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A few weeks ago, I watched as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist addressed a nationwide television audience of evangelicals in an event known as “Justice Sunday”. The Majority Leader was there primarily for two reasons: first, he wanted to garner support for a strategy known as the “nuclear option”, which would deny Democrats the use of the filibuster in blocking extremist judicial nominees; second – he wanted to cozy up to the religious right, as he fully intends to rely on their support for his 2008 Presidential bid.
At first, I thought my indignation toward the event stemmed from Frist’s blatant and shameless whoring for votes. After all, it’s brazen enough to undergo this practice during an actual campaign (both parties do it), but I think it’s even worse to use religion as a tool to deface the structure and procedure of government itself.
Granted, those are valid reasons to get upset. But the real reason the whole event was viscerally disturbing to me was that the theme of the rally seemed to paint the Democratic party in general as being against “people of faith”. Of course, any rational observer of demographics knows this not to be the case. However, coverage of the event by the media seemed to gloss over this theme, almost confirming the sentiment at face value.
The event was sponsored by a group known as the Family Research Council. The purpose of this organization is to establish laws at both the state and federal levels that implement a very conservative Christian set of “moral values” on us all. They do this almost exclusively by using their ties to members of the Republican Party. Sounds like fun, right? Oh, you betcha. How could it not be?
More recently, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has come under intense scrutiny for saying that Republicans are “pretty much a white, Christian party”. The GOP has reacted with torrents of mock outrage, calling Dean a “racist”, and “intolerant”.
But were his comments far off the mark? Hardly. Let’s go back to the “Justice Sunday” event, hosted by our pals at the Family Research Council. This organization is headed up by a man named Tony Perkins. Why, he must be the most moral, loving guy on the planet to run such a tolerant, inclusive group. Well, no – a recent article in The Nation magazine reports that Perkins paid $82,500 in 1996 to former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke for his mailing list. What a splendid way to add to your base – by getting the whitest, most bigoted racists in the country to join in your little hate group of evangelicals, thus furthering your influence in the Republican party – you know – the big-tent party of inclusion.
Which is why the characterization of the Republican party as being the “party of faith” irks me so much. When you look at it rationally, Democrats are the true party of faith – all faiths. We don’t care if you’re Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, or Wiccan for that matter. What we really do care about is that everyone has a fair opportunity to maximize their talents and reach their potential if they are willing to work for it. We do this by asking everyone to give into a collective pool of resources so that all can benefit. But, perhaps most importantly, we ask that those who are more advantaged help those who are less advantaged. After all, that is truest test of one's "morality" – and lest we forget – it is also the fundamental underlying theme of virtually ALL religions.
So go ahead and have your Justice Sunday – mock those who aren’t exactly like you and try to impose your will upon everyone, even if they resist. It can be just like the Spanish Inquisition, only Baptist. However, if there is such a thing as a Judgment Day, and if we really are all God’s children – I’ll be glad that I’m on this side, brothers and sisters.
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