Preacher in the Ring

Since we're on a roll here about why Jews tend not to be in the GOP, here's Alabama's new Republican governor, Robert Bentley, speaking on MLK Day at Dr. King's former church:

"So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."

My point here has nothing to do with Christian doctrine, or whether Bentley's statement is an accurate representation of the Christian view of "brotherhood." I'm not all that concerned about it. This isn't intended to sound glib, but I'm not looking for an invitation to pray alongside Robert Bentley in his church (though I think that is what he is actually asking me to do). Again, I have no idea whether what he says is an accurate understanding of his religious dogma, but his faith is his faith, and he is allowed to have whatever beliefs he wants.

Rather, my issue is about the public sphere, rather than any theological perspectives, and the way that the Christianist right-wing GOP uses their religious views to exclude others in the political environment, and how that impacts the interest of others in being part of their worldview. My issue is about the linkage of exclusionary religious (or quasi-religious) dogma with political ideology, and the resulting lack of affinity for an ideology as a result of that linkage.

I'm not saying that I would consider being a Republican if the voices of Republicans weren't fundamentally opposed to the personal religious (or non-religious, as the case may be) expression (or lack of expression) of, um, unbelievers. Look, some Jews have come to the opposite conclusion, and have decided that Republican adoption of an ostensibly pro-Israel position (which I disagree is pro-Israel, but that's off-topic) consitutes a pro-Jewish position. The disagreements go much deeper than that, and regardless of exclusion or inclusion, the essential issue is that my values do not align with theirs.

But it's not even worth the conversation when, frankly, even if you buy into the idea that the GOP is pro-Israel, and even if you take into account the Bill Kristols and the Ari Fleischers and the Henry Kissingers and the Eric Cantors and the Sheldon Adelsons and whomever else you want to name, the fact remains that Jews remain the other in populist right-wing Republican circles.

UPDATE: I see that Steve Benen over at The Washington Monthly has picked up on my theme (from the broader perspective of all minorities):

When Republicans ponder why they struggle with outreach to minority communities, they may want to reflect on these incidents.

UPDATE #2: Some people may want to convince Governor Bentley that his statement was inappropriate, but my guess is that you can't torquemada anything. If Governor Bentley really wants to make us his brothers, I suggest he send in the sisters.