Black Conservative Christian Plans to Challenge Liberal Incumbent for Mich. Senate Seat
by Chad Groening
August 17, 2005
(AgapePress) - A black conservative pastor from Michigan feels the U.S. senator from his state is on the wrong side of several important social issues. Because of this, he believes God has called him to challenge the single-term legislator for her Senate seat next year.
Keith Butler pastors the 21,000-member Word of Faith International Christian Center in Southfield, Michigan. The former Detroit City Council member says he believes God is urging him to take on Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow as she seeks re-election for the first time.
"I feel strongly led to make this run," Butler says. He contends that America is at a crossroads, and the biblical and pro-family values he seeks to represent can "bring to our country a needed change in its culture." Liberal Democrats like Stabenow are "on the wrong side of Judeo-Christian issues, and we need senators who will be on the proper side," the Michigan pastor asserts. And, he adds again, "I just strongly feel led to run."
Butler, a Republican, believes he can win as a black conservative, despite the traditional tendency of many in black America to align themselves with the Democratic Party or to think of that party as representing its interests. "The Republican Party actually has a good record on issues dealing with African Americans and urban people that they don't tell the story of, and I'm going to tell that story," he says.
Also, the Detroit-area pastor says he intends to run on a pro-family platform that stands in stark contrast to the liberal values of his opponent. "I'm strongly pro-life, and she's strongly pro-abortion," he points out, "and life is the biggest issue of all." And second to that issue, he says, is the protection of the traditional American family.
"I strongly believe that marriage should only be between one man and one woman," Butler notes. Meanwhile, he says the incumbent Stabenow, is "endorsed by and supports the gay rights movement."
With his emphasis on Judeo-Christian values and doing what is best for families in American society, Butler believes he has a good chance at taking Stabenow's Senate seat next year. In fact, he says his camp is convinced that he can be the Republican with the highest vote total among minorities in Michigan's history.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
