Fighting fire with fire. Under attack by Catholics, Kerry gets help from twin brother the Priest. -- If Sen. Zell can have a twin, why not Sen. Kerry.
Until recently the following sort of describes the two campaigns of Bush and Kerry:
President Bush's speeches and their settings are largely emotional celebrations of conservatism. The Kerry campaign is making more of an overt appeal to the middle class.
Why: The passions that define the 2004 elections: The Republican faithful love their candidate; the Democratic faithful have less such enthusiasm for Kerry but know he is their vessel for defeating Bush -- about which they are passionate.
The difference explains why crowds at Bush rallies, though similar in size to those at Kerry events, have been more energetic. The reception for Kerry is warm at Democratic events; the reception for Bush at GOP events is akin to that of a rock star. The different motivation of Kerry and Bush supporters also explains the difference in campaigning styles between the two presidential contenders. Bush's stump speech is packed with appeals to his conservative supporters; his biggest applause lines are typically his call for limits on jury awards and his opposition to gay marriage. Kerry's speech is full of economic facts and figures and paeans to the middle class; he typically gets his best reactions when he mentions job losses and criticizes Bush's honesty.
(Source. 10-12-04 Washington Post.)
But recently we have seen a new side of Kerry. Is it yet a new, emerging and developing Kerry, or is it a justified response to the trash coming from a group of Bishops who have organized and are doing their best to use their influence to oppose Kerry rather than spending their times and using their influence to keep priests guilty of child molestation out of the headlines and out of jail?
Galvanized by battles against same-sex marriage and stem cell research and alarmed at the prospect of a President Kerry -- who is Catholic but supports abortion rights -- these bishops and like-minded Catholic groups are blanketing churches with guides identifying abortion, gay marriage and the stem cell debate as among a handful of "non-negotiable issues."
(see 10-12-04 N.Y. Times.)
This is yet another group of Catholic Bishops in addition to those discussed in my 9-27-04 post entitled "This isn't right; white robe crime without jail time -- First criminal indictment against Catholic priest won't go forward," and my in a 9-17-04 post titled "Say what? Vote pro-choice, you'll go to hell; molest kids, hey, we won't tell -- Catholics told to let abortion guide vote over all other issues," in which I vented about an Archbishop telling Catholics how to vote, instructing them that "[y]ou have an erroneous conscience if you think there is some case in which you can vote for a pro-abortion candidate," and that while they may debate issues such as war or capital punishment, abortion must outweigh every other issue for Catholic voters.
Witness the Rev. Kerry (yes Rev.; Brother Kerry of Father Kerry will work; using priest in the title was enough) as reported in the 10-18-04 Washington Post in an article entitled "Faith Increasingly Part of Kerry's Campaign:"
John F. Kerry is evolving from a reserved Catholic reluctant to discuss faith in the public square into a Democratic preacher of sorts who speaks freely and sometimes forcefully about religion on the hustings.
From the pulpit to the pastures, Kerry is increasingly spreading a more spiritual message and visiting local churches, as he did the past two days in Ohio, to expound on the political lessons of the Bible's James and Saint Paul.
"Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come," Kerry intoned Sunday morning at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church. " 'Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." He told the crowd of 1,500 he wasn't there to preach but went on to, well, preach about the Good Samaritan, the emptiness of a faith devoid of deeds and God's high calling to love one another -- before criticizing from the pulpit President Bush over Social Security and jobs.
A few hours later, Kerry borrowed from the Book of James to condemn the president for failing to help the suffering people of Darfur, Sudan. "Words without deeds are meaningless -- especially when people are dying every day," Kerry said in a statement issued by his campaign.
Tens of millions of Americans were introduced to the candidate's spirituality during the final debate, in which Kerry talked at some length about the Catholicism he says guides his ideology and life.
"My faith affects everything that I do, in truth," Kerry said during the debate last week in Tempe, Ariz. The candidate is planning to further elaborate on faith, family and values in a speech this week, aides said.
It wasn't always this way. For much of the campaign, Kerry resisted pressure from some Democrats, including aides, to discuss his faith more widely and mostly touched on the topic only before African American audiences on Sundays.
In an interview with The Washington Post during the Democratic primaries, Kerry appeared hesitant to discuss religion. He steered the conversation toward his belief that Bush was blurring the lines between church and state in dangerous ways.
In July, Tad Devine, a longtime Kerry friend and strategist, said the candidate clings to a tradition of keeping religion a "private matter."
So what prompted the change? A top aide said Kerry has simply grown more comfortable publicly "opening up" about God and faith, as the campaign has progressed and opportunities have arisen (such as the third and final debate, when several questions about faith were posed). It is part of a broader effort by an introverted Kerry to share more about his life and experiences, the aide said. One of Kerry's new lines is how there are three great teachers in life: parents, schoolteachers and God.
But some friends say that Kerry also has gained a deeper appreciation of how voters in many of the battleground states -- from Hispanic Catholics in New Mexico to evangelical Christians in rural Ohio -- seek candidates of faith, or at least desire reassurance that their president shares most of their values.
[When we see the word "but," we know another view is coming. But to say this about Kerry, that he would say something just to get votes, no way.]
Stanley Greenberg, Kerry's pollster, said a higher percentage of voters has to come to view Kerry as a man of character and truth -- attributes some Democrats say are strengthened by the candidate's public embrace of God and by his display of moral values such as personal opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
To be sure, Bush speaks more frequently and often with more passion about religion, and enjoys a huge advantage among white evangelical Christians. In 2000, Bush won more than two of every three votes from people who said they attended church at least once a week, according to a post-election study by the University of Akron.
Some call this the "God gap": The less frequently people attended church, the more likely they are to vote Democratic. Greenberg said that, if anything, Bush is doing even better with evangelicals this time.
But political scientists say a large number of more casual Christians and Roman Catholics are considered important swing voters. Catholics, in particular, are being targeted by both candidates in the final days of this campaign.
As he expounds on faith and politics, Kerry draws a sharp contrast with Bush on how the Bible instructs government leaders, as well as with many Catholics over fealty to church doctrine.
The religious divide, not unlike the political one, comes down to siding with liberals in the church over the more orthodox conservatives. Kerry, for example, has broken with some Catholic leaders who say it is a sin for a politician to support abortion rights. In the final debate, the Democratic candidate made it clear he opposes abortion as an "article of his faith," but would never appoint a Supreme Court justice who favors overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision establishing a woman's right to an abortion.
Kerry instead seeks to broaden the discussion to the Catholic Church's teachings against war and the death penalty and for helping the poor, hungry and homeless. That is why the candidate frequently quotes from the New Testament's James, who wrote about how faith without works is dead.
_______________
Hey, I might finally be getting to where I like the guy a bit. If I know he is not the type I want to drink a beer with, at least we can discuss the political lessons of the Bible's James and Saint Paul. You think I am being sarcastic. I assure you I am not.
Country lawyers and wannabe politicians like to quote scripture, right?
Kerry, just because you went to Yale and consider yourself to be a blue blood does not mean you cannot get down on our level.
When you do, as long as we think you are serious and not being demeaning or mocking, we love it. We like our President to be one of us.
Maybe your quoting from the scriptures will divert the media's attention from Mary Cheney. If so, and you can regain the momentum, we still have a chance.
So let it be written, and again, here's to praying to God for the benefit of us, our children and grandchildren, lo the whole world, that it will be done. Amen.
President Bush's speeches and their settings are largely emotional celebrations of conservatism. The Kerry campaign is making more of an overt appeal to the middle class.
Why: The passions that define the 2004 elections: The Republican faithful love their candidate; the Democratic faithful have less such enthusiasm for Kerry but know he is their vessel for defeating Bush -- about which they are passionate.
The difference explains why crowds at Bush rallies, though similar in size to those at Kerry events, have been more energetic. The reception for Kerry is warm at Democratic events; the reception for Bush at GOP events is akin to that of a rock star. The different motivation of Kerry and Bush supporters also explains the difference in campaigning styles between the two presidential contenders. Bush's stump speech is packed with appeals to his conservative supporters; his biggest applause lines are typically his call for limits on jury awards and his opposition to gay marriage. Kerry's speech is full of economic facts and figures and paeans to the middle class; he typically gets his best reactions when he mentions job losses and criticizes Bush's honesty.
(Source. 10-12-04 Washington Post.)
But recently we have seen a new side of Kerry. Is it yet a new, emerging and developing Kerry, or is it a justified response to the trash coming from a group of Bishops who have organized and are doing their best to use their influence to oppose Kerry rather than spending their times and using their influence to keep priests guilty of child molestation out of the headlines and out of jail?
Galvanized by battles against same-sex marriage and stem cell research and alarmed at the prospect of a President Kerry -- who is Catholic but supports abortion rights -- these bishops and like-minded Catholic groups are blanketing churches with guides identifying abortion, gay marriage and the stem cell debate as among a handful of "non-negotiable issues."
(see 10-12-04 N.Y. Times.)
This is yet another group of Catholic Bishops in addition to those discussed in my 9-27-04 post entitled "This isn't right; white robe crime without jail time -- First criminal indictment against Catholic priest won't go forward," and my in a 9-17-04 post titled "Say what? Vote pro-choice, you'll go to hell; molest kids, hey, we won't tell -- Catholics told to let abortion guide vote over all other issues," in which I vented about an Archbishop telling Catholics how to vote, instructing them that "[y]ou have an erroneous conscience if you think there is some case in which you can vote for a pro-abortion candidate," and that while they may debate issues such as war or capital punishment, abortion must outweigh every other issue for Catholic voters.
Witness the Rev. Kerry (yes Rev.; Brother Kerry of Father Kerry will work; using priest in the title was enough) as reported in the 10-18-04 Washington Post in an article entitled "Faith Increasingly Part of Kerry's Campaign:"
John F. Kerry is evolving from a reserved Catholic reluctant to discuss faith in the public square into a Democratic preacher of sorts who speaks freely and sometimes forcefully about religion on the hustings.
From the pulpit to the pastures, Kerry is increasingly spreading a more spiritual message and visiting local churches, as he did the past two days in Ohio, to expound on the political lessons of the Bible's James and Saint Paul.
"Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come," Kerry intoned Sunday morning at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church. " 'Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." He told the crowd of 1,500 he wasn't there to preach but went on to, well, preach about the Good Samaritan, the emptiness of a faith devoid of deeds and God's high calling to love one another -- before criticizing from the pulpit President Bush over Social Security and jobs.
A few hours later, Kerry borrowed from the Book of James to condemn the president for failing to help the suffering people of Darfur, Sudan. "Words without deeds are meaningless -- especially when people are dying every day," Kerry said in a statement issued by his campaign.
Tens of millions of Americans were introduced to the candidate's spirituality during the final debate, in which Kerry talked at some length about the Catholicism he says guides his ideology and life.
"My faith affects everything that I do, in truth," Kerry said during the debate last week in Tempe, Ariz. The candidate is planning to further elaborate on faith, family and values in a speech this week, aides said.
It wasn't always this way. For much of the campaign, Kerry resisted pressure from some Democrats, including aides, to discuss his faith more widely and mostly touched on the topic only before African American audiences on Sundays.
In an interview with The Washington Post during the Democratic primaries, Kerry appeared hesitant to discuss religion. He steered the conversation toward his belief that Bush was blurring the lines between church and state in dangerous ways.
In July, Tad Devine, a longtime Kerry friend and strategist, said the candidate clings to a tradition of keeping religion a "private matter."
So what prompted the change? A top aide said Kerry has simply grown more comfortable publicly "opening up" about God and faith, as the campaign has progressed and opportunities have arisen (such as the third and final debate, when several questions about faith were posed). It is part of a broader effort by an introverted Kerry to share more about his life and experiences, the aide said. One of Kerry's new lines is how there are three great teachers in life: parents, schoolteachers and God.
But some friends say that Kerry also has gained a deeper appreciation of how voters in many of the battleground states -- from Hispanic Catholics in New Mexico to evangelical Christians in rural Ohio -- seek candidates of faith, or at least desire reassurance that their president shares most of their values.
[When we see the word "but," we know another view is coming. But to say this about Kerry, that he would say something just to get votes, no way.]
Stanley Greenberg, Kerry's pollster, said a higher percentage of voters has to come to view Kerry as a man of character and truth -- attributes some Democrats say are strengthened by the candidate's public embrace of God and by his display of moral values such as personal opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
To be sure, Bush speaks more frequently and often with more passion about religion, and enjoys a huge advantage among white evangelical Christians. In 2000, Bush won more than two of every three votes from people who said they attended church at least once a week, according to a post-election study by the University of Akron.
Some call this the "God gap": The less frequently people attended church, the more likely they are to vote Democratic. Greenberg said that, if anything, Bush is doing even better with evangelicals this time.
But political scientists say a large number of more casual Christians and Roman Catholics are considered important swing voters. Catholics, in particular, are being targeted by both candidates in the final days of this campaign.
As he expounds on faith and politics, Kerry draws a sharp contrast with Bush on how the Bible instructs government leaders, as well as with many Catholics over fealty to church doctrine.
The religious divide, not unlike the political one, comes down to siding with liberals in the church over the more orthodox conservatives. Kerry, for example, has broken with some Catholic leaders who say it is a sin for a politician to support abortion rights. In the final debate, the Democratic candidate made it clear he opposes abortion as an "article of his faith," but would never appoint a Supreme Court justice who favors overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision establishing a woman's right to an abortion.
Kerry instead seeks to broaden the discussion to the Catholic Church's teachings against war and the death penalty and for helping the poor, hungry and homeless. That is why the candidate frequently quotes from the New Testament's James, who wrote about how faith without works is dead.
_______________
Hey, I might finally be getting to where I like the guy a bit. If I know he is not the type I want to drink a beer with, at least we can discuss the political lessons of the Bible's James and Saint Paul. You think I am being sarcastic. I assure you I am not.
Country lawyers and wannabe politicians like to quote scripture, right?
Kerry, just because you went to Yale and consider yourself to be a blue blood does not mean you cannot get down on our level.
When you do, as long as we think you are serious and not being demeaning or mocking, we love it. We like our President to be one of us.
Maybe your quoting from the scriptures will divert the media's attention from Mary Cheney. If so, and you can regain the momentum, we still have a chance.
So let it be written, and again, here's to praying to God for the benefit of us, our children and grandchildren, lo the whole world, that it will be done. Amen.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 6:05 AM
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