archived: 4 - 10 Jul, 2004 Back Next
THAT OLE’ TIME RELIGION
Bush is actively developing his fundamentalist religious base; crossing traditional lines between campaigns and churches. Bush is requesting:
US President George Bush . . . has asked church-going volunteers to turnover church membership directories.
[T]he Bush-Cheney campaign has issued a guide listing about two dozen "duties" and a series of deadlines for organising support among conservative congregations.
The guide directs religious volunteers to send church directories to state campaign committees, identify new churches that the Bush campaign can organise and to talk to clergy about holding voter registration drives.
The document, distributed to campaign co-ordinators across the country, also recommends that volunteers distribute voter guides in church and use Sunday service programs for get-out-the-vote drives. . . .
But Reverend Richard Land, who deals with ethics and religious liberty issues for the Southern Baptist Convention, a key Bush constituency, said he was appalled. "First of all, I would not want my church directories being used that way," he said, predicting the Bush plan would fail. – The Age
Bush has defended the political organization of the churches. – LA Times
NADER & DEAN
Howard Dean will debate Ralph Nader on July 9 on why Nader should not run for President. NPR’ Justice Talking will carry the event.
Dean has been urging his supporters not to back Nader, but to stay within the Democratic fold and vote for John Kerry.
"I am anxious to debate Ralph Nader in order to speak about why he wants to run for president," Dean said in a statement. "This is the most important election in my lifetime and a third party candidate could make a difference - this November and for years to come." – Sacramento Bee
This is a must hear program! Howard Dean has been traveling extensively across America in Sen. Kerry’s aid and that of the Democrat Party. Dean said it best:
Now, to the matter at hand: what Dean is doing to help John Kerry and, through his Democracy for America project, other Demo-cratic candidates from Barack Obama in his U.S. Senate race down to county commissioners and school board candidates around the country.
"I think the Democratic Party needs to be rebuilt from the ground up," Dean said. "We're running candidates in places like Utah. I know we're not going to win Utah in the presidential election. But if we don't start building it now, we'll never win Utah. I'm going to Mississippi. I'm going to Texas, where there's a candidate running against [House majority leader] Tom Delay."
Let Kerry concentrate on the more winnable battleground states -- Dean will plant seeds for the future, he said. – Chicago Sun Times
EMAIL VP
In a first, Sen. Kerry will announce his VP selection by email.
"The folks who are going to learn first about my choice are going to be the people on JohnKerry.com," Kerry said. "They're the people who've helped carry this campaign. They're the folks who've been part of our effort across the nation. And they'll be the first to know what my decision is." -- KUTV
A novel idea and an insightful way of having people register with Sen. Kerry’s website. If you have not registered, do so today at JohnKerry.com. Junkie: TPJ kudos for this idea!
NADER
If you read TPJ’s “By The Numbers” today, it is easy to discern that Nader is a factor in the 2004 campaign. The election is shaping up to be every bit as close as the 2000 General Election.
Nader has experienced a rough couple of weeks. Consider these developments:
A meeting between independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and members of the Congressional Black Caucus turned into a shouting match . . . , after Nader made it clear that he would not drop out of the race. – CNN
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Supporters of Ralph Nader on Friday abandoned their effort to get the independent candidate on the presidential ballot in Arizona after Democrats challenged the validity of thousands of signatures. . . .
Two Democratic voters had filed a lawsuit last week, backed by the Arizona Democratic Party, questioning the validity of Nader's nominating petitions and other documents. The Democrats argued that more than 70 percent of the signatures were invalid.
As a Maricopa County Superior Court judge prepared to hear arguments in the case, Nader campaign attorney Richard Mahrle conceded there were "technical errors" in the ballot petition and said Nader would not contest the lawsuit.
Judge Mark Armstrong then issued an order that Nader be kept off the state ballot. – Yahoo
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A day after not getting the Green Party's endorsement for president, Ralph Nader brushed off the rejection as an inconvenience, described the party as "strange," called the party's national nominating convention "a cabal" and predicted who the big loser in its decision not to endorse him would be. . . .
Instead, by nominating Texas attorney David Cobb, Nader said, the party that made him its candidate in 1996 and 2000 will "shrink in its dimension" and "has jettisoned [itself] out of any influence on the Democratic Party." – Washington Post
No one should be fooled. Nader has excelled at “rejection” his entire career. His typical response is to redouble his efforts and he never gives up.
REPUBLICANS COURTING BLACK VOTERS
TPJ has featured a number of articles warning Democrats that black leaders, including some Democrat black leaders, are encouraging blacks to register independent. The rationale:
[B]lacks are beginning to question the big-government approach that they've gotten from their Democratic leadership for the last 50 years. Republicans need to tap into this and help educate and build trust. The case for ownership and limited government as the antidote for poverty is compelling, as is the clear damage that the welfare state has caused in the inner cities.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie has been touring the country with boxing promoter Don King addressing black businessmen in the inner cities. But is this really the best way to reach black voters? Less than 3 percent of blacks own businesses and most of these are mom-and-pop operations with revenues of less than $150,000 per year.
The way to reach blacks is through the black church. Starbucks knows this. Its recent entry into the inner cities has been orchestrated through churches.
Nationwide, there are 65,000 black churches, with more than 20 million members and $50 billion in revenues. Republicans need to build on this base, already with Bush on social issues, and help blacks make the logical connection between their faith and the importance of individual freedom and personal responsibility.
Private Social Security accounts, health savings accounts and school choice will make only marginal differences in the lives of the wealthy. But for the poor, and those who want to move ahead in this society, they will make all the difference in the world. When black voters understand this, they will know what to do.
Comments anyone?
Last Update: 03/23/2006