Dems put faith front-and-center...

[the iron horse]

CNN Tonight 8PM
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/13/forum/index.html

 

[financeguy]

Clinton has told interviewers that she has felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on many occasions, and that she believes the resurrection of Christ is a historical fact;

I call bullshit. I'd say she's lying. I simply don't believe she genuinely holds the resurrection of Christ to be historical fact.

Why no secular candidate in this election??

Who speaks for the 20% non-believers in the US??

 

[anitram]

After a weekend spent making direct appeals to gun owners and church goers, Hillary Clinton said Sunday a query about the last time she fired a gun or attended church services "is not a relevant question in this debate” over Barack Obama’s recent comments on small town Americans.

“We can answer that some other time,” Clinton said at a press conference held in a working class neighborhood here.

LOL.

I'm with financeguy on this one.

 

[Diemen]

Awesome.

LOL.

I'm with financeguy on this one.

Oh that quote is fantastic. I think it's time Hillary owns up and takes accountability for her gun-toting and church going ways.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I forgot to watch that, baseball takes priority. Maybe they'll show it again.

 

[BonosSaint]

Ooooh. Nice World Series ring, Mrs. S.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

It's mine

 

[A_Wanderer]

At least with Obama it is only a cult of personality and not Christianity.

 

[nathan1977]

Interesting that McCain gets slammed a lot on this board for pandering to the Christian Right, when it would seem that if he were truly pandering, he'd be in this debate.

The fact that he's not shows how far away from the Christian Right he really is.

Interesting....

 

[BVS]

Interesting that McCain gets slammed a lot on this board for pandering to the Christian Right, when it would seem that if he were truly pandering, he'd be in this debate.

The fact that he's not shows how far away from the Christian Right he really is.

Interesting....

No, I think McCain was smart not to attend, he only panders when he's in front of them, he's scared for anyone else to really see him, he likes to keep his "maverick" status to fool the independents.

 

[financeguy]

At least with Obama it is only a cult of personality and not Christianity.

Well actually, though I generally somewhat approve of Obama (a carefully hedged around expression of support, given that he is African-American, and the extreme PC left wing of FYM have already adjudged that I am a damnable racist, so I must cede, as always, to their better judgement and right to know my own mind better than I know it myself, haha bloody ha), he is equally guilty of sucking up to the Christianists.

Apparently, that's what you have to do to get elected in America - though I do still wonder why ALL candidates - with the possible exceptions of Dennis Kucinch and Ron Paul - seem to have completely ignored the 15 - 20% non-believers, which seems to me to be bad political judgement.

That said - and granted, this is a judgement call, no more valid than anyone else's - I suspect Obama is less hypocritical in his statements than Hils - whereas Hilary Clinton, I'm afraid, I just have a hard time believing anything that comes out of her mouth, at this point.

 

[yolland]

Faith In Public Life, who hosted this event, generally have the reputation of being a 'religious progressive' organization (for example, their mission statement talks about their commitment to ensuring "[that] those who use religion as a tool of division and exclusion do not dominate public discourse"); I think that may be one reason why McCain didn't put a priority on rearranging his "scheduling conflicts" to attend. (By contrast, he did attend the far more conservative Family Research Council's "Values Voters Summit" last fall.) Also, Faith In Public Life have already announced that they plan to hold a second such event during the general campaign, and since McCain isn't actually competing against anyone yet, again, he may not have seen it as a priority to attend right now.

 

[Irvine511]

Apparently, that's what you have to do to get elected in America

you do. and i simply don't understand it. not one bit.

 

[U2387]

Yolland makes a good point. McCain not attending this does not in any way show how he is immune to pandering. Both sides have their organizations, some more overt in their views than others(Family Research Council) that they are expected to answer questions for. These events are routinely reported in the media. I am a moderate Democrat and was raised Catholic, can not say I agree with all of what the Church has to say by any stretch, I do not even go alot, but I guess I am glad the church is there saying what it is saying. For better or worse, religion has played an increasingly important role in our political life recently. That being said, I think it is important to dialogue and for each side to be able to define their values and how their religion or faith informs them. This is not a breach of seperation of church and state- that is left to the radical right fringe who want to use religion to ban condoms, gays, sex ed, etc. For Democrats, I think appealing to religion and speaking about it is highly important- as the recent past has seen good people who are just as faithful as the next person be smeared as anti religion, wanting to push God to the curb, etc. Their only mistake was they happened to be Democrats. None, with the exception of Joe Biden really pushed back until recently.(Biden told reporters after the 2004 elections that the next person who told him he was not devoted to his religion and values would promptly have his rosary beeds shoved down their throat). Faith has been an outlet for Democrats to be able to define and reconcile their views on abortion and find common ground focused on the fact that no one thinks abortion is good and that we have to reduce the number of abortions by working together. Countless other issues-poverty, AIDS, health care are discussed in these forums, issues that reflect widely held values that can be affected through public policy. As a Democrat, I could not be happier that our candidates are actually talking about their faith and values and making clear that regardless of views on legality of abortion, no one celebrates its practice, we are not cold baby killers, etc. I only use abortion because it is the most prominent issue used by the right to promote narrow minded religious based voting. On balance, hearing from the candidates like this is good. 96% of Americans believe in God in some form.

 

[Angela Harlem]

What god has to do with politics is utterly beyond me. Clinton makes me want to dry reach.

 

[deep]

What god has to do with politics is utterly beyond me.

God bless America

One nation under God.

please pay attention
or we may need to invade and occupy Queensland.