Legal Commentary

Faith to Play Big Role at Democratic Convention

By Jeralyn

From an email I just received from the DNCC:

To kick-off Convention week in a spirit of unity, the DNCC, in conjunction with the Democratic Party's Faith in Action (FIA) Initiative, will host an interfaith gathering on Sunday, August 24th, beginning at 2:00 PM at the Wells Fargo Theater located in the Colorado Convention Center.

This is the first time a celebration of this nature has been part of a Democratic National Convention and is symbolic of the Party's desire to bring multiple communities together under its "big tent." The gathering will include clergy of different faiths, Party leaders, elected officials and local community leaders. Speakers and musical guests will be announced later this summer. The event will be open to the public.

This has been in the works for a while. [More...]

The FIA initiative, founded in 2005 by Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Governor Howard Dean and Convention CEO Daughtry, focuses on ways for the Democratic Party to work with communities of faith to work together to promote the common good.

In related news, a new 527 PAC is being formed to help Obama reach out to Christian voters. It's called the "Matthew 25 Network." A $1,000 per person fundraiser (pdf) is taking place tonight.

Called “The Matthew 25 Network,” the new organization, which is still in its earliest stages, is being spearheaded by Mara Vanderslice, who was director of religious outreach for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and did similar work for several statewide Democratic candidates, including Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio, Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.

I wonder why faith gatherings weren't held at prior Democratic conventions? Perhaps because politics and religion should remain separate? That's my view.

I'm going to withhold final judgment until I see the musical guest list. If it's top heavy on Christian music, I'm going to be unhappy.

So what would be a good mix? How about some Hare Krishna singers? Or George Harrison's My Sweet Lord?

Any other suggestions? This is so not my thing.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 10, 2008 (boomark / email).