Post by POA on Aug 12, 2004 14:09:23 GMT -5
Take It on Faith
Kerry's See-Through-Monk's Robe
By LENNI BRENNER
I'm a Nader fan, but I have to warn my cothinkers of the awful responsibility we have assumed. If Kerry loses & liberals can show that Nader's vote did him in, we will be blamed for aborting what would have been a golden age of comedy. Yes, think of the endless hours of pleasure we will enjoy if Kerry wins, as Jay Leno does nightly imitations of Kerry imitating Bush.
Kerry apparently previously entertained media folks with a samurai Senator skit. But its his Bush imitations that really leave the critics laughing. His problem is that they are laughing at him, not with him.
If Bush got religion after 1 too many drinks, Kerry got piety after looking at 1 too many polls. They show that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe in god, so politician Kerry's buzz words are now "faith" & "values." Except that he uses them so often that nasty journalists clock him. Once they started doing that, his demagoguery was obvious.
In July, the Democrats ran a Spanish TV ad, "Faith," in 10 states. Staff writer Jim Rutenberg did a "scorecard" on it in the 7/22 NY Times:
"Mr. Kerry is playing defense as much as offense. The repeated use of the word "faith" seems to be an effort to appeal to religious values, even though in two of the three instances, the context was clearly not religious. Mr. Kerry's campaign is obviously trying to beat back President Bush's bid to gain Hispanics' support by appealing to their Roman Catholic values. Though Mr. Kerry is Catholic, Mr. Bush would seem to have an advantage on this score because he has been speaking publicly about his Christian faith since before the 2000 election. Mr. Kerry goes to church most weekends, but his religious faith has not been a prominent part of his campaign. And his support for abortion rights puts him at odds with the Vatican. Yet this spot could help him score points on immigration policy."
However, one profound religious pandering ploy didn't get covered by mainstream media, pro or anti-Kerry. In July, he spoke at the African Methodist Episcopalian convention. Democrats before Black churches isn't unusual & the event was covered as a Black campaign story without focus on the AME or the Democrat's latest religious revelation. But James Besser caught its significance & wrote it up in the 7/16 Jewish Week, a New York 'community' paper.
The AME is in favor of Bush's federal amendment banning gay marriage. It is also in favor of his "faith-based initiatives." So Kerry sweet-talked them:
"'I know there are some who say that the First Amendment means faith-based organizations can't help government,' he said. 'I think they are wrong. I want to offer support for your efforts, including financial support, in a way that supports our Constitution and civil rights laws and values the role of faith in inspiring countless acts of justice and mercy across our land.'"
"In a 'fact sheet' distributed to Jewish activists after the speech, he called for a 'Presidential Advisory Group on Expanding Faith-Based Initiatives.'"
But not to worry. Kerry promises to correct Bush's Executive Order on Faith-Based Initiatives, "to ensure that it encompasses all necessary constitutional and civil rights considerations and does not unnecessarily subject small faith-based organizations to litigation or other administrative difficulties."
John Green, an Akron U. poli-scientist, explained Kerry's strategy. "This is surely part of an effort to appeal to African Americans, but it may help him with other moderate to liberal groups." If he goes over board, it could alienate Jews and other church-state separationists but "on balance, this kind of appeal may help him."
The prof is correct. Kerry's Advisory Group is as unconstitutional as feeding Christians to lions, but some liberal secularists don't care. They will vote for him even if Kerry is caught in bed with an underage same-sex lamb.
A well-known atheist writer isn't worried. "In any election, the guy on the left bends to the right & the reverse, to win undecided votes. He's bullnutsting those fools. Nothing harmful will come of it." Another 'secularist' explained his unconcern: "The courts will strike it down."
My friends write about religion. But neither is involved in any secularist organization or party politics. Its easy for cynical spectators to rationalize voting for a demagogue with the excuse that he is the lesser evil. But you can't build a sustained movement for a secular America - or for any other intellectually serious cause - by telling people to vote for a candidate who you know is a liar, or who will trick folks into voting for him with a bogus advisory group, relying on the courts to clean up after his assault on the constitution he will promise to uphold.
Let's assume that AME community efforts are commendable. That doesn't make government "financial support" for its work constitutional.
James Madison was the cofounder of Kerry's party. He also authored the Bill of Rights. In 1811, as President, he vetoed "An Act incorporating the Protestant Episcopal Church in the town of Alexander, in the District of Columbia." He gave several reasons re the specifics of that immediate situation. But he closed with a statement that is obviously still applicable:
"Because the bill vests in the said incorporated church an authority to provide for the support of the poor and the education of poor children of the same, an authority which, being altogether superfluous if the provision is to be the result of pious charity, would be a precedent for giving to religious societies as such a legal agency in carrying into effect a public and civil duty."
[continued in followup]