Democrats, taking a crash course in religious language to help win some “values voters” from Republicans by next election, are agitated about a telecast today.
The event will feature not only some prominent religious conservatives, but also Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The announced purpose of “Justice Sunday” is to pressure senators to end the requirement of a “supermajority” of 60 votes for breaking a filibuster against President Bush’s judicial nominees. The telecast sponsors, a coalition of Christian conservative groups, want a simple majority, to improve confirmation chances for most of the Bush nominees.
Democrats claim the telecast, which will be distributed to churches, Christian TV and radio stations and the Internet, will suggest their party’s members oppose “people of faith.” They charge Republicans exploit religion for partisan ends.
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The New York Times and The Washington Post lead editorials last Saturday and Sunday, respectively, criticized the gathering.
The Times editorial titled “Bill Frist’s religious war” claimed the telecast-sponsoring group is guilty of “intolerance.” It called “unqualified” those judges Democrats may want to filibuster.
Apparently the American Bar Association endorsement of these judges is no longer enough for the Times, which once held ABA approval the gold standard for qualifying for the federal bench.
The Times, which needs to take some medication and lie down for a while, also charged Mr. Frist was trying to confirm judges who would “accept a theocratic test on decisions.”
Sen. Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, must not have paid attention to “progressive Christian” Rev. Jim Wallis, who has been trying to teach Democrats the language of faith. Mr. Durbin said, “I cannot imagine that God — with everything he has or she has to worry about — is going to take the time to debate the filibuster in heaven.” Gender confusion about God won’t play well in red states, senator, where the deity is regarded as “Father.”
This isn’t really about religion. It’s about results. Liberals have been happy to align themselves with clergy and congregants preaching a social gospel following the Democratic Party line.
From abortion, to homosexual rights, ordination of homosexual priests, same-sex “marriage,” disarmament, peace movements, environmentalism, government programs and a host of other issues, any clergy or lay person who signed off on the agenda and objectives of liberals was more than welcome at the political table and was never considered a threaten to the Constitution or an attempt at imposed theocracy.
But let conservatives organize to express themselves and suddenly we are told they are a danger to our way of life and religious storm troopers can soon be expected to take us away in the middle of the night to dungeons for brainwashing into the religious and political doctrines of uneducated fanatics.
For better, and sometimes for worse, “people of faith” have spoken to moral and political issues since before the nation’s founding. Why is the republic at risk only when conservative religious people speak and act? Why are only conservatives seeking a “theocracy,” while liberals never have such motives?
The answer is liberals fear their earthly power is slipping away. They are less able to impose a secular leftist worldview on the country. They know the courts have been the only avenue for forcing their views on the majority who do not share them.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist.
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