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David Kuo On Tempting Faith
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By host Tom Ashbrook:

David Kuo was a true-blue foot soldier for the gung-ho Christian Right. He celebrated the Republican Revolution, loathed Bill Clinton, prayed for an evangelical like George W. Bush to take the Oval Office, and helped Bush do just that. Then he went to work, in the White House, for “compassionate conservatism” as a top official in President Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative.

Now David Kuo is out of the White House, charging betrayal, and shouting for Christians to head for the hills — to unbuckle from the GOP. The Christian Right, charges Kuo, has been seduced, manipulated and used for raw politics.

Hear a conversation with David Kuo, a true believer, as he looks back in anger.


Quotes from the Show:

“When I first met George W. Bush, I found him to be a man of compassion.” David Kuo

“There is a general apathy in Washington toward the poor.” David Kuo

“[When I arrived in the White House] I observed the poor were being used as a political pawn.” David Kuo

“Most of what the White House has delivered [for the Christian Right] is symbolic.” David Kuo

“Conservative Christians shouldn’t believe that George W. Bush is pastor-in-chief.” David Kuo

Guests:

David Kuo. From 2001-2003 served as Special Assistant to President Bush, was second in command in the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He is author of the new book “Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction”

Tom McClusky, Vice President for Government Affairs at the Family Research Council.

 
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