From Slate Magazine: "Verdict: Taranto by TKO," declares Paragraph Farmer Patrick O'Hannigan. At Mossback Culture, socially liberal and fiscally conservative Richard Bennett gives a predictably even-handed reading of the debate. "It's hard to argue," he writes, with Taranto's logic "that the courts have imposed specific policies on the country, such as legalizing abortion, that are actually the province of the legislative branch." He applauds the responsible conservative movement to seek recourse electing like-minded representatives, but pleads, "No more mixing religion and politics, please. Voting your moral values is fine, but following the literal text of the Bible is delusional."

"It doesn't speak well for the Democratic party that this sort of thoughtful, civil discussion is happening wholly within a conservative-leaning publication," says New York City "covert Republican" SomeJoe. "That's healthy intellectual discourse, and there are too few liberals and Democrats participating." Some, however, see ideological close-mindedness on both sides of the aisle. At BuzzMachine, critic Jeff Jarvis thinks even the sympathetic Will is being reductive and overly schematic. "Will doesn't pull back quite far enough," he writes, "for he contrasts only the religious fringe with the godless and leaves out the vast religious majority inbetween." At Home of the mandinmories, Gambian network analyst Ousman Ceesay calls Will's column a "reasonable reminder to the wingnuts."

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People are now being kicked out of churches for whom they voted for in November election. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050507/ap_on_re_us/church_politics_4 We do live in a crazy time - we went into a war in the middle east to give others the freedom of religion and the right to vote in a democracy - only to lose both of them little by little here at home. It is funny that by the time Iraq becomes a democracy, United States might have become a theocracy-lite. But I guess that is what we chose. Whatever the decision we made, we have a responsibility to see it through.

And I wonder why people on the Left are not speaking more about Religion. I mean, it is something most Americans care deeply about. And if anyone is serious about re-claiming America's political landscape and the Middle, you have to engage in a dialogue of religion. The legacy of the Left is one of tolerance, diversity, freedom, love in religion. You can be both religious and understand that other people have a right to worship in different ways. Do not let the other side define you. Spread the message of who you are rather let others paint you as immoral and non-religious. At very least, a healthy engagement of ideas should be folstered.