Letters to the Editor
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Madame Defarge
It's terribly sad, but this country is going through a Calvinistic, Christian revival. To ignore the way, not only the religious right, demands a proclamation of faith, but the MSM as well, is a recipe for a Democratic party loss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
In 1990 No religion/atheist/agnostic was 8.4% of the population.
In 2001 No religion/atheist/agnostic was 15% of the population.
In terms of absolute numbers by far the fastest growing "religious" demographic.
We are being sold a bill of goods..
Yet again.
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"There should be no religious test, but there is."
Madame Defarge
It's terribly sad, but this country is going through a Calvinistic, Christian revival. To ignore the way, not only the religious right, demands a proclamation of faith, but the MSM as well, is a recipe for a Democratic party loss.
There should be no religious test, but there is."
I'm sorry, I found this post to be very sad. Where are we at that we accept the religious test, this erosion of a founding concept of our country. Those of us who are not Christian feel increasingly like guests in someone else's house. And even in this progressive community that is considered 'ok' or at least it is considered the 'to be tolerated' reality.
Drawing the line and speaking out when the most basic freedoms get eroded, slowly, almost imperceptibly even, is central, not incidental.
Do you remember this:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
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Get over it
Obama has repeatedly been slandered as some kind of jihadi Muslim mole. 3 Hillary supporters in IA, one a county chair were emailing these things out. He's simply putting a stop to that and shoring up his base in SC with black religious voters who make up 50% of the Dem electorate there. It's the same voters Hillary draws her support from so it's a twin killing.
And Glenn, crosses don't "lurk" in churches. They are as prominently and proudly displayed as Obama is displaying his faith with these flyers. We'll never build a huge mandate in this country only appealing to secularists. I haven't been to church since my mother died two years ago and won't go again until my dad dies. I have no problem with Obama seeking support from people who aren't just like me. Get over it.
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Smear Campaign
Wow the Salon hatchets are at it again.
On the one had if Obama does not respond to the Muslim smear campaign he is out of the race. He is swiftboated and suffers the same fate as J. McCain (black child out of wedlock - gasp).
Or better yet the same tactics that associated Sadam with WMD. Even Hillary with all her pseudo-experience fell for that one, when she gave Bush the go ahead to bomb Iraq.
On the other hand if he does respond to these attacks he is somehow the equivalent of Mike Huckabee. The narrative then becomes that somehow his values and policy are aligned with Huckabee and that those of us who are Atheist should be as weary of him as of any (anti-gay & anti-choice)Evangelical. Right. Because all Christians are the same, and asseting a factual truth (that he is Christian) is the same as a desire to align the Constitution with the bible.
Please you can not even pretend to be this dense.
You know as well as anybody of these smear-rumors that are all part of the campaign. Gee I wonder who is starting them. Obama needs to respond clearly and concisely and without ambiguity or he will be Swiftboated. I wish he didn't have to do so, but he does. There is no other answer. To pretend that this is a minor point does all kinds of disservice to your integrity. Some Faux news idiots or the morons at Broadsheet can get away with this kind of blissful ignorance, but when you play these semantic games, it strikes me as calculating and depressing.
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@Thrasher
Not surprised by Glenn's posture today not to long ago Glenn had a Black Gay woman pen a hit piece on Obama.
Thrasher
Mr. Thrasher, would you be so kind as to give us a link to that piece, or if you can't just give us the URL. I think I know what piece you mean but I'm not sure. You will do that, won't you please?
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HONEST THINKERS 'FESS UP
You shot from the lip, on this one, Mr Greenwald, and it is very disappointing to see you lack the intellectual humility or simple decency to back off your premature denunciation. Sen Obama had to address the bigoted ugly Muslim attacks. You know it. You acknowledged it in the initial post as "a" factor. After being called on this facile, childish and wrong-headed Huckabee comparison, you then belied your own defensive thesis by mewling: "why in SC? why not in IA or NH," et alia? Why indeed? -- look to your own defense: because SC has a strong Christian voting bloc; because the "Manchurian Muslim" e-mails are coming faster and more furious in SC. Because the time is now if Sen Obama is to save his candidacy. Another source would lead me to believe he was just dense. You may not hide behind ignorance.
When your own petard lets you back down, please reconsider your position; be a mensch. Your occasional petulance is unbecoming. It is often surprising. It is always dreary. In this case, on this day, it it frankly perverse. Think an inch past your ego on this one, I urge you.
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A plague on both their houses
Pandering is pandering, and as far as this secular humanist is concerned, I'd just as soon put my fingers in my ears and wait for the customary I'm a born-again full gospel, fire-breathing, sin-hating Christian just like you tripe to make its way into the display cases of the souvenir vendors along with the I like Ike and Happy Days Are Here Again buttons of elections past.
It's at times like this when it's more than a little embarrassing to be an American. In all honesty, I prefer the baby-kissing, and chitlin-kielbasa-matzo-churro-and-pizza-eating routines of our melting-pot past, but, I really don't worry much about campaign pandering of any kind.
Christian Dominionism is another thing altogether. Huckabee would probably be thrilled if it came to pass, and Obama would probably be appalled. That much seems clear enough.
What troubles me nevertheless is that I'm not altogether sure that being appalled by it is enough to prevent it coming to pass once the pandering is over. When candidates act as though kissing every troglodyte Christian ass in the country is still essential to their electoral success, you do have to wonder.