NJDC's Blog

Country First, if You Pray for it

The Jewish community has traditionally judged candidates based on a golden standard, their voting record and public statements. As executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC), Ira N. Forman, said, “As a young lobbyist for AIPAC, my boss, the executive director, taught me that the way to assess a candidate for higher political office is to ‘go to the pro-Israel voting record.’ My boss was Morris Amitay.” The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and other Republican groups have ignored this rule as of late, threatening the strong bipartisan support and very safety of Israel.

Enter Sarah Palin.

Palin's only record on anything resembling a substantive stance on Israel is signing a resolution supporting Israel and Alaska’s friendship. Well, Israel needs more than friends, it needs allies willing to fight and defend her. Her public record on Israel, or any foreign policy for that matter, is virtually non-existent..

Look here for NJDC’s statement on the choice of Sarah Palin and here for Marc Stanley’s, Chairman of the NJDC, Op-Ed that was featured in the Jerusalem Post yesterday.

Obama Addresses Faith and Emphasizes the Separation of Church and State

At a campaign event in Zanesville, Ohio, Obama announced his plan to fix President Bush’s broken Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The office set-up by President Bush has fallen under intense criticism due to its formation through executive orders and Bush’s avoidance of congress’ approval.

At his speech in Zanesville, Obama said, “Now, make no mistake, as someone who used to teach constitutional law, I believe deeply in the separation of church and state, but I don't believe this partnership will endanger that idea – so long as we follow a few basic principles. First, if you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion. Second, federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on secular programs. And we'll also ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to those programs that actually work.” The biggest problem with the office set-up by President Bush is that it does not strictly respect the establishment clause of the first amendment, which because the necessary safeguards were not enforced. The First Amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Fortunately, Obama plans to completely restructure Bush’s Office of Faith-Based and Community initiatives to make sure that the office he creates will be a partnership with religious groups, not an endorsement. In his presidential announcement speech in February 2007, Obama said, “And although government will play a crucial role in bringing about the changes we need, more money and programs alone will not get us where we need to go.”

In an article with the Jerusalem Post, an Obama campaign senior adviser stated that Obama does not support using government funds to proselytize or to hire/fire on the basis of religion. Obama reassured his audience in Zanesville that he would uphold the establishment clause and explained the safeguards he would create to enforce the separation of church and state.

These Safeguards, as outlined by the Obama Campaign include:

- Cannot use federal funds to proselytize or provide religious sectarian instruction.
- Cannot discriminate against nonmembers in providing services. They must remain open to all and cannot practice religious discrimination against the populations they serve.
- Must comply with federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- Religious organizations that receive federal dollars cannot discriminate with respect to hiring for government-funded social service programs.
- Can only use taxpayer dollars on secular programs and initiatives.
- Must prove their efficacy and be judged based on program effectiveness. They will be expected to demonstrate proven program outcomes to continue to receive funding.

There he goes again ...

From TPM Election Central:

At some point you'd think Mike Huckabee's views would be seen as so controversial that there's no way he could possibly be a contender for the nomination of one of America's two main political parties.

Especially now. In an interview with Beliefnet.com, a religion Web site, Huck has just clarified his view that the Constitution should be amended to be brought in line with God's will -- and he directly equated homosexuality with bestiality. (emphasis added)

Oy.

NJDC CONDEMNS MIKE HUCKABEE FOR SAYING CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE AMMENDED TO REFLECT GOD'S STANDARDS

NJDC issued the following press release today:

NJDC CONDEMNS MIKE HUCKABEE FOR CALLING FOR CONSTITUTION TO BE AMENDED “SO IT’S IN GOD’S STANDARDS”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2008

Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) condemned Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee in the strongest possible terms for telling a campaign audience: “what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards.”

“This is exactly why the separation between Church and State is so important,” said NJDC Executive Director Ira N. Forman. “We’ve seen from Governor Huckabee’s previous statements that his definition of ‘God’s standards’ is a country in which gay Americans do not enjoy equal rights, scientific teachings are restricted in the classroom, and wives are considered subservient to their husbands.”

“Tap dancing over the line between Church and State has become habit for Governor Huckabee on the campaign trail. His success so far says a lot about the Republican Party and the dominance of extreme conservatives therein,” continued Forman.

The complete quote from Governor Huckabee is as follows: “I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.” [ThinkProgress, 1/15/07]

NJDC has a fact sheet available on Huckabee’s extremism which can be downloaded at: http://njdc.typepad.com/huckabeenjdc2.pdf

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Texas to Offer Bible Study in Public Schools

From the San Antonio Express-News:

A new law soon will require all Texas public school districts to offer a Bible as Literature course if 15 or more students express interest, but one San Antonio public school has been offering such a course for more than 30 years.

Despite decline of despicable Dobson, religious right thriving ...

Sarah Posner's excellent blog entry in the American Prospect's blog Tapped raises some excellent points.   While some may view the rise of Mike Huckabee as evidence that rank and file evangelical voters have turned a cold shoulder to the James Dobson's and Tony Perkins's of the world -- because they have not publicly supported Huckabee (perhaps feeling threatened that he could become more influential in the Christian right movement) -- the religious right continues to flex its muscle in the Republican party and must not be ignored.

Writes Posner:

For anyone who wrote the evangelical right's obituary last fall, Huckabee's win in Iowa -- even if it doesn't translate into the nomination -- shows just how wrong they were. There are certain cults of personality in the movement, made legendary by excessive media attention. Just because they weren't organized and mobilized for any single candidate doesn't mean there isn't a thriving movement, determined to restore America, its government, and its culture to "biblical values." Just because Dobson missed the boat with Huckabee doesn't mean there's no one else on board, or that there aren't several captains and crews. Never say I didn't warn you.

JAMES DOBSON: HUCKABEE VICTORY MEANS RELIGIOUS RIGHT A FORCE

MSNBC's First Read reports:

The results of the Iowa caucuses reveal that conservative Christians remain a powerful force in American politics," Dobson said in a statement. "That had to be a great shock to those on the far-Left! The New York Times wrote a demeaning obituary of Values Voters in an article called 'the Evangelical Crackup.' CNN piled-on, proclaiming the demise of the 'old values'... Sixty percent of the voters in the Iowa caucuses were self-identified Evangelicals, and 45 percent of them supported Mike Huckabee. The former governor may not become the eventual Republican nominee, and I have not endorsed him, but what happened there last night was evidence of an energized and highly motivated conservative community. Not bad for a supposed bunch of demoralized, depressed, disillusioned and disengaged Reaganites."

Talent still Intolerant

Former Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) while stumping for Mitt Romney on Hardball, said that "militant gays" are seeking to change the cultural institutions of the country. 

Mitt Romney has declined to condemn hateful speech from Ann Coulter.  Will he repudiate Senator Talent? 

OUT OF HUCK: More of Huckabee's Words Under Scrutiny

David Corn writes in Mother Jones:

In a 1998 book decrying American culture, Huckabee was no seeker of common ground. He drew stark lines, equating environmentalists with pornographers and homosexuality with pedophilia and necrophilia. He also declared that people who do not believe in God tend to be immoral and to engage in "destructive behavior." He drew a rather harsh picture of an American society starkly split between people of faith and those of a secular bent, with the latter being a direct and immediate threat to the nation.

"Huckacide"

In a piece entitled, "Huckacide," Rich Lowry of the ultra-conservative National Review, writes about how the Huckabee phenomenon in the Republican primary is a kowtow to the religious right that may lead the GOP off a cliff:

"... [Huckabee's] first TV ads in Iowa touted him as a 'Christian leader,'and his target audience of evangelicals has responded. But according to a Pew poll released in early December, only 1 in 7 nonevangelical Republicans support him in Iowa and 1 in 20 nonevangelicals in New Hampshire and South Carolina."

"Huckabee has declared that he doesn't believe in evolution. Even if there are many people in America who agree with him, his position would play into the image of Republicans as the anti-science party. This would tend to push away independents and upper-income Republicans. In short, Huckabee would take a strength of the GOP and, through overplaying it, make it a weakness.

"He'd do the same on taxes. In general, the public tends to support Democratic proposals for bigger government, which Republicans counter by saying that the proposals will require higher taxes. Huckabee will be equipped poorly to make this traditional Republican comeback, given his tax-raising history in Arkansas. Huckabee tries to compensate with a sales-tax scheme that allows him to say he supports eliminating the IRS, but is so wildly implausible that it would be a liability in a general election.

"Then, there's national security, the Republican trump card during the Cold War and after 9/11. Huckabee not only has zero national-security credentials, he basically has no foreign-policy advisers either, as a New York Times Magazine piece this Sunday makes clear. ...

"... None of this is a winning formula. Huckabee has been running his campaign out of his back pocket, and has done it extremely well. There's a reason, though, that serious candidates surround themselves with policy experts. It's necessary to running a campaign based on more than sound bites. Wherever you scratch Huckabee on policy, he seems an inch deep. Do Republicans really want to enter what is already a tough political year with a candidate apparently allergic to preparation, and who has shown no predilection for organizing or fundraising, when he can do cable TV appearances instead?"