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"Fool Me Once…."
Part Two of Three By Dave Andrusko Okay, I will be nicer than usual--no names will be named--but the headline on an article in the Washington Post yesterday morning begs for further comment: "Are Democrats pulling back on faith outreach?"
The trick for Michele Boorstein is to find some way to come to any other conclusion but that the Democrats--having snookered a LOT of people of faith in 2008--are returning to their natural attitude of hostility. But that's jumping the gun. Why would anyone even ask the question? "These days, the Democratic National Committee's faith staff of more than a half-dozen has dwindled to one part-time slot. Its faith issues Web site led this week with greetings for Passover (which was in March) and Rosh Hashanah (which was in September)." "Faith consultants who once had dozens of clients did not play a role in high-profile Democratic losses in the Virginia gubernatorial race in November and in the special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy in Massachusetts in January. And there was little visible new faith outreach in last week's Democratic Senate primaries, according to some party officials. " While the Democratic National Committee's faith outreach staff has been "dismantled," former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine assures Boorstein it'll all get better as the fall election season approaches. Kaine, now head of the DNC, was one of the earliest successful examples of a candidate "who framed policy positions in terms of religious morality" but always managed to reach the same pro-abortion conclusion. Why is this perceived rollback important? Well, for starters religious "progressives" are being left holding the bag. If we assume that they were sincere when they insisted that the Democratic party should no longer be seen as hostile to people of faith, they have to feel duped. If they were just scamming people, then they are embarrassed and uncomfortable that Democrats have shorned them of their cover. More importantly (in Boorstein's words), "some major Democratic wins were credited in part to spending by national Democratic organizations on faith outreach," including "a slew of anti-abortion congressional Democrats in 2006 and Obama, who captured more churchgoing voters in 2008 than any other Democratic presidential candidate in a decade." If people feel they were bamboozled, Democrats could be in major trouble. In 2007 and 2008 we ran a ton of stories about Obama--who ran as a man of faith and a seeker after "common ground" on abortion--that never questioned the sincerity of his profession of faith but made clear the importance of never forgetting that he was joined at the hip to the Abortion Establishment. The point is a simple one. When Democrats come professing to be "moderates" on abortion, be sure they are not merely cooing the right melody while they are singing the words from the pro-abortion hymnal. Your comments are welcomed at daveandrusko@gmail.com. |
