We do not need a second Republican Party!

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with many people in the Democratic Party who want to give the party away to the evangelical Republican Party. These folks have been trying to bring “Faith Values” to the party in order to court the Evangelical vote and they have failed. thank God! In a recent article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Dianna S. Wentz, I read the following.

Democratic strategist Bob Beckel opined nearly a year ago, urging Democrats to "let God back into” the party. A new progressive think tank, The Center for American Progress, brought religious study into its agenda early this year at about the same time the Clergy Leadership Network was formed for the purpose of speaking faith values to potential voters for the Democrats. Yet, these efforts (and others) failed to bring new evangelical or fundamental Christian voters into the Kerry column.

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I must ask, is it possible to speak to Evangelical "faith values" and remain the Democratic Party? We would have to jettison so many values and people we support. First, we would have to give up our inclusiveness; that is do away with all those of various race, religious, ethnic, and spiritual backgrounds. I for one would have to go, because I’m gay, along with the entire LGBT community since our various sexualities offend the Evangelical interpretation of the Bible. Women’s reproductive rights would be out, so any sane democratic woman would have to leave the party as well. Let’s stop talking such rubbish!

The Democratic Party doesn’t need to become a 2nd Evangelical stronghold. The Republican Party has already done and become that. Traditional Republicans should be leaving that party in droves. Instead they are embracing their new prejudiced brothers because of the power they bring with them. For example, exit polls on the November 2nd election showed that 23 percent of self-proclaimed gay men voted for George W. Bush. Shame on them!

It would seem that rather than turn into them; we need to demonstrate our own alternative Christian values. Christ did not say, “Go, hate your fellow man. Go invade the small nations of the world. Go kill Muslim peoples by the tens of thousands.” Instead, he was about love. My personal faith says that God, his son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, Holy Mother Mary, the almost non-existent Joseph and all the holy family must be miserable as they have watched our country become The Evil Empire in their name.

The five points of the Evangelical’s practice; sola gracia, sola fida, solus Christus, sola scriptura, and soli Deo Gloria, were the key points of disagreement between the reformists including Martin Luther, and the Catholic Church. The points were written by men who felt that their faith should be based in their own practice as opposed to the practice of the church. That was five hundred years ago. Today, the very thing these people were trying to move away from has overtaken their faith. Evangelical churches have become institutionalized and these threaten to take over the institution of Government in the United States of America. We (Christian Democrats) do not need to become more like the Evangelicals. Instead, I propose that we must provide an alternative to these hate based “faith values.” We need to proclaim loudly and clearly our belief in a God of compassion, inclusion, and love. Such an alternative will not change the world tonight, or even tomorrow night. But, it is right, and after many dark nights, we (well, perhaps not I as I am 84) will begin to see the light of our efforts glow on the Eastern horizon.

* Albany County Young Democrats, http://www.albanyyoungdems.com/mission.htm, © 2003, updated Friday, June 13, 2003, viewed Friday, November 26, 2004

*Wentz, Dianna S, “Opinion, Forum: The Democrats Fundamental Problem,” Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Sunday, November 14, 2004, updated Sunday, November 21, 2004, November21, 2004, 11:19 AM EST.


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