Witness a nauseating display of unwarranted brag and bounce, wherein NH State Senator Gary Lambert calls on all us Romney doubting rubes to close our traps and gleefully drink the Kool-Aid:

State Sen. Lambert, with all due respect, we’ve only had one primary, which was essentially a straw poll. And we’ve found in the aftermath that Romney may have actually lost. On that basis, it should come as no surprise to you when your call to shut up and get in line behind your candidate of choice is met not merely with skepticism, but trenchant disdain.

If there are any lessons to be learned from 2008, it’s that milquetoast moderate Republicans lose presidential elections. Thus, I flatly refuse to vote for Romney in a primary. As with McCain in 2008, Romney MIGHT get my vote in the general election IF he ends up being the nominee — but only because he would be the lesser of two evils.

Your rhetoric and your demeanor are highly insulting. If anything, I’m more ill-disposed toward Romney than I was before.

You should be proud of the winsome case you’ve made for him.

Dear Representative Rigell:

I note with dismay that you are planning to vote for Speaker Boehner’s revised debt plan.

Cut, Cap, and Balance (CCB) was only 4 votes from passage in the Senate. House Republicans should stand firm and insist that CCB remain the Republicans’ first and only plan for dealing with our debt crisis.

Once Speaker Boehner’s plan passes the House, it will be subject to the vicissitudes of Senate Democrats (and some Republicans) who are clearly hostile to the very notion of fiscal responsibility. The bill that eventually goes to the President’s desk will not deal effectively with the raging sea of red ink that our country is currently drowning in.

I implore you, Representative Rigell, to stand firm and not capitulate to the pressures of the House leadership or the Washington/media establishment — these are of an ephemeral nature when compared to the real and dire exigencies of the trouble our great country now finds itself in.

Please, sir, do not vote for the Boehner plan.

Respectfully yours,

The MonT-SteR
(a resident of Rigell’s district)

Crossposted at The MonT-SteR REPORT

Dear Pastor Jones,

I can appreciate your concern for the falsity of Islam. As John Piper notes, bad theology dishonors God and hurts people, and I can’t think of a theological construct more hurtful, more violent, more angry, more damnable than Islam.

Except for bad Christian theology.

As ambassadors of Christ, we are charged with the awesome responsibility of representing Jesus Himself to the world. None of us is perfect, and so at times even the most well intentioned believer can and will fall short. But since we are His regents, we must be careful not to take God’s name in vain by misrepresenting His will, person, and character. Behavior guided by a warped theological grid will inevitably do just that; the result is damaged hearts, relationships, lives, and even cultures. I know this firsthand by virtue of my own failures.

You have cited the radicality of Jesus as biblical warrant for what you are doing. Granted, Jesus did some radical things. He appointed a tax collector and a Zealot (political arch-enemies) to stand side by side as two members of the close-knit Twelve. He set aside the rights of his office as Rabbi and Lord and washed the feet of His followers like a servant. But most radically, He allowed Himself to be led like a sheep to the slaughter. He refused to revile in return those who beat and cursed him, and though twelve legions of angels were at His command, He allowed Himself to be tortured and crucified cruelly on a cross. He died: for you, for me, and… for Muslims.

He is Yahweh-Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, but I know in my heart that the teeming throngs of people deceived by Mohammed’s teachings move Him to grief. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should enter into eternal life.

Honestly, I admire your courage; you’re sticking to your guns even though the entire world is frowning upon you and your flock. And I can even understand your desire to “send a message.” We’ve all been wounded by the acts of Islamic terrorists. We’ve all burned with anger as we’ve observed the wanton Islamic violence and intimidation aimed at our people and our homeland. But what you are doing is not love. It is not grace. It is not outreach. It is not redemptive. It is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Your message is actually one of reprisal — in diametric opposition to the Golden Rule.

Jesus’ bravery is demonstrated most clearly not in the overturning of tables in the temple, but in the act of sacrificing Himself for humanity — a race that has shaken its collective fist in God’s face in abject rebellion.

Our government has pressured you not to go forward out of concern for the safety of our soldiers. I beg of you — not merely out of concern for what violence Muslims may commit in response, but fearful rather for the Muslims that could be turned away from their Savior on your account — please desist. There is no shame or cowardice in turning from a destructive or unwise path.

Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love NEVER fails. What force, what political speech, what message could be more powerful than that of Christ’s love for everyone? I pray that, in the days ahead, your decisions and actions will be guided by His love and by the clear leading of His Spirit.

Yours in Christ,

Rob Monti
aka The MonT-SteR