"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" -Oscar Wilde |
"The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself." -- Proverbs 11:25 |
Democratic Party boss Howard Dean, under fire for blunt comments about Republicans, refused to back down on Wednesday and said Republican critics were trying to divert attention from their own failures.
Republicans attacked Dean for saying in San Francisco on Monday, when asked about the lack of outreach to minorities by political parties, that Republicans are "pretty much a white, Christian party."
Republicans accused Dean of trying to divide Americans by religion and faith. Rep. Eric Cantor (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia called the comments "Howard Dean's games of division and hate." House Speaker Dennis Hastert's spokesman, Ron Bonjean, said "Dean likes the taste of his own foot."
Even Democrats grumbled about Dean's judgment and choice of words.
But Dean, known for fiery rhetoric during his unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign, stuck by his comments during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show.
"It's pretty hard to deny that predominantly that's what the Republican Party looks like. It is a party controlled by the conservative Christian agenda," the former Vermont governor said, adding "I'm a white Christian myself."
He said Republicans were trying to make him the issue so they could dodge a discussion about the Iraq war, proposed changes to Social Security and other controversies.
"We believe that this is a diversion from the issues that really matter: Social Security and adequate jobs opportunities, strong public schools, strong defense where our troops aren't pinned down when we should be doing something about Iran and North Korea, because those are real threats to America," Dean said.
By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians.
[snip]
I do not fault religious people for political action. Since Moses confronted the pharaoh, faithful people have heard God's call to political involvement. Nor has political action been unique to conservative Christians. Religious liberals have been politically active in support of gay rights and against nuclear weapons and the death penalty. In America, everyone has the right to try to influence political issues, regardless of his religious motivations.
The problem is not with people or churches that are politically active. It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement.
When government becomes the means of carrying out a religious program, it raises obvious questions under the First Amendment. But even in the absence of constitutional issues, a political party should resist identification with a religious movement. While religions are free to advocate for their own sectarian causes, the work of government and those who engage in it is to hold together as one people a very diverse country. At its best, religion can be a uniting influence, but in practice, nothing is more divisive. For politicians to advance the cause of one religious group is often to oppose the cause of another.