Dean to Dems: Court evangelical Christians

CNN/AP: Dean to Dems: Court evangelical Christians


Dean said Monday his party needs to court evangelical voters.

RENO, Nevada (AP) — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean urged members of his party Monday to reach out to a constituency usually aligned with Republicans — evangelical Christians.

In a speech in Nevada Monday, Dean said evangelicals are undergoing a “generational change” that emphasizes social responsibility over social conservatism. He noted that he’s never seen gay marriage mentioned in the Bible, but there are many references to inclusiveness and helping the poor.

The former Vermont governor says Democrats are poised to win the White House next year, but that the election may ultimately hinge on whoever more successfully reaches Christian voters.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/12/dean-to-dems-court-evangelical-christians/

You know...the ones that like the Constitution?

Jesus never said a single word about gays or abortion, although both were in abundance in his time. He had a lot to say about poverty, though, and that's what we need to focus on.

That's really our message.

The perversion of the genuine message of JC is entirely the fundie wingnuts' fault.

I guarantee minds and hearts will be turned when that mess is exposed and dispelled.

And it absolutely does dovetail with the basic tenets of the Democratic Party.

6,000 year crap.

It would be nice if we could bring their votes over by appealing to their humanity and reason. But I worry about appealing to specific religions. As soon as you try to tie the politics to the religion you let in the bad with the good. It should not be an issue of what doctrine a person believes. It should be an issue of what makes sense.

but it's not. People have different motivational triggers, so not every message receives the same reaction. Let's take poverty. We could argue that a Living Wage makes economic sense and that through federal subsidies (earned income credit, school lunch vouchers, etc.) we're already paying the working poor a living wage. But for some people, the statistics and figures don't resonate.

But when you say, "It's immoral that a person who works for a living should be forced to beg for hand-outs" the light will click on for a lot of people. It's a matter of justice and morality and now they get it. Wondering why so many low-income conservatives vote against their economic interests? This is why. They're responding to the emotional appeal of conservative "marketing" on the issues and ignoring the liberal "statistics."

I know that people worry about the Democratic Party moving to the right in order to win votes, but I really don't believe this is what Dean is suggesting. Think of it this way: If you're a candidate Spanish. Giving your talking points in Spanish doesn't change their substance; it just lets you communicate in a way that your audience can and will absorb. It's the same principle here. We need to talk about progressive values in their moral context.

...when you say, "It's immoral that a person who works for a living should be forced to beg for hand-outs"

The conservative talking point is "then they should get a better job".
"There aren't any better jobs."
"Then government should cut taxes so the rich can create better jobs."

and so on and so on

No argument there. But I'm saying there are people who respond to facts and logic and there are people who respond to emotion and sentiment. I think liberals need to be better at casting a wider net with their rhetoric and appealing to both. If we do, we might find some of those persuadable conservatives (many of whom voted Democratic up until 1980) coming back to our side.

join the push?

I'm sick of campaigns spamming the media with the notion that they "own" one or more target constituencies that will make or break elections.

Uhm, I think there are even more radical leftists in this country than evangelicals. Besides that, how do you appeal to them differently than everyone else?

The next election hinges on 9% of the adult population?

At least thirty percent of them helped vote in the Dems, remember?

And besides, what do we offer them? Bans on abortion, drinking on Sundays, evolution--or the separation of church and state. Religious equality for all and the continued separation of church and state--THAT'S the ticket!

:crazy:
rocknation

from your link:

"In a half-hour speech to more than 500 at the Washoe County Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner, he ticked off a list of traditional party backers including blacks, Hispanics and American Indians. But he went on to say that his party scored victories in the last congressional elections partly because "we reached out to folks and will continue to reach out to people we had written off before, to our detriment."

"One of those groups of people is evangelical Christians," he said."

I understand what he's trying to do, but my question is how do we reach out to them?

1. They cannot think.

The reason fascism appeals to them is because it requires absolutely no ability to think. All you have to do is toe the party line. Evanglicalism appeals for the same reason. All you have to do is chant "Jesus saves" and you're done for the day.

It is impossible to have a theological discussion with an evangelical. There's no there there.

It is impossible for them to grasp even the simplest concepts of liberalism. They lack the grasp of conditionals.

2. They cannot consider themselves "wrong".

Once they have made up their minds (or, more accurately had their minds programmed for them) it is impossible for them to change. To do so would put them in the position that they are "wrong", which is beyond their ability to cope. They would much rather shoot the messenger.

The Bible/Party says it and that's enough for them.

Sorry to be incredibly harsh, but I've been dealing with these people for years and they're currently trying to destroy the Anglican church and Canadian society.

If you don't like it - alert or post a rebuttal.

that's why I question how Dr. Dean would like us to reach out to them. I personally don't want them in the Democratic Party; I also don't think we need that group of voters to win.

.

I'd like to keep as much distance between the Evangelical Fundamentalist groups and the Democratic Party as possible. There's a gaping divide between what we consider ethical and moral obligations and what the fundamentalist Christians support.

I was until the war. They are good people.

or cited "those people." I would never judge anyone in that way. I just believe that the ideology of the Democratic Party wouldn't be a good fit for evangelical fundamentalists of any religion. For instance, issues such as LGBT civil rights, abortion, evolution, prayer in schools, faith-based iniatives etc.

If your personal experience leads you to believe differently, you might want to bring it up in the discussion. Maybe some of us will have a better understanding of your point of view.

Only a minority that have the ear of the media. They get to spout their message....while most would appreciate the common sense of Dr. Dean.

But hey, must be time for an I'me leaving the party because Dean wants Christians in it ...thread.

"I'm leaving the party" from me. Are we talking about the fundamentalists though? If you're right, I don't see a problem with Dean's suggestion.

I'm currently reading a book (it's at home, I'll post the title if anybody's interested) documenting the story of a village during the Nazi takeover of Germany. Many villagers put up with the Nazis at first, then suddenly didn't have a choice when the Nazis took over everything.

I'm seeing the same thing within Christianity. Mainline Christians put up with the evangelicals at first 'cause they seemed fairly harmless. Now they have taken over everything, including the press.

Many good people have been suckered into Jebus-worship because they are no longer aware of any alternative. You simply cannot get the message out. It's drowned out by heresy.

And equivocate? Who'd have guessed?

My sister is a fundie minister/xtian school principal/fundie writer and although she is hopelessly misled by James Dobson (ugh), I met several people in her community that were decent folks that simply took a wrong turn.

If they are available, they can be our new soccer moms.

Kudos to Dean for excavating votes. :toast:

Make the Republicans to seem like the nefarious treasonous pro-Communist-Chinese elites they are.

about our message. I have a problem when we pander to people that are opposed to our basic message. The fact is, the Democratic Party has something to offer everyone. I think Dr. Dean is trying to make everyone see what we have to offer in a new light and that's perfectly fine, but it's bound to be misinterpreted by people in the media that misinterpret and distort things for a living.