I have to admit that I am an angry American. I am angry that the Republican Party has been successful at undercutting the country’s revenue base by giving huge tax reductions to the extremely wealthy and has now seemingly convinced the country that the resulting deficit must be addressed immediately and by systematically destroying government-supported programs aimed at the middle and working classes and the poor. I am furious that President Obama supported the tax give-away and now concedes the need to radically slash social programs, even if he claims to be less draconian. And I am livid that some Democrats are now starting to side with Republicans who want to use the debt ceiling issue to advance their radical budget-cutting agenda.

And of course no one is talking about the cost of the three wars. View the documentary Iraq for Sale if you want more information about the billions of dollars we have poured right into the pockets of the “war profiteers.” It will enrage you. You can stream it on Netflix.

Despite all that negativity, however, I am heartened to find out that the American people do not actually support the political agenda of our self-serving elites. According to Ezra Klein, a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll reveals that 65 percent of Americans oppose the Ryan plan to destroy Medicare as we know it. “And if they’re told that the cost of private insurance for seniors is projected to outpace the cost of Medicare insurance for seniors — which is exactly what CBO projects — more than 80 percent of Americans oppose the plan.” Moreover, 70 percent oppose cutting Medicaid. “The only deficit-reduction option that is popular? Raising taxes on the rich…. In general, the poll shows overwhelming opposition to the main Republican approaches for reducing the deficit — even when they’re posed vaguely. Almost 60 percent of Americans, for instance, want a mix of tax increases and spending cuts in the final deal, while only 36 percent think spending cuts should be deployed on their lonesome.”

Unfortunately, Klein also tells us that “slightly over half of the country wants the Defense Department left alone.”

What do conservative Christian groups have to say about hurting ordinary people, in order to pad the pockets of the rich? Since I am responsible for Tikkun Daily’s Christian Right watch, I spent the morning perusing Christian Right websites to find out. Well, with the exception of an occasional post praising the Ryan plan, Christian Right organizations apparently have precious little to say about the millions of ordinary Americans who are hurting because of unemployment, lack of healthcare, the collapse of the housing market, rising gas prices, hunger, homelessness, or other problems.

Instead, Christian Right websites, across the board, are still focused on attacking gay organizations (even their anti-bullying work in the schools), opposing marriage equality, demonizing Planned Parenthood, and bashing Obama for not adequately commemorating Easter, among other offenses.

Really?

The good news is that apparently Donald Trump with his crazy birther talk has taken away 50% of Sarah Palin’s support, according to Conservatives4Palin.com.

As you can imagine, I was feeling completely demoralized. But then I came across this headline on the Institute for Religion and Democracy site, “Religious Left Leans on Obama,” and it led me to an article about not only some religious left activities, but also about how some conservative evangelicals are joining with the religious left to protect programs designed to help the poor.

In a move that may be surprising to some, evangelicals have formed a coalition with progressive Christians as well as Catholics to oppose federal budget cuts that would hurt the poor.

While a “moral budget” is the expected agenda of the “religious left,” the National Association of Evangelicals is lending their voice to calls for budgetary protection of domestic and international assistance programs that help the needy.

Alongside the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners, David Beckmann of Bread for the World and the Rev. Peg Chemberlin of the National Council of Churches USA, NAE President Leith Anderson is among the signatories to the “Circle of Protection.”

The coalition’s statement includes an appeal that funding focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. In a Wednesday media call, coalition members also urged for increased taxes to the wealthy and cuts to the defense budget over cuts to assistance programs.

The coalition brings together two different initiatives. The more conservative National Association of Evangelicals presents the “Circle of Protection” agenda (an extension of their “What Would Jesus Cut?” campaign), while the more progressive groups, Center for Public Justice and Evangelicals for Social Action, have issued “A Call for Intergenerational Justice: A Christian Proposal for the American Debt Crisis.”

Not surprisingly, Mark Tooley, the president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, has denounced supporters of such proposals as “liberals who would rather protect the growth of their favorite federal programs than tackle the national deficit.”

Perhaps Mr. Tooley might want to read Jordan J. Ballor’s article on the movement in First Things, in which he calls on Christians who oppose government programs to start taking the Christian mandate for tithing and charitable responsibility seriously and create non-government programs to help the poor.