EFM Author Timothy Dalrymple

About Timothy Dalrymple

Tim is a former writer for EFM.

What the Religious Right Has Right

By Timothy Dalrymple

Sometimes those of us who write in defense of the Tea Party or Christian conservatism fear that an actual encounter with Tea Partiers or Christian conservatives will be disillusioning.  It’s easy to defend the principles of economic and social conservatism from a distance; but what happens when you actually encounter the people up close?  You’re on record claiming that these are salt-of-the-earth people, good rational people (darn it) with a genuine faith and sturdy American values — but what if you’re wrong?  Everything you’ve written makes sense to you from behind your desk, when you’re typing away at your laptop, but what if the liberal media is actually right, and these people are a bunch of barking lunatics?

I felt a bit of that fear as I approached a Tea Party event in Boston a couple years ago, and I quickly found those fears unfounded.  Yet I felt that fear … Read the Rest »

The “Cult” of Rick Perry

By Timothy Dalrymple

As an evangelical, watching the controversy over Robert Jeffress and his comments has put me in a delicate position.  I cannot compromise my beliefs and pretend that I see no significant difference between orthodox Christianity and Mormonism, yet I also believe that evangelicals have been systematically misled about Mormons, I do not believe Mormonism counts as a “cult,” and I believe every Christian and every evangelical can vote for a Mormon in good conscience.  I fear that Pastor Jeffress not only did Rick Perry no service through his comments, but that he also did evangelicalism no service.  Not to mention Mormonism, or Mitt Romney, who is made out to be a cult member — and we all know how wacky and dangerous cult members are, right?  I mean, Mitt Romney and David Koresh are essentially cut from the same cloth, aren’t they?  Ugh.  Sometimes statements are so ridiculous that it’s … Read the Rest »

Perry’s a Battleship, But Would He Be a Better President than Romney?

By Timothy Dalrymple

The question David posed in his last post — “Why Do People Think Perry is More Conservative than Mitt?” — means something precisely because David himself is about as consistently and thoroughly conservative as anyone I’ve ever met.  He’s also a principled and clear-sighted thinker.  If a person as conservative and eagle-eyed as David French can love Mitt Romney, then other conservatives will too when they get past the misperceptions.

As David points out, both Romney and Perry have gone through less-conservative phases in the past (Perry actually campaigned for Al Gore, for goodness’ sake).  That’s all right.  I’d rather see a movement from less conservative to more, than from more to less.  While Perry may seem more conservative on social security, Romney is more conservative on immigration.  Both have drawn conservative fire for their health care decisions.  But in terms of where they stand now, it’s … Read the Rest »