Hoist on their own petard, Dems play dirty

Full disclosure: I'm not religious except that I believe in the positive moral guidance to children and help to the needy some churches provide. I don't agree with them on any presumption of being the judge of my soul or knowing the true nature of any higher power. I strongly believe in the separation of church and state (with state firmly on top). But I also believe that ALL individuals have the right to their opinions and the right to express them as long as doing so is within the law and fair. If I attend a church service I also would expect to be clearly reminded that I am listening to personal views with regard to specific candidates or parties, and church doctrinal views with regard to principles and standards for 'being a member in good standing of the church'.

I don't know how many times I've seen Democratic party candidates endorsed from the pulpit, how many times I've heard about 'vote buying' via Democratic-leaning churches; that the Dem party uses the left-leaning religious organizations to campaign for them is not news. Yet the first time a church even endorses conservative values, with no specific mention of a candidate, the liberals/Dems attack and threaten - clearly not fair. This is classic desperation tactics on the part of the Dems - they know that if the Republicans use the same tactics on them they'll never win another election on liberal platforms. This article outlines the latest liberal attacks:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040809-123149-7630r.htm

Also, I've seen Dems utilize supposedly non-partisan colleges and universities (also tax exempt) for political speeches, as have Republicans. What's the difference, tax-wise, between churches and schools? Who ever said that priests/pastors/teachers/students cannot speak their minds with regard to values to be supported in their elected leaders? As long as no names are mentioned by priests/teachers while in their positions of authority, I see no issue with the law the prohibits tax-exempt organizations from supporting candidates by name - the Dems have been doing it for years, and mentioning candidates by name all along.

Ditto for schools, except that there can be no resistance/impediments to representing conservative and moderate viewpoints (as there currently are in many academic institutions today) in addition to liberal viewpoints. Church attendance is free and voluntary, and congregants have the choice of changing to a church that more accurately reflects their own personal viewpoints if they disagree with their pastor's leanings. I personally don't and won't attend any church, or pay much attention to the political exhortations of religious leaders.

But honestly I don't see the blatant Kerry/Edwards pandering towards religious types as any threat to George Bush. Monsieur Kerry and his Ken doll's attempts are pretty amusing and entertaining, but won't be affective - Kerry/Edwards have the new Dem party moral equivalence that prevents them from understanding folks guided by faith and principle. They both have such a glaring misunderstanding that their overtures look clumsy, condescending, patronizing, and even hilariously insincere.

The Democratic party is out of touch with most folks in this country, and that's bad, but it's scary that Dems refuse to understand religious and conservative types, and that at least 50% of this country is against large parts of the current Democratic platform, especially the social issues, in a very firm way. Many in the liberal community actually make connections between conservative Christians and Islamic fascism - these kinds of people are being produced in mass quantities in today's colleges and universities. Today's schools teach that pride in your country, in its leaders and past accomplishments, in traditional values like honor, freedom, and yes, economic/materiel success are suspect and conceal oppressive motives. The wonderful effect of Karl Marx, Mao, and Lenin on education in this country and the world - con men taking in the dreamers and losers of academia who then feel validated in their mediocrity and pass along that formula to our children.

Not mine - my kids hear all sides and learn what honor and integrity are: everything.

Adios MF,

Doug