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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (90933)	12/17/2004 12:15:58 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793738

IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN, PEGGY Kerry Spot [jim geraghty reporting][12/16 12:34 PM] Peggy Noonan urges the Democrats to embrace the word “Christmas” and to stand up for the right of religious folk to express their faith in the public square. <<< Stop the war on religious expression in America. Have Terry McAuliffe come forward and announce that the Democratic Party knows that a small group of radicals continue to try to "scrub" such holidays as Christmas from the public square. They do this while citing the Constitution, but the Constitution does not say it is wrong or impolite to say "Merry Christmas" or illegal to have a crèche in the public square. The Constitution says we have freedom of religion, not from religion. Have Terry McAuliffe announce that from here on in the Democratic Party is on the side of those who want religion in the public square, and the Ten Commandments on the courthouse wall for that matter. Then he should put up a big sign that says "Merry Christmas" on the sidewalk in front of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters on South Capitol Street. The Democratic Party should put itself on the side of Christmas, and Hanukkah, and the fact of transcendent faith. This would be taking a stand on an issue that roils a lot of people, and believe me those people don't think conservatives are scrubbing America of Christmas, they think it's liberals; and they don't think it's Republicans, they think it's Democrats. Confound them, Terry! Come forward with a stand. It is the stand that is the salvation, not mysterious words or codes or magic messages. >>> And later that day, the light of the sun will be blotted out by the flocks of flying pigs… Look, if there’s anything we’ve learned in the post-election period, it’s that there is a sizable chunk of the Democratic party that isn’t the slightest bit interested in reaching out to the voters who voted against their candidates in the last election. And the religious faith of many of the opposition’s supporters is perhaps what these bluest of the blue find most repugnant. They write off the red states as “Jesusland.” They conclude “Totalitarian Christianity” to be as great a threat to America, if not a greater threat, than militant Islam. They declare the “exurbs” to be “the breeding ground for hatred and intolerance of anything foreign.” Chatting on left-of-center blogs, this faction is quite open about their views on religion: <<< “I strongly feel that religion is primarily and perhaps only a force for repression in society. Organization religion in this country tends overwhelmingly to stand on the side of backsliding, of superstition, and outright bigotry.” “Religious adherents [sic], you need to get a clue. There are plenty of secular humanists out there who reliably pull the lever in the voting booth for the straight D ticket. When you force your man-in-the-sky beliefs down our throats, you make us throw up.” “Because, of course, all people who believe in religion are at one of the childhood levels of moral development.” >>> There are plenty of faithful Democrats out there, who see their progressive political values as a direct result of, or intertwined and inseparable from, their religious faith. But a significant chunk of the Democratic party is anti-faith elitists, sees their party as the primary anti-religion political force in this country, and they like it that way. If McAuliffe or any other party leader had a “Sistah Souljah moment” by standing up to those most hostile to religious expressions in public life, he would have a revolt on his hands. The move would be denounced as a capitulation to the religious right. Editorial pages would be bursting at the seams with letters from angry Democrats, announcing their move to the Green party. Frank Rich would declare that a legislative ban on sex itself is right around the corner. The Democratic party doesn’t have a reputation as the side hostile to religious faith because its messages have been misinterpreted, or because it has clumsy public relations, or because it can‘t keep up with the GOP “message machine.” It has that reputation because a large number of its members are hostile to religious faith. They got that reputation the old fashioned way - they earned it. nationalreview.com