality.

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Politically astute Culture War Watch readers may have heard that the good people of Iowa held caucuses last night. You have heard correctly...and since we don't want to contribute to the media saturation of that topic, that's the last we're going to say about it. (Culture War Watch wants to note that this has nothing to do with her Minnesota roots making her passive-aggressively jealous that her home state's neighbor to the south is getting all this attention.)

The First Story not about Iowa: Since Legislative Solutions for the Abortion Issue have Worked So Well in the Past...
Oddball residents of the Show-Me state are "divided on the abortion issue." Wonder what's wrong with them.

The Second Story not about Iowa: New Hampshire Shocks Neighbor State with Calm Demeanor
Oddball legislature of New Hampshire institutes civil unions for the state's gay and lesbian citizens. This seems to have occurred without threats of violence or either side questioning the other's basic humanity. Nobody's head exploded, either. Wonder what's right with them.

The Third Story not about Iowa: Robertson Announces Predictions for 2008, nobody cares
Despite having a perfect track record (we're all still recovering from the 2007 nuclear bomb detonation), Pat Roberston's predictions don't seem to have gotten a lot of attention so far this year. Perhaps it was that he mostly focused on (sadly) pretty safe bets like worldwide violence and high oil prices. Or maybe the press is just focused on last night's activities in the state-that-must-not-be-named. Who knows? But I like it.

The Scorecard (also not about Iowa): Culture War Watch likes the fact that culture warrior Robertson seems to be getting ignored, so we're going to give this round to the common do-gooders. Although, this begs the philosophical question: If a televangelist makes a false prediction, and the media do not cover it, how will he ever make a fool of himself?

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Telling Culture Warriors and Common Do-Gooders apart sounds easy, but can actually be really tricky. Luckily, you have Culture War Watch to interpret for you.

Whereas, We have no problem wasting tax dollars on pointless resolutions
On the face of it, a Congressional resolution commending Christmas seems rather harmless, festive, even. However, the resolution "Recognizing the Importance of Christmas and the Christian Faith" seems to be designed exclusively to put some more ammunition into the mythical "war on Christmas" Especially as its sponsor, Rep. Pete King, said that those who didn't support the resolution "voted 'no' on Christianity" (note to the sponsors: didn't you know that Bill O'Reilly single-handedly saved Christmas last year? you don't have to worry about this any more). This exaggeration of the power and malicious intents of your opponents, however, is the first step in spotting a Culture Warrior. You're likely to identify a Common Do-Gooder by their focus on the poor and vulnerable and the real meaning of the holiday (from any tradition). Meanwhile, actual wars are destroying actual lives, and taking down Christmas too.

Irony overload
So, we are considering renaming this series "Tony Perkins Watch" as the Family Research Council never seems to disappoint us in our search for new material. We should probably get over it already or go get some therapy, but we just can't seem to let his absurdity go without comment. This week he got in a one-two punch by gloating over how he helped defeat anti-hate crime legislation and then using the church shootings in Colorado to take a jab at the "secular media" for stirring up anti-Christian sentiment. Just so we're all clear, after twisting the truth to re-label hate crimes legislation "thought crimes," and claiming that it would be completely unjust to hold somebody who had preached against homosexuality accountable if one of their flock committed a violent act against a GLBT person (even though that's not what the bill was going to do in the first place), Mr. Perkins essentially makes the case that the Colorado Springs shootings were hate crimes against Christians and the "secular media" is responsible. Makes perfect sense, right?

An Inconvenient Statement

Pope Benedict is something of a culture war wild card, as those on both sides are likely to appropriate things he says to serve their own purposes. For instance, his remarks on prioritizing environmental stewardship and the poor over military spending will probably go down well with the Common Do-Gooders. But we have a feeling the Culture Warriors will find something to love in some of his other recent remarks about the family.
We smell a theme for the National Organization for Marriage's new ad campaign...

The Scorecard:
Sadly, looks like the Culture Warriors have this week. Common Do-Gooders better step up their game!

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Could it be? Did the Culture Warriors get so wrapped up in the spirit of Thanksgiving that they called a brief cease fire? (I'd blame the tryptophan, but I guess that's out now) Hard to believe, but all was (relatively) quiet on the Culture War Front this week, allowing the Common Do-Gooders more time to shine. This week's highlights:

I'd go just for the crab cakes: Middle East peace talks are currently being held in Annapolis, the one-time home of the federal legislature and the current home of tasty crustaceans. Expectations for the outcome are relatively low, but regardless, Culture War Watch thinks it takes a lot of courage to sit down with your enemies, and we hope for the best.

Washington hearts Bono; is it because "U2" is the ideal band name for blackberry users? Pulitzer material? Probably not (no offense), but this Washington Post piece on the rock star turned rock star/activist was encouraging nonetheless. Best quotes: "I think knowing the Scriptures helped,"-- Bono on conversations with legislators and "I like him because he's a cool guy,"--former (very conservative) Republican Congressman John Kasich.

Did you know it's really hard to make stem cells funny? New technology looks like it will be able to diffuse some of the conflict over stem cell research. To be sure, it doesn't solve the underlying ideological issues, but it might help us get closer to some groundbreaking cures regardless.

Finally, a few desperate shots from the culture warriors: so, there were a few rumbles near the front lines, but nothing too significant. Rev. Ken Hutcherson announced plans to take-over Microsoft due to some of their pro-gay rights stances. Clearly, this is the best use of everybody's money.

Oh, and Tony Perkins sent us some weird notes.

The Scorecard: Common Do-Gooders have it. I mean, they've got Bono.

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I hear the "unborn" have been lobbying hard for a flat tax too While one might not see the connection immediately, the low taxes=pro-life formula soon becomes stunningly obvious after you talk to some prominent "pro-life" leaders. Which is why the President and several "pro-life" politicians are bravely blocking expanded access to children's health insurance and why President Bush also vetoed an appropriations bill containing a breakthrough pro-choice/pro-life common ground abortion reduction measure.

The Real Spirit of Christmas: Saying the word "Christmas"
The Liberty Council is protecting the Christmas message of peace and hope by encouraging Christians to shop at Wal-Mart. The retail giant is on the conservative group's "nice list" this year. What earned it such a prestigious designation? Certainly not making their employee health-care plans more accessible; the Liberty Council is looking out for what really matters like having a "Christmas Central" section on your website and peddling Jesus action figures.

No Thanks, Archbishop, I think the U.S. is going to stick with Iran, China and North Korea on this whole "capital punishment" thing.
Desmond Tutu has called for a global ban on the death penalty.

They Don't Like the Death Penalty Either The U.S. Catholic Bishops approved a document affirming traditional church teaching on issues like abortion, the death penalty, poverty and immigration, but avoids setting up partisan litmus tests for voting behavior.

Scorecard: The Bishops' statement is a pretty significant achievement for the Common Do-Gooders. Do all people with a Common Good agenda agree with the bishops on every issue? Definitely not. Within the broader community there is principled debate on those hot-button issues. However, the emphasis on conscience in the Bishops' doc moves things in the right direction and hopefully will help diffuse some of the "wafer wars" we've seen in past election cycles. However, Culture War Watch is giving this week to the Culture Warriors just to see how long they can drag out this ridiculous War on Christmas nonsense.

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Apparently, there are elections in odd years too. Decision 2007's impact on the culture wars and more:

Gov. Replaces ethics, good government with framed pieces of paper on easels; Voters shockingly unimpressed.
Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher's re-election bid met defeat yesterday. Apparently, installing a few pieces of paper in the capitol rotunda and deploying gay-baiting robo-calls days before the election are not enough to convince Kentucky voters you are the "values" candidate. Voters in that state seem to prefer someone who hasn't been indicted.

A Vote for Romney is a Vote for Satan
At least, televangelist Bill Keller thinks so. Culture War Watch really wanted to find a way to point out the fundamental wrongness of this statement, ideally calling attention to the danger both the Church and our American democracy face if this kind of world view becomes widely accepted, but Keller's logic "[Romney] would influence people to seek out the Mormon faith...They would get sucked into those lies and they would eventually die and go to hell" and fashion sense "[Keller] was dressed in a red and black Michael Jordan tracksuit, with the zipper lowered halfway down his bare chest" are simply above reproach.

Pat Robertson attempts to stay relevant
By endorsing Rudy Giuliani.

This Week's Scorecard: At first glance, it seems like the Culture Warriors have this week all wrapped up, but a second look reveals surprising gains by the Common Do-Gooders. After all, Gov. Fletcher's culture war stoking strategy failed miserably. (He probably would have benefited from the new efforts from We Believe Ohio and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good calling for clean campaigning). And while any mention of Pat Robertson tends to score points for the Culture Warriors, this time he only seems to underscore how traditional culture war issues are becoming more and more irrelevant. Give this week to the Common Do-Gooders.

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This week's dispatch from the trenches:

Making a Summit out of a Molehill?
This week's Family Research Council-sponsored "Values Voters Summit" succored the proverbial troops with rations of red meat from several presidential candidates and other well-known culture warriors. The well-publicized debate between Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention included a culture war high point (or low point, depending on how you look at it) when Wallis was booed for talking about global warming.

Didn't the War on Christmas used to start the Day after Thanksgiving?
In a new take on "Christmas creep," World Net Daily began publicizing its Christmas Defense Kits in early October. Of course, it is never too early to prepare for the greatest battle Western Civilization has ever faced, and these kits offer resources for following the mandate outlined in Paul's Letter to the Shoppers, Book 1, Chapter 3*:

And in pursuit of the the door-buster sale thou shalt get thee to thine local mall, and if at the checkout thou receivest not the greeting "Merry Christmas" but instead receivest the abomination "Happy Holidays" thou shalt shake the dust off thy loafers as you leave the accursed place, never to return [except for a discounted Nintendo Wii], and thou shalt denounce the evildoers on Fox News.

What is this "terrorism" of which you speak? I have been too distracted by global warming to become aware of this phenomenon.
Thanks for the tip, "Islamofacsim Awareness Week!"

Powerful Republican decries partisanship, using religion for political ends, by calling political foes "sinful...false prophets."
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, chair of the Republican House Policy Committee, slammed Catholics United for supposedly using the Catholic faith for political ends. We're still waiting for a similar condemnation of The Catholic League.

What's compassion got to do with it?
In FPL's humble opinion, the "compassion issues," have the potential to reshape the faith and politics landscape due to their ability to bring people together across ideological and faith divides. But don't take my word for it.

Scorecard:
It pains me to say so, but the Common Do-Gooders are looking pretty beat up this week. With all the "values voters" coverage, there was plenty of space to re-hash those old issues. But, all is not lost for the Common Do-Gooders; they've clearly got the culture warriors worried. The new poll showing the shift in Evangelical priorities and Pat Robertson (perhaps inadvertently) acknowledging a broader Evangelical agenda, the Common Do-Gooders show that the Common Do-Gooders have gotten some serious reinforcements.

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Welcome to a brand-new weekly feature over here at Faith In Public Life. In our work, we constantly hear about the death of the culture wars and the embrace of a common good agenda. But is this really true? FPL will keep you in the know on the epic battle between the culture warriors and the common do-gooders, who's up, who's down, who's in and who's just out of touch.

Full disclosure: We're rooting for the common do-gooders.

With no further ado, this week's dispatch:

Support life! Oppose universal health care!
One might be easily tricked into thinking supporting the expansion of S-CHIP, a health insurance program for low-income children would be a good, even Christian, thing to do. Luckily, the Family Research Council stepped in to clarify things in an email to supporters. (p.s. did you catch the part that says Catholics United "promotes global warming"? Geeze, I thought these people were progressive. Somebody get them a carbon offset!)

Millions Convert to Christianity following Coulter's sensitive, humble articulation of the faith
Last week presented a classic Coulter conundrum: to comment or not to comment? In then end, we decided we couldn't ignore Coulter's statements that Christians are "perfected" Jews and that the world would be better off if everybody was a Christian. Just please, don't buy her new book.

Like an encore of "Imagine," minus the "no religion" part...
Last week's release of the report "Come, Let Us Reason Together" detailing common ground between progressives and evangelicals was a coup for common do-gooders. As was the release of "Pursuing the Global Common Good" a collection of essays pairing religious voices with policy makers on crucial issues such as just war and torture. Culture war Armistice Day? Not quite, but a significant step in the right direction.

This Week's Scorecard:
Due to the one-two punch of the Third Way report (with with FPL had an advisory role) and "Pursuing the Global Common Good" we're giving this one to the common do-gooders. But of course, the culture warriors won't give up easily, and if experience is any clue, they have a lot of fight left in them.

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