Let's Talk About God

I've never been a big fan of the Democratic Leadership Council, which came to prominence during Bill Clinton's reign as party leader. They're the group that's been pushing the Democratic Party to the right, in an attempt to woo moderate Republican voters.

Because of how full-on terrible the current administration is, Democrats look back on Bill Clinton's presidency with fondness. But thanks partially to the DLC, Clinton's two major accomplishments in office were welfare reform and the passage of NAFTA, both Republican agenda items. Yes, I liked Bill better than Dubya, but there's no need to herald him as a great representative of the people or anything.

And the DLC is turning the Democratic Party into Republican Party Lite. It's no wonder nobody understand what the Democratic Party stands for.

So now the DLC is pushing to get Democrats to talk about religion.

That's an idiotic blanket approach to winning elections. Does anyone remember how silly Howard Dean sounded when he started talking about his faith? Nice try, bub. John Kerry, too, sounded like a fucking moron when talking about his faith. Even if Howard and John have genuinely deep beliefs that come directly out of their religious faiths, their spirituality was clearly a private matter. As soon as they made their spirituality public, they seethed with disingenuousness and discomfort. George W. Bush has the most warped theological views on the planet, but his religion is something he's felt comfortable keeping on his sleeve for decades now. A non-church-going, semi-religious candidate is not going to be able to talk about his or her belief in God with any sincerity if it's all part of an election ploy.

If talking about one's own spirituality is something that comes naturally to the candidate, fine. Barack Obama does it with extreme ease, and there's nothing about his religious beliefs that come off as insincere. Same with Joe Lieberman, actually. I disagree with him a lot of the time, but the public expression of his faith is genuine.

But you can't just talk about God to win elections. It's superficial, and as stupid as the electorate is, they know bullshit when they see it.

And just because the DLC declares it, doesn't make it so. It's up for debate whether or not a sincere expression of religious views helps win elections. A progressive, religious Democrat is not going to win over the voters for whom religious belief is a non-negotiable issue. They're still going to vote for the hate-mongering, right-wing fanatics.

Because, you know, that's What Jesus Would Do.