Democrats Urged to Talk About Faith, Values
by Bill Fancher and Jody Brown
July 24, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Someone in the Democratic Party needs to tell Senator Charles Schumer that some in his party are hoping to connect with "people of faith" as it attempts to regain control of Congress in the upcoming election cycle -- because comments he made recently have alienated some religious leaders.
As they gathered in Denver over the weekend for the Democratic Leadership Council's annual meeting, moderate Democrats stated they will have a better chance of recapturing Congress and the White House if they talk openly about their religious beliefs and moral values. Such an approach, they say, will help Democratic candidates connect with American churchgoers who, according to polls, tend to vote Republican.
"If we continue to have this perception in the Democratic Party that faith can't be discussed, we'll continue to lose elections based on wedge issues," warned Colorado state Representative Terrance Carroll. Those "wedge" issues include abortion and homosexual "marriage" -- issues near and dear to the hearts of those who were categorized as "values voters" following the November 2004 elections.
It would a bad idea, said one Southern lawmaker, to ignore such topics. "Democrats have run from the values issues," commented Georgia State Representative Randal Mangham. "We now have to deal with those issues of faith."
Council founder Al From joined other moderates in saying that Democrats must strike a careful balance, talking about their faith without shifting positions on values issues to score political points. Noted Utah State Senator Karen Hale: "There is a downside if it's not authentic."
Indeed, moderates in the party may have difficulty convincing values voters of their sincerity on the marriage issue, for example. Whereas 20 states have now amended their state constitutions to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has stated he would fight against such initiatives at both the state and federal levels. Those amendments have passed in the states with an average of 70 percent approval.
Schumer's 'Theocrat' Comment
The view expressed by moderates in Denver, however, could irritate liberal Democrats who advocate a strict separation of church and state, notes Associated Press. One of those might possibly be Charles Schumer, the senior U.S. senator from New York, who has come under fire for remarks he made during a bioethics debate last week.
Schumer, who was born into a Jewish family, chastised people of all faiths who opposed embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR), calling them "theocrats" and saying it is un-American to try and push their views on the issue. The senator added that it was such attitudes that caused the Founding Fathers to leave their plows and take up muskets.
Marjorie Dannenfelser of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List says she was shocked at the tirade. "I just want to know," she says, "has he ever read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers -- any of our founding documents?"
The senator, says Dannenfelser, needs to revisit American history. "The founding principles of our government are that we are created by God and we have inalienable rights that we didn't give ourselves," she notes.
Several religious leaders have demanded an apology from Senator Schumer.
