The Democrats' Unreligious Fringe
Gregory Rodriguez, in an Op/Ed for the Los Angeles Times, says that although "Republicans kowtow to the religious right, ... Democrats have their own pesky religious voting bloc: the secular left":
A FEW WEEKS AGO, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama gave a speech to a group of liberal Christians in which he called on his fellow Democrats to tear down the party's self-imposed wall between religious faith and politics.(emphasis added)
He criticized liberals who dismiss religion as "inherently irrational or intolerant," and he called the idea that Americans should refrain from injecting their personal morality into the political debate a "practical absurdity." Most important, however, he focused attention on the "prejudices" and "bias" that lie at the center of the alleged split between religious and nonreligious Americans.
One part brilliant and three parts common sense, Obama's speech was the latest salvo in an ongoing debate within the Democratic Party. Stung by their loss in the 2004 presidential election, a growing number of prominent Democrats are, well, finding religion in religion. And with polls saying that 70% of Americans want their president to have "strong religious beliefs," it's not hard to deduce that they just might be on to something.
What Democrats won't say, however, is that the secular posturing Obama is railing against is more a function of the party's desire to appease a powerful, but relatively small, constituency than it is a deeply held, widely shared ideological stance. Just as the Republican Party pays obeisance to the demands of the 37% of its base that is white evangelical Christian, the Democrats feel they must not offend the 22% of their core voters who claim no religious affiliation. Why not? Because although they make up less than one-quarter of the coalition, these secular Democrats are much more likely than others to be high-level party activists.
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It is no doubt too late to win back the religious right. Democrats aren't about to change their positions on issues such as gay or reproductive rights. But they can still woo the moderate religious voters who were turned away by the party's stridently secular rhetoric.
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My Comments:
To listen to these leftist opinion writers (see also E.J. Dionne), you'd think Barack Obama was the greatest orator to come out of Illinois since Lincoln. For the life of me, I can't see what was so great about his speech. Are we to start awarding points to Dems just for NOT trashing religious people?
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Finding God on the US Campaign Trail
posted by Pro Ecclesia 8:00 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I have no respect for someone like Barack Obama who is a poor speaker, dim-wited, and dull, who has done nothing for the people of IL and who votes 100% pro-death. In my book, he is NOT a Christian, although he claims to be, and he is definitely NOT an orator. He looked like the town idiot next to Allan Keyes -- slow in his responses, stuttering and stammering throughout the televised debates. He is the democratic party's puppet. Most of the Blacks and minorities -- particularly the pro-life Blacks and minorities -- in IL can't stand him.
He will probably end up as Hillary's running mate for the next presidential election simply because he says yes to whatever the party asks of him and has a decent appearance and is a minority. He is as deceptive as the devil.
When I was on a citizen's voting panel in IL most of the people in that group liked him not because of his political opinions, but because he was "cute" or had a nice smile. One poli sci major said she would vote for him because he was "cute" but she had "no idea" where he stood on the issues and really didn't care. I heard similar rhetoric from others who supported him and voted for him. It aggravates me that many people don't even check out where a candidate stands on the issues before voting for him/her. He was a hometown boy from Chicago, a "yes" man for the party who was loved by the press. Keyes, on the other hand, was portrayed by the press as the "extremist" and the outsider. He has too honest and strong in moral views and said it like it is -- Obama is truly an Obamanation! He is pro-gay, pro-death, and pro-sin -- all the way! He has initiated no legislation to help the people of IL and has done NOTHING that he promised. I agree with my readers -- that he will serve only one term then will probably move on to be nominated as Hillary's running mate -- he has no real skills or talents other than to be deceptive and lie like most of the others in the "party of death."
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