The tea leaves at the bottom of the pot of Democratic victories in this week’s elections are getting closer scrutiny than the models in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Everyone has a theory about why Democrats, considered by some dead and buried as a party, could still win. One explanation I am particularly loathe to embrace is that it’s about getting religion. Some pundits think that in the future, everyone should be Virginia Governor-Elect Timothy M. Kaine.
…Mr. Kaine’s advisers and some top Democratic strategists say their victory in Virginia shows that Democrats, including liberals, can win in culturally conservative states if they talk about deeply held religious beliefs.
That lesson is likely to be studied by many Democrats across the country as they head into next year’s midterm elections, political analysts and party officials say…
Representative Ted Strickland, who is running in next year’s Democratic primary for governor of Ohio, said the party had hurt itself by not trying to identify more closely with religious voters. He has already begun talking in his campaign about religion’s role in his life and politics.
“I do think the Democratic Party has for far too long been hesitant to talk about the things we deeply believe and value,” said Mr. Strickland, a former Methodist minister. “Many public policy positions have their foundation in religious beliefs that we hold dear.”
Sure they do. But freedom of religion and freedom from religion are bedrock values in America, or they were in the America where I grew up.
At least former Pres. Jimmy Carter, who has a new book out criticizing the Bush administration, isn’t letting the smell of victory go to his head.
A devout Baptist and life-long Sunday school teacher, the former president also raised concerns about what he sees as an inappropriate intertwining of religion and government. He warned of “an increase in basic fundamentalism … both within the religious community of our country and also within government, and an unprecedented and overt, not disguised, merger of the church and the state, of religion and politics.”
Carter, as always, is about keeping it real, and that means living your faith, not using it for political gain. It also means having your words and actions match.
“I have a commitment to worship the Prince of Peace, not the prince of preemptive war. I believe Christ taught us to give special attention to the plight of the poor. In my opinion this administration, I am not talking about President Bush personally, has committed itself to extol the advantages of the rich.”
Being a Democrat and being liberal do not equate to being godless, and we should certainly clear up any confusion on that point. But Lord help us if every politician and candidate starts jumping on the God bandwagon.
