Reply #33: The litmus test [View All]

[Jack Rabbit]

Sometimes, I get the impression that some posters here think one has to be an atheist in order to be a true liberal. And we wonder why we lose elections in red states!

I am not a Christian, Will, but I, too, find much of the "critique" of religion here offensive. On a broader level, it is counterproductive.

I am convinced that the Democratic Party can make inroads into the GOP's fundamentalist base by appealing to economic issues. Many of the same people who some disparage as religious crazies are poor debtors who have been hurt by passage of the bankruptcy bill, pensioners who will be hurt by Social Security privatization or WalMart employees who would benefit from better and stronger labor laws.

In the Schiavo case, the Republicans have failed to impose the will of the Christian right on America. They promised the faith-based community that they would, and have been unwilling or unable to follow through. Democrats will not promise these people anything in terms promoting religious values; our position is that not the business of the state to save souls. However, we can promise them government policies that will result in more prosperity for America's lower, lower-middle and middle class, an economic bracket in which many Christian fundamentalists fall.

The Schiavo affair may be the high water point of the Christian right. The Democrats have an opportunity to make an appeal to the rural poor, many of whom are Christian fundamentalists who have been voting Republican for years. If we continue to alienate Christian fundamentalists who may be open to that appeal by being rude and condescending, we will let this opportunity slip.