Important Issues that Neither Campaign is Talking about - PhillyBlog

peacemover · #1 (**permalink**) 10-29-2004, 05:44 PM

Check this out- an excellent piece from Sojourner's Magazine on some of the significant social justice issues that are not being addressed by either campaign:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action...etition_flash2

SurfDog · #2 (**permalink**) 10-29-2004, 06:16 PM

Campaigns are about building broad coalitions. Some of the issues mentioned in that article would make people have to think!

Dave · #3 (**permalink**) 10-29-2004, 06:45 PM

Interesting website and a good basic message. However, I think most people on the "religious right" are going to view the website as a "vote for Kerry" gimmick and not take it very seriously. The execution could have been a lot better.

peacemover · #4 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

Interesting website and a good basic message. However, I think most people on the "religious right" are going to view the website as a "vote for Kerry" gimmick and not take it very seriously. The execution could have been a lot better.

A valid point, Dave, but I would think that "people on the 'religious right' would not even look at such a page in the first place- by enlarge, unfortunately, they seem to take their marching orders straight from Falwell, Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed's pathetically partisian so-called "Christian Coalition."

By the way, did anyone receive any of those fear-mongering negative attack ads in the mail from the G.O.P.? My wife and I did. They really grossly misrepresented and mis-characterized Kerry's positions and said nothing about how Bush would do better other than the lie that he will "keep America safer."

Also, Bill Maher had a hilarious satire piece on the G.O.P.'s ad where they show a wolf wandering through a forest- Maher totally slammed them for their negative campaign and fear-mongering tactics. It is on again tonight on HBO- check it out if you can...

Anyway, that is probably a subject for another thread...

PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE TOMORROW!

chrissayer · #5 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 04:52 PM

Sojourners is run by Jim Wallis, an evangelical catholic who happens to be for peace and justice.

Jim has been active for even longer than I have - and is one of the really good guys.

When Bush was putting together his faith-based coalition just after the 2000 election, he called on Jim to help him.[/quote]

Here's the quote I put in:

Quote:

A precious glimpse of Bush, just as he was ascending to the presidency, comes from Jim Wallis, a man with the added advantage of having deep acuity about the struggles between fact and faith. Wallis, an evangelical pastor who for 30 years has run the Sojourners -- a progressive organization of advocates for social justice -- was asked during the transition to help pull together a diverse group of members of the clergy to talk about faith and poverty with the new president-elect.

In December 2000, Bush sat in the classroom of a Baptist church in Austin, Tex., with 30 or so clergy members and asked, ''How do I speak to the soul of the nation?'' He listened as each guest articulated a vision of what might be. The afternoon hours passed. No one wanted to leave. People rose from their chairs and wandered the room, huddling in groups, conversing passionately. In one cluster, Bush and Wallis talked of their journeys.

''I've never lived around poor people,'' Wallis remembers Bush saying. ''I don't know what they think. I really don't know what they think. I'm a white Republican guy who doesn't get it. How do I get it?''

Wallis recalls replying, ''You need to listen to the poor and those who live and work with poor people.''

Bush called over his speechwriter, Michael Gerson, and said, ''I want you to hear this.'' A month later, an almost identical line -- ''many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do'' -- ended up in the inaugural address.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/ma...l&position

I have no idea who wrote this (below) or how it appeared in my post. I't gonna make me paranoid if I find someone is changing my posts.

Quote:

I agree generally with your characterization of Jim Wallis- I have deep respect and admiration for Wallis as a voice of progressive reason in the Christian evangelical community. I do believe that the whole faith-based initiative, while having a few bright spots, has by enlarge by a sorry excuse that the Republican controlled congress has used to justify the deep spending cuts they made to vital social programs in order to pay for the record tax cuts for wealthiest Americans.

peacemover · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 06:04 PM

I agree that Wallis is a progressive voice of reason in the Christian community (whom I deeply respect and admire). The whole Faith-based initiative, though, has largely backfired and been used by conservatives as an excuse for cutting vital federal social programs while passing record tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

:what_is_:

chrissayer · #7 (**permalink**) 11-01-2004, 06:57 PM

Peace:

I think you have it backwards. The Faith-Based Initiatives were used to buy off the religious (not only on the right) with dollars and supposed support.

For the most part, it has worked.

peacemover · #8 (**permalink**) 11-02-2004, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrissayer

Peace:

I think you have it backwards. The Faith-Based Initiatives were used to buy off the religious (not only on the right) with dollars and supposed support.

For the most part, it has worked.

Yes and no, Chris. Yes- Bush did use it as a manipulative ploy to try and sway a significant portion of Christian evenagelicals. However, the flip side of the whole plan is that Bush and the radical right wing are using the whole Faith Based Initiative scheme as a justification for cutting spending on vital federal social programs, so he can pay for his huge tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

That is the end result that I believe Bush (or should I say Rove and Cheney) hopes to accomplish with their implementation of the so-called Faith-Based Initiative.

:what_is_:

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:usa:

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