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Thread: Should Democrats Rethink Their Approach to Religious Voters

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    Should Democrats Rethink Their Approach to Religious Voters

    Here's a follow-up discussion to the Evangelicals thread. Link


    ...Democratic candidates would pick up votes and enthusiasm from faith voters just by explicitly connecting their policy priorities with the priorities, values, and interests of religious communities, but they should also be responsive to areas of concern and disagreement. The party’s ever-leftward, ever-symbolic, and ever-antagonistic policy approach on social issues must be tempered to win the votes of disaffected religious voters in the Trump era.

    This does not mean the party must become pro-life, or that the party must move an inch on supporting LGBT rights. Critics of Democratic faith outreach, on both the right and the left, who suggest this is the only alternative to ignoring faith voters have their own interests and are comfortable with the status quo that leads to purity for Democrats and victory for Republicans.

    On abortion, one path forward is for the party to reverse its change to the platform on the Hyde Amendment, and return to focusing its argument on the idea that abortion should be legal, rather than a social good that should be encouraged. Instead of viewing Republican extremism as an excuse to move to the left on abortion in 2016, Democrats could have appealed to the broad middle by claiming the historic reduction of the abortion rate under President Obama as a Democratic success story. Unfortunately, the most political, vehement pro-choice advocates do not want Democrats to applaud the reduction in the abortion rate, because they are afraid the American people will then value lowering the abortion rate as an end in and of itself. Well, again, sometimes the interests of advocacy groups will not align with the interest of the Democratic Party or our national politics. How can we let parochial political calculations prevent us from pointing to the data, and saying out loud that a lower abortion rate is a positive development any moral society should embrace?

    On religious freedom, Democrats should draw clear lines where they can to stem the fear-mongering that flourished in 2016 because of their silence. Democrats should rule out taking away church’s tax-exempt status. Democrats should make clear that religious institutions should be allowed to organize around their faith without government interference. They should be clear that just as George W. Bush never threatened the religious freedom of churches who supported same-sex marriage in 2004 while he was campaigning for a federal marriage amendment, Democrats do not believe the government’s role is to coerce ecclesial transformation on questions of LGBT inclusion. This is what the separation of Church and State demands. Wherever individual Democratic politicians stand on religious freedom in the context of LGBT rights, the essential and responsible action is for all Democrats to explicitly, clearly draw the line somewhere....

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    First, "religious" voters should rethink what it means to be religious.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Runnin View Post
    First, "religious" voters should rethink what it means to be religious.
    Um no.

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    Won't happen Bedell. They've moved on from having positions that are contrary to ours. Now they find us contemptible.
    Go get him!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Runnin View Post
    First, "religious" voters should rethink what it means to be religious.

    Or (or maybe in addition) those who think they are irreligious or areligious should rethink that silly notion.
    Last edited by BedellBrave; 11-24-2017 at 11:01 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jaw View Post
    Won't happen Bedell. They've moved on from having positions that are contrary to ours. Now they find us contemptible.

    Even some here.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BedellBrave View Post
    Even some here.
    And those same people somehow come to the defense of Islam as fast as possible.

    It makes no sense.
    Natural Immunity Croc

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    Here's an excellent example of how some liberals refuse to give an inch of toleration towards religious conservatives (say like Roman Catholic owners of businesses) and an perfect example of what the author of the article above says that the Dems shouldn't do. Link

    "The battle over birth control and the Affordable Care Act wages on. A handful of liberal state attorneys general have sued the federal government over its new contraception-coverage rules, which exempt employers with religious or moral objections from including birth control in their employee health-insurance plans.

    For years, religious businesses and nonprofits pounded the government with lawsuits over Obamacare’s birth-control-coverage requirement, until a Supreme Court decision, and, later, the Trump administration, essentially resolved their objections. Now, it’s liberal lawyers who are stoking the culture war. The same players have switched sides and are headed back to the courts, which seem doomed to keep adjudicating disagreements between ever-revolving political majorities..."

    And people wonder why Trump has supporters. Smh.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thethe View Post
    And those same people somehow come to the defense of Islam as fast as possible.

    It makes no sense.
    Not me.
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    biggest bs voting block in america

    i wouldn't want to pander to em since they have shown their true colors recently
    "For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it." Amanda Gorman

    "When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross"

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    Quote Originally Posted by goldfly View Post
    biggest bs voting block in america

    i wouldn't want to pander to em since they have shown their true colors recently
    You do know that about 90% of blacks are religious.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AerchAngel View Post
    You do know that about 90% of blacks are religious.
    He meant white religious voters...
    Natural Immunity Croc

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    Quote Originally Posted by thethe View Post
    He meant white religious voters...
    Then he is a racist.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AerchAngel View Post
    Then he is a racist.
    We knew this....Those who scream the loudest about something, male feminists for example, are quite often the ones who hold the most resemblance to what they are screaming about.
    Natural Immunity Croc

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    Quote Originally Posted by AerchAngel View Post
    You do know that about 90% of blacks are religious.
    Quote Originally Posted by thethe View Post
    He meant white religious voters...
    Quote Originally Posted by AerchAngel View Post
    Then he is a racist.
    Quote Originally Posted by thethe View Post
    We knew this....Those who scream the loudest about something, male feminists for example, are quite often the ones who hold the most resemblance to what they are screaming about.
    "For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it." Amanda Gorman

    "When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross"

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    Quote Originally Posted by AerchAngel View Post
    You do know that about 90% of blacks are religious.
    In goldy's defense, most blacks don't seem to take that into account when they vote.
    Go get him!

    Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club

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    Quote Originally Posted by BedellBrave View Post
    Here's an excellent example of how some liberals refuse to give an inch of toleration towards religious conservatives (say like Roman Catholic owners of businesses) and an perfect example of what the author of the article above says that the Dems shouldn't do. Link

    "The battle over birth control and the Affordable Care Act wages on. A handful of liberal state attorneys general have sued the federal government over its new contraception-coverage rules, which exempt employers with religious or moral objections from including birth control in their employee health-insurance plans.

    For years, religious businesses and nonprofits pounded the government with lawsuits over Obamacare’s birth-control-coverage requirement, until a Supreme Court decision, and, later, the Trump administration, essentially resolved their objections. Now, it’s liberal lawyers who are stoking the culture war. The same players have switched sides and are headed back to the courts, which seem doomed to keep adjudicating disagreements between ever-revolving political majorities..."

    And people wonder why Trump has supporters. Smh.
    Could we not simply create a federal subsidy which provides birth-control-coverage to those women whose employers have religious / moral objections to including such coverage in company health-care plans?
    "For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."

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    jp - I thought this thread might interest you because the author was making the very sort of points I think you made earlier. Sadly, your approach isn't the approach of so many on the Left (as evidenced on this thread already). For too many it's a zero sum game.

    Yes, a federal subsidy seems like a reasonable accommodation. But that very concept is sadly foreign to many on both ends of the spectrum. There's just us vs. them and the them must lose. Bigly.
    Last edited by BedellBrave; 11-25-2017 at 02:51 PM.

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    What's everyone's favorite Christian attributes in Trump?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jaw View Post
    In goldy's defense, most blacks don't seem to take that into account when they vote.
    Because we are still the Democrats slaves.

    Welfare carrot is a very strong drug.

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