Mark Neumann's Church: An Unfair Topic?

A Madison politico (a columnist for Isthmus magazine now) some 10 years ago objected to a piece I had written for In Step newspaper, a civil rights LGBT paper that was published out of Milwaukee [issue pictured above].

His objection was that the piece explores the extremism of then U.S. Senate candidate Mark Neumann and Neumann's church, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) that instructs its members in explicitly anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic and anti-gay teachings.

And to this politico, a politician's church is off-limits. He's wrong.

A reader brings to our attention more insight on Neumann's political decision-making process that is in Neumann's own words directly guided by his religion that micromanages its members' lives.

Heartland Hollar has a piece out this week, Neumann the One, linking to an interview with Christian Life Resources, a religious organization that "subjects itself to the doctrine and practice of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod."

And as the Christian Life Resources interview and another interview, Faith in the Political Arena, make clear, it is Neumann who makes his religion the public basis upon which he seeks and holds public office, specifically citing scripture text as interpreted by his church. So we're supposed to ignore it?

That said, Neumann is smart, driven, well-spoken and has the money to knock the socks off any GOP opponent, and though his religion is a political problem [what Catholic wants to hear that a U.S. Senate candidate thinks the Pope is the anti-Christ), look for Neumann to put up one hell of a fight for the GOP nomination

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Christian Life Resources Interview
- Clearly Caring Magazine, Sept/Oct 2008, Vol. 28, No. 5

Will you run for office again?

The words of James 4:13-17 are useful tools in planning my life. If it is the Lord's will I would consider it a privilege to run for office again and serve the people if elected.

Was there any portion of God's Word that you leaned on while serving in public office?

The most worn page of my Bible referenced Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus tells us not to worry. James 1:2-7 also reminded me that trials lead to maturity and that wisdom will be provided to those who do not doubt.

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Asked how he made his decisions in Congress in an interview with the WELS Communication Services Director, Neumann replied, "What we did in our office, and Sue (wife) helped me a lot with this, we established a checklist, so to speak, on any bill that would come before us. And we'd ask ourselves first, 'Is there a moral or ethical reason to a cast a vote in any particular way.' And if there was, it didn't' matter what anybody else said to me, we were going with the morals and ethics first."

See also:

Mark Neumann in His Own Words

Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine

Mark Neumann for Gov. - Please Jesus, Yes!

Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine

Update: See Bruce Murphy's Can Neumann Beat Walker in Milwaukee Magazine.

Why do political operatives think Mark Neumann is the best candidate for the GOP nomination for governor?

Neumann is running for statewide office with the same rigid anti-gay, anti-Catholic, and anti-Semitic ideology that sent state senator Tom Reynolds packing a few years back.

For those who don't recall Neumann's last statewide run (1998), it was unrelentingly negative against heavily-outspent Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Middleton).

Neumann has the money and drive to win the Republican nomination against Scott Walker. And apparently believes he can target rightwing constituencies sufficiently well to put up winning numbers in the general election.

But the Neumann "church" work that James Klauser cites as a qualification comes from a highly politicized rightwing, Pope-is-the-anti-Christ church that is in a word: Mean.

Just yuck. See for yourself.

Go to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and use Roman Catholic as a search term (upper-right search engine), or gay or Jew. It gets very yucky very fast.

Neumann's rightwing ideology and intolerance is pervasive in his politics.

Some examples from Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS):

- We recognize the Pope as the Anti-Christ by his false teachings and by his matching the traits of the Anti-Christ as revealed in Scripture, not by the alleged symbolism of something he wears or carries.

- (Luther) had hoped that the Reformation with its clear preaching of the pure gospel would convert the Jews. Luther himself provides examples from the Talmud in 'On the Jews and Their Lies' (Luther's Works 47:226-228): 'Their Talmud and their rabbis record that it is no sin for a Jew to kill a Gentile, but it is only a sin for him to kill a brother Israelite. Nor is it a sin for a Jew to to break his oath to a Gentile. ... '

- Christians must take care during their lifetimes not to regularly associate with any group or organization that would take their focus off Christ alone as their salvation.

- We must warn the impenitent that homosexuality, like all sins, excludes people from eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The church, therefore, must not, bless same-sex marriages or unions, since these are contrary to the will of God. The church must not place into nor retain in the public ministry of the Word people who defend, condone, or persist in words or actions that are contrary to God’s law.

From a purely political perspective, this yuckiness does not work in Wisconsin.

Where is Catholic League president Bill Donohue?

Mark Neumann for Gov. - Please Jesus, Yes!

Jim Klauser is a very smart GOP operative advocating that Mark Neumann throw his hat into the ring against Jim Doyle in 2010.

Writes Klauser in his open letter in WisPolitics:

Mark Neumann, a former Congressman who nearly defeated Russ Feingold [in 1998], is a potential candidate. Mark is a successful business man from Waukesha County (a growing county). He and his family are involved in choice and charter school reforms. He is involved in his community and church. While a Congressman, Mark worked with Speaker Newt Gingrich to develop a no tax increase alternative to Bill Clinton’s spend, spend, and spend. ... I have concluded that of the prospective candidates, Mark Neumann is best able to win and govern well. I encourage you to consider Mark Neumann for Governor.

Neumann is independently wealthy and did fight against Clinton and those huge budget deficits [oh, wait Clinton had giant budget surpluses, and was on a path to zero national debt]. Nevermind, Cheney proved facts don't matter and Wisconsin does not want Scott Walker getting killed in 20 months. And people in Wisconsin love Newt Gingrich.

The Knockdown

Neumann's problem is that he is a rabidly anti-gay, rightwing extremist with a long record of hateful ideological baggage that would make George W. Bush blush.

In a widely reported address to the La Crosse Christian Coalition in 1997, Neumann said that he would not hire a person who applied for a position in his legislative office after stating a gay or lesbian orientation.

“If somebody walks in to me and say, ‘I’m a gay person; I want a job in your office.’ I would say, ‘that’s inappropriate’ and they wouldn’t be hired because that would mean they are promoting their agenda. The gay and lesbian lifestyle (is) unacceptable, lest there be any question about that.”

In a March 9, 1997 address to the Madison Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) church [preaches no abortion even in cases of rape, women need to submit to men and gays are to spend eternity in hell], Neumann said his political advisers warned him not to mention his religion in his 1998 run for the Senate against Sen. Russ Feingold who is also up for reelection in 2010.

“When I first ran I had all kinds of consultants telling me not to mention religion. They told me to tone down any discussion we might have. … they did ask me to tone down the concept of religion or values that are taught in our churches and synagogues as being a part of what we were,” said Neumann.

I think Klauser is thinking that Scott Walker would wash out, and Neumann has lots of money and just might be crazy enough to run.

Open Brief Letter to Mark Neumann

Did you know that Jim Doyle has proposed a statewide domestic partner registry, is an elitist (went to Harvard Law School and was in the Peace Corp) and that he talks to gay people, like all the time.

Mr. Neumann, Jesus wants you to run. Just remember that Satan is closer than the shirt on your own body, to paraphrase Martin Luther’s admonition about the proximity of the Devil. And in Wisconsin politics this intimacy with the Devil emanates from another fallen man with five letters in his name: D-o-y-l-e.

And I think he's Catholic.

- via mal contends