I’m not a huge fan of news stories about advertisements because it seems a little lazy on the media end for not finding more original stories and it often just fuels the ad even more. Some outlets do a nice job of fact checking the ads to make sure the claims are accurate, but there’s a lot of wasted energy on “X releases ad targeting opponent.”
For the same reason, I’m not a huge fan of this piece in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Michele Bachmann’s attempts to build a base among “the faithful.” We saw similar coverage after Tim Pawlenty released a video about his faith, but I couldn’t figure out what the fuss was about. Politicians are trying to build their base and many of them target certain niche groups, the end. In this case, we learn only that Bachmann is targeting “the faithful,” which is a pretty broad umbrella term for people who have some sort of faith.
One of the most electrifying moments in Michele Bachmann’s quest for the White House came last Sunday when she took to the pulpit of an evangelical mega-church in this city’s suburban edge.
There were no campaign banners, no attacks on President Obama, not even any mention of next month’s all-important Republican straw poll in Ames.
It’s odd that the reporter would assume that there would be campaign banners. Someone help me: couldn’t the church risk losing their nonprofit status if campaigning took place at a church? Maybe not, but I wouldn’t expect campaign banners or opponent attacks for a church visit from someone running for president.
In an early-voting state where the majority of Republican caucusgoers are religious conservatives, Bachmann has shot to the top of the polls.
As much as anywhere else, her faith message has resonated deeply here, giving traction to a presidential campaign that has taken a skeptical party establishment by surprise.
The underlying assumption here is that if Iowans are polling heavily for Bachmann, her message must do well among people who are religious. In a recent poll, we saw that the number of evangelicals is slightly higher than the national average, so it’s unclear where the reporter is basing his assumption.
In the following paragraphs, check out the description of the church between the quotes and then the description of the biblical story of Nehemiah.
“Her focus here was strictly to share her faith story,” said Brittney Roorda of Des Moines’ First Assembly of God church, a conservative church that teaches that those who reject Christ are damned to a lake of fire. “She did not go into any political leanings, or ask for a vote or any sort of endorsement.”
According to Roorda, the church’s lead pastor invited Bachmann to speak because “he realized her faith story fit with the Nehemiah series that we’re in right now.”
The Old Testament Book of Nehemiah focuses on the importance of leadership.
Where did the reporter find the description that the church “teaches that those who reject Christ are damned to a lake of fire”? Is that the highlight of the bulletin? Also, that is one vague description for the book of Nehemiah, where if you do a quick wiki search, you could be more specific about the man who worked on purifying the Jewish community and rebuilding Israel. Perhaps the reporter could have asked Roorda what she meant when she saw parallels between Bachmann and Nehemiah.
Generally, the article does nothing to help us understand Bachmann’s faith. If you read this piece with no background, you would have no context of her background, formerly attending a church belonging to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Even a one-sentence recap would give readers a little context.
The reporter finds a few anecdotes of people saying how they feel about Bachmann and portrayal of the media, but none of the examples are backed up by anything more substantial.
Born-again Christians like Rabe feel their beliefs are under attack as well. “We have a right to our opinions,” she said. “We think it’s radical on the other side.”
For the faithful, Bachmann doesn’t always have to be right on the issues. “People are looking for convictions, not positions,” said Deace, explaining Bachmann’s popularity despite the barrage of withering political attacks that would flatten most candidates.
The article does little to tell us whether “the faithful” are interested in her, like whether they are polling in stronger numbers for her than other Republican candidates. Otherwise, after you strip some of the “moral crusade” language, the Star-Tribune might as well be doing an advertising piece with nothing but fluff.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.
_crop.jpg){kind=link}
 | Posted at 1:56 pm |  Print
| Permalink | Trackback |
Comments (13) |
July 30, 2011, at 2:53 pm
Regarding the “lake of fire” reference, maybe the reporter was going by item 15 on the denomination’s Fundamental Truths (found at http://www.ag.org):
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
6 
0
July 30, 2011, at 3:06 pm
Good catch, Ken. Item 15…hmmm, what do you think - should it have been the thing that characterizes the church?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
4 
0
July 30, 2011, at 3:18 pm
“a conservative church that teaches that those who reject Christ are damned to a lake of fire”
Aw, Sarah, are we really going to have to do a whole “The majority of Christians have believed, currently believe, and probably will continue to believe, in Hell (regardless of whether it’s a literal lake of fire or not)” story, the same way Mollie did with “Hey, press, the Reformation happened and Lutherans are not Roman Catholics!”?
Okay, remind me again how American newspapers are sooooo different from European ones in that American reporters are impartial and there is absolutely no advocating or opinionating in a factual piece? Go on, remind me, guys…
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
10 
1
July 30, 2011, at 4:13 pm
It looks laziness more than anything else; the reporter’s bio at the paper’s website says he’s covered D.C., filed reports on the Iraq war and from several international sites. It’s laziness reaching negligence, to be sure, and really shouldn’t be considered acceptable from someone whose earlier reporting is supposed to have won awards at both state and national levels.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
July 30, 2011, at 4:13 pm
I’m 99.9+% certain that the bit about Nehemiah focusing on the importance of leadership is an unattributed indirect quote — the reporter’s interpretation of Roorda’s explanation of what Bachmann has to do with Nehemiah. But the reporter certainly should have either attributed or verified from other sources (or, of course, ideally, BOTH) the church representative’s summary of what a Biblical text is “about.”
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
4 
0
July 30, 2011, at 4:16 pm
RB, that’s a good point - maybe she Roorda was saying that the leadership aspects were what she saw in Bachmann, I don’t know. The way it’s written makes it unclear.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
July 30, 2011, at 5:09 pm
We’ve just finished Nehemiah as part of a preaching plan. As we’re just embarking on a big extension plan, we focussed on the (re)building of the Walls of Jerusalem and how people collectively took responsibility for their part of the wall. Maybe your Congress could study Nehemiah?
For the readership that don’t know their Bibles, perhaps journalists could talk about preaching plans.
Best wishes from England
Like or Dislike:
3 
1
July 30, 2011, at 9:28 pm
It seems to me that the reporter was attempting to convey a trend he sees in Bachmann’s evangelical—“faithful” following. He cited David Hull and Carol Palmer’s comments to show how evangelicals have found a “hero” in Bachmann.
In doing this, is he trying to make a subtle jab?—That Bachmann supporters have latched onto her faith as the main attraction? Note that he centered the reporting of this article at the megachurch where Bachmann spoke an not at the National Press Club—where she also alluded to her faith during a very wellarticulated lunchtime speech on Thursday. If anything, this article gives me even more reason not to overemphasize Bachmann’s “faith appeal”. We can certainly thank God that Bachmann confesses Christ as Lord and Savior. But, let’s focus on her stances on foreign and domestic issues guide our supporting her politically.
I would rather hear her speak to the issues which make her a worthy Representative and candidate for U.S. President. That she professes her faith gives further insight to the stances she takes in her political vocation. To hear Bachmann speak on the role her Christian faith in her political decision-making, check out her interview with Issues Etc.—rebroadcasted earlier this week a classic program. http://www.issuesetc.org.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
July 30, 2011, at 11:54 pm
But, let’s focus on her stances on foreign and domestic issues guide our supporting her politically.
Indeed. I suppose I’ll eventually go to Bachmann’s website and check out her position papers to get this information, since the newspapers don’t seem to talk about it. Here’s a google search on “bachman foreign policy “. Maybe you pros recognize several major media outlets., but there is only one hit from a site I recognize - CNN.
As to the article in question, sure it’s slanted and get’s silly at times. Where I come from (Texas), 500 people showing up isn’t a “mega-church”, it’s a mid-sized protestant parish/congregation and a small Catholic parish. Also, the election season in Texas isn’t complete without Democratic candidates lining up to speak at the main Sunday service in African-American Baptist Churches which I’m betting also preach hell for unbelievers.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
6 
0
July 31, 2011, at 3:47 pm
Sarah, it does seem a bit cherry-picked among all those items. Why not the deity of Jesus, or even speaking in tongues? I also don’t think it’s unreasonable for the reporter to ask the church if it subscribes to its denomination’s beliefs.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
July 31, 2011, at 5:00 pm
What I like about GetReligion is that it is true, the media really just doesn’t get religion.
Like or Dislike:
1 
1
August 1, 2011, at 10:28 am
RE: Nehemiah: A sermon series in Nehemiah is often presented as a series on leadership so the reporter may have been getting his info from the church bulletin.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
August 2, 2011, at 9:52 am
The AG is actually a fellowship, not a denomination. It says so on their website too. If the reporter had been more thorough in the description of that particular church (with its affiliation with the Assemblies of God Fellowship) it would have made more sense to describe them with the “speaking in tongues as the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit” Fundamental Truth that has often been pointed to as the “Pentecostal distinctive” of the AG. I guess that one just doesn’t have as much appeal to the reporter as a way to perhaps subtly attack the local congregation?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0