Pastor who endorsed conservatives says Emmer will lose because of social issues
Friday, November 05, 2010 at 9:39 am
- 11 Comments
Brad Brandon, the Hastings pastor who endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer from the pulpit, said Emmer will lose because he didn’t reach out to evangelicals on social issues. On his radio program, Brandon chided Emmer: “He refused to allow God into his campaign, that’s what it boils down to.” Emmer dodged questions about abortion and gay rights at every turn during the campaign, including on Brandon’s show.
Brandon noted that the 9,000-vote gap between Emmer and DFLer Mark Dayton would be too much for Emmer to close.
“Just get used to the fact that Dayton is going to be our governor,” Brandon said. “I don’t like having a schizophrenic for a governor, but you know, it is what it is.”
Brandon said he’d been “analyzing for six months” what Emmer was doing wrong in his campaign.
“I noticed that he was making some very serious errors. He failed to energize the evangelical vote; he basically underestimated, you and me, as evangelical Christians, the evangelical vote,” he told listeners.
“I can’t tell you how many times I had Tom Emmer sitting across the table from me trying to interview him on the radio and I’m asking him about life issues, I’m asking him about social issues like gay marriage,” he said. “I asked him the hard questions and he would not give me a straight answer when it comes to social issues and it was getting to be frustrating.”
Just weeks before the election, Emmer appeared on Brandon’s show. When Brandon asked him about his positions on gay marriage and abortion, Emmer continued to steer the question toward jobs and the economy. And in each debate where the issues came up, Emmer frustrated moderators by not addressing the questions directly.
Brandon said he approached Emmer off the air to urge him to reach out to evangelicals on social issues, but Emmer declined.
Though Brandon criticized Emmer, he said he wished Emmer was governor.
“I think he’s a great guy and would have made a fantastic governor for the state of Minnesota,” he said. “I endorsed him, I voted for him, but I was not energized to vote for him.”
He added, “I don’t mean to be extra critical, but he refused to allow God into his campaign, that’s what it boils down to.”
Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter11 Comments
Comment posted November 5, 2010 @ 10:00 am
Mr Brandon is slightly mistaken. It is only because he avoided like the plague “social issues” that he didn’t lose by 90,000 votes.
Comment posted November 5, 2010 @ 12:11 pm
God wants into the campaign? He’s gonna have to shave first. And maybe grab a shower at the hotel.
Seriously the guy was famous for two things: hating gays and hating waiters. Good things to run away from.
Comment posted November 5, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
Democracy requires negotiation and compromise to work.
Strong faith tolerates neither.
This is why the two are incompatible. We can have democracy, or we can have theocracy, but we cannot have both. It just does not work that way.
This country was founded on the ideals of democracy and freedom. People like Brad Brandon offer neither, least of all religious freedom. Instead, they offer their own brand of tyranny, and it is frightening how many people are willing to rewrite the Constitution is support if this tyranny.
Comment posted November 6, 2010 @ 8:16 am
“Just get used to the fact that Dayton is going to be our governor,” Brandon said. “I don’t like having a schizophrenic for a governor, but you know, it is what it is.”
Used to sing a little song in church, “and they’ll know we are Christians by our love”. Guess they never sing that in Brandon’s church.
Comment posted November 6, 2010 @ 8:22 am
Pastor Brandon stigmatizes the mentally ill and slurs Mr. Dayton as a schizophrenic – the words of a reckless bully. He tries to dismantle our Constitution to force his religious views that harm and discriminate against other Americans. This dangerous bigotry is in need of an intervention by the people, our courts and our leaders.
Comment posted November 7, 2010 @ 4:52 pm
Religious fanatics are far more dangerous than politicians!
Comment posted November 8, 2010 @ 9:37 am
that pastor’s stridency, coupled with the catholic archdiocesan decision to engage in the political campaign, makes me wonder if its time that churches begin to pay property taxes on their churches, schools and real estate holdings. you gotta pay to play people
Comment posted November 8, 2010 @ 10:44 am
Tom Emmer lost because he’s a dimwit. You can’t run a campaign where you want people to vote for you by excluding entire segments of the population. It’s the campaign of the dumb. Good luck on that unemployment line hater… Oh maybe Targay will show some sympathy and allow you to stock shelves in their Albequerque store.
Comment posted November 10, 2010 @ 9:59 am
I think the rabid religious will always vote for the Republican, so the pastor’s wrong on this one. Emmer would have gotten fewer votes from moderates, if he’d pushed the Republican/Religious social agenda.
Chip Craavack also steered away from presenting his religious beliefs in public, but I got a leaflet from him in my door with a platform as conservative socially as I’ve ever seen. Many republicans are attempting to at least appear more moderate….
Comment posted November 15, 2010 @ 4:19 pm
@Chuck, AMEN! (all pun intended)
Its time that we stand up to the radical extremest that hides behind a cross when in fact they are a political partisan group!
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