Looks like the Dems are now taking the tactic of fighting Faith with Faith...Last week they lined up like kids at their First Communion to get on a panel at "Pentecost 2007" and show the religious right, left and center that they take religion seriously. The pundits, strategists and politicians themselves all seem to agree that this move takes the wind out of the Republican sails that they've enjoyed (owned) for years. Good idea but too bad they have to sink rather than soar above this level of politics. Where are the true leaders that can put this issue back into people's homes and houses of worship rather than "taking the vision to the streets" like a Crips/Bloods gang fight?
An excerpt from The NY Times (June 11th, 2007 by John Cochran of Congressional Quarterly):
"For the candidates invited to “Pentecost 2007” — Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama — it was a chance to dispel the perception of many religious voters that Democrats don’t take religion seriously and to make a case that their party’s policies on poverty and other social issues speak to the concerns and values of religious people.
Lessons of past campaigns, when abortion and gay marriage dominated the religious agenda and Republicans seemed to have a lock on the religious vote, suggest that those involved in the forum were wasting their breath. But in fact, political scientists, pollsters and religious leaders say religious voters could be in play this political season in broader and more unpredictable ways than ever before.
Religious activists are involved in a wider sphere of issues, including poverty, the environment and human rights. That broader agenda, said political scientist John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, gives candidates such as Edwards, Clinton and Obama more opportunities to connect with religious voters."
Read Full Article: Converting the Faith Community - NY Times
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