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Dems should hand out/mail out free Bibles in West Virginia!

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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:09 AM
Original message
Dems should hand out/mail out free Bibles in West Virginia!
I think that Kerry/Edwards are doing great considering they're poised to win without even the remotest fair hearing in the press. I'd like to see them do things that the press can not screw up or spin. Now that the RNC admitted that they sent out the 'liberals will ban the Bible' mailing in West Virginia (see link) http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-campaign-mail,0,2073424.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

why don't the Democrats get a huge-ass semi, fill it with King James edition Bibles and tour the state handing them out for free with a little note saying: The Republicans lied, we love the Bible!

Pure theater! The press can't screw this up, it's just an event. It would help in West Virginia and also put the heat on the Republicans nationally for lying. And who knows, maybe people will take a second look at the New Testament and realize Jesus would oppose the death penalty and preemptive wars.
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cheshire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:13 AM
Response to Original message
1. I love that, Just drive around with a speaker on the truck. LOL
I'm afraid the media would spin that into something bad too. God I hate the media.
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 09:24 PM
Response to Reply #1
67. All we can do is what's right and the
hell with the media..no matter what Kerry does..it's all about getting bush elected this time so they can have their de-regulation and super tax cuts. They care nothing that our Country is being sold down the river.

We will win this without the media!

I say pass out the Bibles in West Virginia and anywhere else the dirty gop is lyin' about them!!
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wtmusic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:13 AM
Response to Original message
2. Good thinking
:thumbsup:
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CarolynEC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:15 AM
Response to Original message
3. Ugh. One party of god fetishists is enough, thanks. (eom)
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bryant69 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:23 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. This is why not right here
While I get offended every time I hear Conservatives describe themselves as good christians and us as the party of evil athiests, there are others who have exactly the opposite reaction.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com
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drdigi420 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 06:00 PM
Response to Reply #5
76. "party of atheists"
you say that like it's a bad thing

I personally do not feel that it is a bad thing to be more enlightened than the myth believers

But I am all for exploiting christian gullibility, the repugs have been doing it for years
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Cheswick2.0 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:27 AM
Response to Reply #3
7. The majority of Democrats are Christians too
Does that make the party God Fetishists? You might want to find out what you are talking about before you make statements like that.

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CarolynEC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #7
9. The majority of Democrats are not shoving their religion down my throat...
... so far. The party itself has not defined itself based on the religious belief of members... so far.

I did enjoy the "find out what you are talking about" bit in your post, though. That always lets me know what sort I'm dealing with.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:00 PM
Response to Reply #9
15. I agree
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 01:09 PM by autorank
I'd like to see us kick some Repug behind in creative ways that shoves it back in their face. I'm a secular humanist/humorist: raised by German Jews until 5; mother Quaker and father Catholic; bio dad Greek Orthodox and bio mom Mennonite. The sum of that is "I'm OK, You're OK" in the religion department. No push to make the Dems xtian, just tactical suggestions to spank these bad boys (in the metaphorical sense).
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Cheswick2.0 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:33 PM
Response to Reply #9
43. What does handing out bibles to people have to do with shoving
anything down your throat? The OP was talking about counteracting the lie that democrats are anti bible. It would be little bit of political theater. You may be against the bible but most voters are not including most democrats.

As far as defining themselves by religions...the republicans don't do that either, just a very loud minority of republicans do.
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #43
56. we already have ONE
self-declared "christian" party. We don't need another one.

Why would you want to alienate Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus and Atheists so you can score some points with people who probably wouldn't vote Dem in the first place?

Do you REALLY think it's a good idea for a political party to blatantly identify itself with one religion and one religion only?
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arwalden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 06:52 PM
Response to Reply #43
60. I Certainly Don't Want The Democrats Defined By A Loud Minority
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 07:21 PM by arwalden
of religious screwball fundamentalists either. Even if it's just to "balance" the "loud minority" in the Republican party, why would we want to welcome that type of vile, bigoted and repressive zealot-Christian behavior within our own party?

We don't have to BECOME the Republicans to beat them.

Good grief!

-- Allen
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:05 PM
Response to Reply #7
17. No. What makes a party "God Fetishists" is an utter inability to
leave that sort of thing up to personal choice, and instead try to ram it down other people's throats. Or to use it as a cheap political prop.

How about handing out copies of the first amendment, instead? Seems like some people could use a refresher on that thing.

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KittyWampus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:14 PM
Response to Reply #17
20. Who Says Handing Out Bibles Is Ramming ANYTHING Down Anyone's Throat
it's not like "take this Bible or we'll shoot you".

Also, why is this a "cheap political stunt".

If the people who hand them out are sincere and really interested in reaching out to other Christians then it most certainly is NOT cheap or even a stunt.

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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #20
24. I'm saying that using religion as a prop in elections is cheap.

It's something the other side does, and it's nauseating. "God is on our side"... Yeah. And of course if you're a Christian you don't find anything insulting or offensive about it, because "naturally" everyone agrees that the Christian Bible="religion"... Well, how about if they were handing out copies of the Koran? The Baghavad Gita? Fritjof Capra's "The Tao Of Physics"? (that would be my vote)... Hmmm? Might feel a little different if you weren't part of the "in group" being pandered to, wouldn't it?

You want to hand out bibles, fine. Hand out copies of Moby Dick while you're at it. But it doesn't have anything to do with the election or the parties or the candidates. Also, one would presume that the "chrisitans" in need of reaching out to would already have their own bibles. Not being a Christian, I don't know how many bibles one actually needs-- but, frankly, I think a better way to reach out to Christians is to explain what a disaster this president has been for working families--- I'd wager most "Christians" in WV could use a reasonable plan for health insurance more than they could use a fourth or fifth copy of the King James.
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demwing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:04 PM
Response to Reply #24
41. You're Ignoring the point
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 04:04 PM by demwing2
that Dems are being accused of being anti-Christian.

Handing out Bibles to willing recipients helps to counter the charge.

Perhaps you believe that we should just let the Repukes accuse us of being opposed to the majority religion in this country, without fighting back at all?

If we were accused of ignoring the plight of the hungry, and we came back by passing out free food, would you care?

To some people out there, spirituality is almost as important as putting food on the table.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:58 PM
Response to Reply #41
47. Here's an idea:

Rather than playing their game, i.e. using empty rhetoric and props, why don't we point out that "Christian Spirituality" and "putting food on the table" aren't mutually exclusive? Why don't we point out that there's nothing 'Christian' about bombing civilians, enriching billionaires at the expense of poor kids' school lunches, or screwing millions of Americans out of Health Coverage?

Didn't Jesus have something to say about rich men, camels and the eye of a needle?

Anybody who truly believes the party of Jimmy Carter and MLK is "anti-Christian" is beyond hope, frankly. People who sincerely believe that "Christianity" is all about bombing gay bars and abortion clinics, and wagging fingers at folks over their sex lives-- are not going to vote for John Kerry anyway.

All I'm saying is, there has to be a more substantial way to reach people in WV than just handing out bibles.
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demwing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 07:28 PM
Response to Reply #47
61. I agree , but am looking for a symbolic gesture
that would appease both sides.


Something simple, and involving short words and short sentences.
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 09:21 PM
Response to Reply #61
65. How about
a simple statement that the First Amendment is supreme? That the Democratic Party will do all it can to uphold its principles?

Why align with one particular denomination? What good can come of it?
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demwing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 09:56 PM
Response to Reply #65
70. WE Believe the First Amendment is Supreme
but MANY believe the 1ST Commandment is supreme.

UNDERSTAND this - like it or not, religion is one of the primary methods by which a great number of Americans, perhaps a majority, define themselves.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 09:32 PM
Response to Reply #61
68. Well, I do see the value in courting this demographic, don't get me wrong:
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 09:33 PM by impeachdubya
So the way I see it, and I'm not a Christian, the trick is to make it clear to these voters that the Kerry Edwards team understands Christian values and voters. I have to believe it can be done in a way that doesn't sell out basic party principles, including pluralism; and I just don't happen to think handing out KJ Bibles is a terribly pluralistic gesture.

Martin Luther King managed to be a deeply spiritual man without coming off sectarian or divisive. Maybe the thing to do is print up pamphlets or voter guides comparing Bush's rhetoric with his actions; particularly the "un-Christian" effects of his policies; harming the poor and downtrodden while helping those who need it the least. Compare that with, say, John Edwards, who has spent his adult life "walking the walk" in terms of helping the little guy against big corporations.. or Kerry, who has consistently stood up for the weak and the disenfranchised. The problem is, the religious right has done such a good job of framing religious "values" issues to their liking, that many people have forgotten that standing up for the poor and the sick and the discriminated against is the Christian thing to do.

But I'm with you. I would love to see a way to reach these voters, particularly because their meat and potatoes kitchen table interests are not served by the corporate fat-cat friendly GOP.. This was one reason why I thought Edwards was such a good choice for veep, because he is excellent, IMHO, at reframing these economic values issues clearly and succinctly.

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demwing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 10:18 PM
Response to Reply #68
71. Here's an idea -
Book marks with the Bill of Rights on one side, and inspirational text on the other. About 75% Christian, 20% secular, 2% Judaic, and about 1% each of Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu.

Does that cover enough bases? :)
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drdigi420 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 06:05 PM
Response to Reply #71
78. no, it insults those of us that know that crap is bullshit
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 12:16 PM
Response to Reply #68
72. we can best court this demographic
by making the argument that ALL religion is safer when the government stays uninvolved.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 04:01 PM
Response to Reply #72
73. You'll get no argument from me there...

Every time Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson opens their big mouths, I fire off another check to Americans United for Separation of Church & State.

However, if there's a way to reframe values issues-- like, what is "Christian" about 45 Million Americans having to worry that they'll be out on the street and destitute if a child gets seriously ill?-- in such a way that is not blatant pandering or sectarian, hey, why not. I'm not sure it can be done, and as far as the people who honestly believe that "John Kerry is the candidate of Satan", the best I think we can hope for is that they're too dumb to find their way to the polls on Nov. 2.

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drdigi420 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #24
77. the bible does not equal moby dick
moby dick has a plausible storyline
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:24 PM
Response to Reply #17
23. Great idea:
How about the Bible, the US Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence (Times, proportional spacing). Oh, yeah, and a copy of Sen. Byrd's book just to remind them who delivers the goods.
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Cheswick2.0 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:35 PM
Response to Reply #17
44. because handing out the first ammendment is not addressing the
problem. Unfortunatly people feel the democratic party is hostile to religion and it is a problem whether you would like it to be true or not.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:08 PM
Response to Reply #44
48. I don't think the Democratic Party is hostile to religion at ALL--
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 05:10 PM by impeachdubya
Ensuring that we live in a country where religious freedom, including the freedom to not believe, is respected and put upon the highest tier of our collective social values is completely in line with healthy religious life in a free society. What the Democratic Party I believe in is hostile to is the idea that one particular strain of religion, whether it happens to be in the majority or not, can take over the secular workings of our collective government and mandate that Government don the trappings of one particular faith. Hell, yes, I'm hostile to that just like I'm hostile to all who believe in theocracy.

Furthermore, many people feel the democratic party is "hostile to religion" because we (mostly) support a woman's right to choose- we (mostly) believe that gays should enjoy equal rights and non-discrimination, and we (mostly) don't believe that narrow bands of uptight censors should be telling the rest of us what we can read and watch. Those people, I've said before, aren't going to be swayed by someone tossing bibles out of the back of a U-haul. They want us to change the basic agenda, beliefs, and platform of the party, and as far as I'm concerned, those things are non-negotiable. I think you insult the intelligence of hard-core Christian conservatives if you think a free bible will cause them to forget that Kerry is pro-choice, for example.

Far better, in my mind (better than stirring up sh*t between the secularists and the knee-jerk religion defenders at DU, too) is to reframe religious and ethical debates, so that "Christians" who disagree with Kerry on Choice can also, (like the pope) realize that he's much more likely to be the candidate to bring a reasonable end to the bloody disaster in Iraq... So that people who may not like the gays in san francisco nevertheless realize that there's nothing "Christian" about giving tax cuts to billionaires while millions of kids-- whose parents had jobs outsourced to India-- go to bed hungry at night.

Does any of that sound reasonable to you? Or do you just want to play "Christians vs. Heathens poo-flinging hour" all day?
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:48 PM
Response to Reply #7
37. If so
then the majority of Democrats already own bibles. There's no reason for a political party to be giving them out.

I've put up with a lot from my party, but this would guarantee I'd never vote for a Dem again.
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Cheswick2.0 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:40 PM
Response to Reply #37
45. come off it Dookus
Most democrats in this country are christians just like most republicans are. If passing out bible to people in WV and Arkansas to make a point is going to scare you away from the party then you are the one with the problem.
I have and will continue to fight for your rights on every front but you hostility towards my religion sometimes makes it difficult to remember why.
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:17 PM
Response to Reply #45
52. bullshit
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 05:17 PM by Dookus
what you call "hostility to your religion" is just the common-sense good old liberal value of separating church and state.

The majority of Jews, Muslims and Atheists in this country are Democrats. Why alienate them?

Which bible are you gonna hand out? The Catholic one? The Protestant one? The Torah?

If you honestly think a political party handing out bibles, in a blatant endorsement of one religion over others, is a good idea, then you deserve to lose in your fight.

If you think the biggest problem in this country is we don't have ENOUGH christianity forced down our throats, then you deserve to lose your fight.

This is the stupidest fucking idea I've seen advocated here in ages.
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politicat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #45
55. Check your numbers....
And check which FLAVOR of Judeo-Christianity you're talking....

16% of the nation is "Not religious." (one in 6) More than half of all Jews question or don't believe in a god. About 9% of the country is not a Christian religion.

Among Christians, few if any of the sects agree with each other on even big points like the trinity and the perserverance of salvation.

The times they are a'changin'.

While the umbrella term Christian falls over 75% of the population, you'll find that a lot of the non-christians gravitate to the Dems because we feel we're beeing better represented.

And since when did this nation become a direct Democracy? We don't the tyranny of the majority here. We're a republic for a reason, so that the majority can't decide to gas the Atheists or string up the blacks. Protecting the minority's right to exist and not be harassed is as important as protecting the rights of the majority to vote.

Pcat
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spooky3 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:09 PM
Response to Reply #7
49. and a number of us who have donated $ to the Dems do NOT want our
donations used for theater or for actions that could appear to many to be trying to "out Christian" the Republicans.
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jsw_81 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:36 PM
Response to Reply #3
35. Agreed
Responsible political parties should not be distributing religious materials. I'll leave that to the Talibornagains in the GOP.
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KurtNYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:23 AM
Response to Original message
4. Clinton kept one handy
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Dob Bole Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
6. lol
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donsu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:33 AM
Response to Original message
8. no no no - keep religion out of politics
nt
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forgethell Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:42 AM
Response to Original message
10. I must have missed it.
Where did Jesus oppose the death penalty?
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:07 PM
Response to Reply #10
18. Good question. Answer below:
From "The Beatitudes": Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

From Stephen Mitchell(1993): "Shalom, the word for "peace" in Hebrew, comes from the root that means wholeness. When we make peace in our own heart, we make peace for the whole world." This is absolutely unambiguous for any one, unlike our pResident, who actually reads the NT.

Bush was asked this question and said he didn't want to "put words in the Saviors mouth." Now he's the 'moron' who should 'get a brain.'
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forgethell Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:21 PM
Response to Reply #18
34. Sorry, I don't see the connection
between blessing the peace-makers and either support or opposition to capital punishment.
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markus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 11:43 AM
Response to Original message
11. Are the Gideons right wing kooks
or would they supply those lovely little leatherette New Testemants to anybody who was willing to distribute them?

Just a thought...
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Dob Bole Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #11
13. nope.
But I think they do the distributing themselves for the most part. Maybe the Dems could buy some from them, though...
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drdigi420 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 06:05 PM
Response to Reply #11
79. no, just kooks
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zbdent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 12:26 PM
Response to Original message
12. I can see the headline of the news coverage:
"Democrats steal from motel rooms to try to buy votes for Kerry".

Wouldn't surprise me.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 12:32 PM
Response to Reply #12
14. Amended headline
"Democrats Steal Bibles from motel rooms after illicit affairs...cynical effort to hijack religious vote." What the heck, our folks should pull out all the stops...headlines be damned (or at least sent to purgatory).
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:02 PM
Response to Original message
16. How about "Republicans will ban all the OTHER Books" n/t
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deckerd Donating Member (319 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:32 PM
Response to Reply #16
25. Lame... you gotta be willing to take risks. Like the bibles idea n/t
You ask me, that is my answer.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #25
27. Right. We always do SO WELL when we imitate republicans.
:eyes:

Frankly, I think more Americans are anti-censorship and anti-religious fundamentalism, even in places like West Virginia, than is widely believed. I think the GOP loses when we point out that they are the party of uptight, repressed church ladies like John Ashcroft.

But, whatever. Hand out the bibles, with their inferred insipid subtext of "See, Democrats don't really hate the lord!"

Hopefully they'd be printed on recycled paper, so no trees had to be cut down for them to end up in somebody's utility drawer.
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napi21 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:08 PM
Response to Original message
19. I'm not sure this is a great idea. There are so many versions of
the bible. You don't want to upset people with the wrong one. Perhaps a better idea would be to mail a certificate for the Bible of your choice? That way, if someone wasn't interested, you'd just toss the cert., but it would still confirm that the Dems weren't trying to burn anyone's bible.
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LuminousX Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:18 PM
Response to Reply #19
22. In West Virginia, I'm certain you can hand out the standard Hotel Bible
and be perfectly safe.

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LuminousX Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:17 PM
Response to Original message
21. BRILLIANT!
I love it.
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deckerd Donating Member (319 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:38 PM
Response to Original message
26. Perfect idea... too bad "secular fundamentalists" would never go for it
Like their fundie brethren, rock-ribbed atheists are too literal-minded in their postmodern view of the Bible and other religious works. They cherish their personal worldview and feel no need to have insight into others' since a postmodern thinker believes the world revolves around their personal belief system. Most of them don't think this ban-the-Bible business will hurt the Dems because they cannot imagine, or recoil at the thought process involved with believing undecideds. Some WANT devout Xtians in WV to leave the party. It's called cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I say go for it. This would totally turn the Pubs against themselves.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:49 PM
Response to Reply #26
28. It's hard to figure out what your point is,
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 01:51 PM by impeachdubya
you're so busy grinding your axe against "rock-ribbed atheists".
Amazing-- you can't even get through a post on the subject without engaging in a little back-door preaching. Give it a f*cking rest, bub. You're welcome to believe in whatever you want, be it Jehovah, the Tooth Fairy, or the Wizard of Oz. But don't sit there and snidely presume to speak for the rest of us who don't share your beliefs.

Wow, call me crazy, I think Religion belongs in the churchhouse, and not the public schoolhouse and the statehouse. What an extremist Point of view.

And, for the record, "devout Xtians" are already voting for Bush in droves, with no help from members of the so-called secular mafia such as myself. Winning them 'back' doesn't involve handing out free bibles like some kind of door prize, it involves adopting the same kind of intolerant, repressive agenda and platform that the GOP has-- one that seeks to mandate the US as a "Christian Nation", to criminalize all abortion as well as many (if not all) forms of birth control, and to send those pesky gays back where they belong-- into the closet, if not to camps were they can be conditioned to become good heterosexuals. News flash: there's already one party of rampant intolerance and extremist theocracy in this country, we don't need two.

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demwing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:10 PM
Response to Reply #28
42. For the majority, religion is a part of the American experience
And has as much a part in politics as anything else that similarly affects society.

The problem is not when the Government acknowledges that many people have faith. The problem is when the Government endorses a particular faith over others.
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 04:49 PM
Response to Reply #42
46. I acknowledge that many people have faith.
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 04:50 PM by impeachdubya
That's great. I firmly support their right to worship as they choose. I don't even think their churches should pay taxes; how about them apples?

Most Americans watch sports. Let's make the election about that, too, okay? Going to the bathroom is a part of the American Experience- so is sleep; it takes up a third of all our lives. I think from now on we should have the candidates not only relieve themselves at all rallies, but take a nap. You know, just to represent the full "American experience".

('Most Americans' are also pro-choice. How come that particular issue is being soft-pedaled this election season?)

Beyond that, how would you have the government 'acknowledge that many people have faith'- give everyone flag shaped cookies with Jesus on them? We've already got "In God We Trust" on the money, personally I don't blow a gasket when Democrats close stump speeches with "God Bless the United States..."

What I don't agree with is political parties using specific religious beliefs as an empty prop-- and if handing out King James Bibles like a Kerry-Edwards rally is some kind of friggin' revival doesn't fall into that category, I don't know what does.
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drdigi420 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 06:09 PM
Response to Reply #42
80. for the majority, reality shows are real
just because the mass of morons believe it, doesnt make it right

religion is evil

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CarolynEC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #26
33. "Secular fundamentalists." That's funny!
Does it occur to you that secularists are well aware of the world views of religionists, and that's why our alarm bells go off when religion becomes a political tool?
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Uzybone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:49 PM
Response to Original message
29. Terrible idea
Edited on Mon Sep-27-04 01:50 PM by Uzybone
and Im a christian. If Repukes started handing out Bibles Im sure we would all be screaming. This is a perfect example of "if you cant beat em, join em".


And what about those of other religions? Should we then also hand out Korans and Torahs?
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 01:59 PM
Response to Reply #29
30. No, not unless they say the Dems want to ban those books.
This is a West Virginia-specific response to a disgusting and vile lie the RNC told in West Virginia. Add the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and it's the Trifecta!
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Uzybone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #30
32. Constitution and Declaration is great
and I think that alone would suffice. But the Bible? I think that is a tad much. What next do we mail out? Assault rifles?
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drdigi420 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 06:10 PM
Response to Reply #32
81. bibles are not equal to assault rifles
more ppl have been killed over the contents of the bible
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Minimus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 02:06 PM
Response to Original message
31. how about a semi filled with bags of ice in Florida?
I can't remember which hurricane it was but bush was there helping his bro (and of course the news was also there for the great photo op) bush handed a man (probably a rover plant)a bag of ice and the guy said "you just got another vote" :puke:

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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:46 PM
Response to Original message
36. what a lousy idea
let's not try to "out-jesus" the other side.

Why don't we just fucking pass out guns while we're at it?
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:53 PM
Response to Reply #36
38. Now THAT'S a great idea.
Free guns! Hee hee hee!
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maxsolomon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:54 PM
Response to Original message
39. hand out The Jefferson Bible
it will blow their minds.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 03:56 PM
Response to Reply #39
40. Exactly...and do it in Virginia as well. His is the best!!!
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DesEtoiles Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:13 PM
Response to Original message
50. Kerry is lead co-sponsor of Workplace Religious Freedom Act
Senators Guard Religious Freedoms in the Workplace
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
June 27, 2002

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Aston Beadle says he has wanted to serve his fellow man as a law enforcement officer for as long as he can remember. The only thing he wanted more was to obey the tenets of his Seventh Day Adventist religion, which require him not to work on Saturday. That religious conviction cost Beadle his job not once, but twice.

...

Experiences such as Beadle's are exactly the situations meant to be addressed by the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, S. 2572, according to lead co-sponsor, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

"Someone should be able to engage in those practices where it does not place an undue hardship - a sort of standard of reasonableness about a hardship - on a particular employer," he said.

Kerry says an arbitrary decision such as the one suffered by Beadle is "unnecessary."

"Not only is it unnecessary," he continued, "it is inappropriate and unacceptable to the full measure of practice of religion and tolerance that makes us who we are as a country."

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), another co-sponsor of the bill, says protecting the freedom of religious expression recognized in the First Amendment is essential to what America is all about.

http://www.aclj.org/news/work/020627_senators_guard.asp
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mzmolly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:16 PM
Response to Original message
51. Heck place Kerry/Edwards stickers on em'
:P
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rullery Donating Member (328 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:25 PM
Response to Original message
53. Not just West Virginia; also Arkansas
Republicans are mailing this lie about Democrats banning the Bible in both states. I suspect that they must think that the folks in these two states are "hillbillies" (no slander intended), who will easily believe such lies. If I were a resident of either state, I would be offended by such an assumption, and complain loud and long!

As for Democrats proving that this is a lie by offering Bibles to folks, I would have no problem with this idea. Some on this thread do have objections, as Atheists, that this would be a political party promoting religion. However since it was the Republican party who started this lie, I think we would be justified by refuting it with free Bibles for those who want them.
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:58 PM
Response to Reply #53
57. and they accuse of being anti-gun
so let's hand out guns.

And they accuse us of being anti-war, so let's all agitate to invade somebody... anybody... just to show we love war.

And they accuse us of wanting to tax the rich, so let's all support a HUGE tax cut for the wealthy.

And they accuse us of loving gays... so let's all go out and beat up a fag, today!

Sometimes the things they "accuse" us of are the things that make us great. Handing out bibles is an incredibly stupid, offensive idea.
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politicat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 05:32 PM
Response to Original message
54. uhhh.... because that's endorsing a religion??
Are they going to hand out the sayings of Confucius and Bertrand Russell and Robert Ingersoll, too? Equal time and such..... Better to just not go there.

Pcat
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LiberalFighter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 06:16 PM
Response to Original message
58. Illegal to give anything of value to voters... considered vote buying
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arwalden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 06:47 PM
Response to Original message
59. Absolutely NOT... The Last Thing We Need Is To Act Like Jesus Freaks!
You know, just like the door-to-door, shove-it-in-your-face and down-your-throat, burn-in-hell, fire-and-brimstone fundamentalists.

I admire your enthusiasm to counter-attack the RW spin machine, but in practice this would be a horrible idea.

-- Allen

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carpetbagger Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 07:57 PM
Response to Original message
62. It would work mightily.
I lived there.

Someone send me a link if there's actually any organized dem group doing this.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 08:11 PM
Response to Original message
63. O Ye of Little Faith: Check out this great patriot in W.VA today.
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 08:19 PM
Response to Original message
64. Each Bible Can be Signed


by different members of the Kerry and Edwards families and other Democratic stars as well.

I think this is important!

How we have allowed them to define our faith is beyond me.
They have those tiny little Bibles that could almost fit in the palm of your hand.

Praise the Lord and pass out the Good Book!

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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 09:22 PM
Response to Reply #64
66. NO!
The Democratic Party is NOT the Christian Party of America.

If you want a Christian Party, vote Republican.
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-27-04 09:42 PM
Response to Reply #66
69. No I have no need to be a Republican - LOL

I love being a Democrat!

I'm not asking for a Christian Party, even though I am Christian.

I do however believe that Rethugs should not Own the Christian vote.
That is ridiculous.

I will let them own the Religious Right but they should not own Christians.

It is sad to say that they have convinced many Methodist, Baptist etc. to believe that they are against abortion when they kill innocent children in Iraq.
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 04:24 PM
Response to Reply #69
74. do you REALLY
believe that the Democratic party should officially endorse Christianity? To the exclusion of other beliefs?

Astounding...
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 05:56 PM
Response to Reply #74
75. I didn't say a word about exclusion


For some unknown reason you are trying to put words in my mouth.

Astounding!
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Dookus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 07:18 PM
Response to Reply #75
82. sorry
but handing out Bibles is a pretty clear endorsement of one religion.

I can't believe ANYBODY doesn't reject this automatically as the cynical, stupid, waste-of-time and money stunt that it would be.

First, how many christians don't have a bible? How many would switch party allegiance because they received one? Do the republicans then respond by handing out free crosses? Then we one-up them with stained-glass windows.

Why don't we just slap a big ol' cross on top of the Capitol building and get it over with?

I can't believe people think the solution to this country's problems is MORE fake christianity.
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Leilani Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-28-04 07:57 PM
Response to Original message
83. If people are really serious about doing this
I think its OK, but the Dem Party should not do it.

An independent Christian Dems for Kerry could do it. It would have the same effect, but would remove the stamp of approval from the Dem Party.
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