Oh Lordy! Hillary hires "faith guru"

[jefferson_dem]

Clinton hires faith guru
By Alexander Bolton

Burns Strider, one of the Democratic Party’s leading strategists on winning over evangelicals and other values-driven voters, will join Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as she prepares to launch her 2008 presidential campaign.

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Strider’s move to Clinton’s camp suggests that Democrats will woo so-called faith voters in the 2008 election. The plan is buoyed by the Democrats’ success in winning over religious voters in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the midterm elections.

Ann Lewis, Clinton’s spokeswoman said that her boss has talked to potential advisors about joining a possible presidential campaign, but declined to reveal names.

Lewis noted that Clinton has long discussed her religious faith, pointing to writings on the subject in her two books: “It Takes a Village,” and “Living History.”

Observers of Clinton’s expressions of faith say religion has always been important to her, that she attended prayer group meetings while first lady, and that she joined a Senate prayer group shortly after winning election in 2000. Reporters anticipating Clinton’s ’08 presidential run wrongly discount her expressions of faith as cynical political maneuverings, the observers add.

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http://hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/121306/faithguru.html

[flying_wahini]

1. oh, great

and I saw that McCain got the guy that did the sleazy "call me" ads
gonna be a real urp-up/bad taste in your mouth election :puke:

[havocmom]

2. Yeah, all marketing, no substance. Somebody didn't learn from Dr. Dean

that addressing people in all 50 states with some respect and offering up SUBSTANCE over marketing ploys is a good idea.

[MaineDem]

3. Excellent move!

And this is exactly what Howard Dean is talking about with the DNC and state chairs.

[gratuitous]

4. Interesting locution . . .

Hillary Clinton hires a "faith guru"; Republican candidates, though, are all about consulting pastors and other men of the cloth. I wonder why Mrs. Clinton's consultant is described as a "guru"?

[no_hypocrisy]

5. How does this guy compare to Marvin Olansky, *'s faith guru? n/t

[marmar]

6. Someone needs to hire a "Real issues of concern to the people" guru.....

I think they'd find that practical matters such as jobs, war and health care trump religion. And as a Michigan resident, if Sen. Clinton is trying to reach the lunatic fringe on the west side of the state, she's not going to do it. Luckily, those of us in the urbanized southeast part of the state dominate in presidential elections.

[demnan]

7. Why does she need this?

I don't think we Democrats are going to get the really conservative voters over to our side unless we give up on the abortion issue. I'm not ready to do that.

[paulk]

20. are only "really conservative voters"

people of faith?

That seems to be what you're implying.

[madrchsod]

8. oh ye of little faith.....

if one has to hire a "faith" consulate then one is not going to impress anyone...remember one is judged on one`s works not on one`s words.

[Hoosier Dem]

12. You said all that needs to be said!!

[msongs]

9. she is gonna join obama in pimping their religions aka harold ford jr?

look out all ye people of no faith (people of faith must mean there are people of no faith, like people of color means there must be people of no color), the new messiah from illinois is leading the trend and rush to the right, right as in "my religion is right and yours is not as good."

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[PVnRT]

14. "Rush to the right"

Who cares what a candidate's stances on the issues are, let's instead excoriate them for speaking about their religion. You must just fucking HATE Jimmy Carter.

[BoneDaddy]

10. Come on

it is such a plastic manuever.

[rolleitreks]

11. Nothing like integrity. n/t

[Mz Pip]

13. Like that will help

:sarcasm:

Sorry, but if you have to hire someone to help you with coming across as more believable in the faith ring it won't work. It will come across as phoney.

Bad move, Hillary.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[StoryTeller]

15. As a Christian who is also progressive...

This sort of thing offends me. I hate it when the RW'ers do it, and I hate it when our side does it, too. I wish I could scream it from a mountaintop that CHRISTIANS ARE NOT A POLITICAL DEMOGRAPHIC! We've allowed ourselves to become one, and it is absolutely corrupting and ruining our faith and moral integrity.

If Senator Clinton wants to reach out to people who hold Christian beliefs, the ONLY way that would be appropriate and authentic is to do so by explaining how her own personal beliefs have impacted her actions, decisions, and attitudes. If what she claims to believe and her actions are in agreement, then she will have earned the right to say that her faith informs her policies.

But that is where it should stop. This notion of hiring a strategist to win over ANY religious group just sickens me. The Republican Party has seduced, raped, and left broken and violated my Christian community--and some of my fellow Christians respond like abuse victims, crawling back for more and creating excuses for the abominable behavior because they keep hoping it will be different next time. Others are in collusion with the abuse, because it brings them power and they don't care whose lives they destroy in the process.

But still others of us see the abuse, and our hearts cry out for it to stop. And turning ourselves over to just another abuser is NOT the answer.

You CAN'T manipulate and use faith for a political agenda. It's wrong. It's horrible and sick. I'm furious with Senator Clinton for even attempting it. I DO want to hear how a public leader's own beliefs and values impact their leadership decisions. But I will not tolerate the manipulation of faith for a political agenda, no matter which side of the aisle it comes from.

[TayTay]

17. I agree. This is pandering

and it is another to only pretend to hear people without actually having to go through the hard work of actually hearing people out.

Sigh! When we they ever learn? You don't woo over people on 'faith-based' issues. It is, as StoryTeller said, an insult to think you can.

[Cocoa]

16. what kind of name is Burns Strider?

:wtf:

[SaveElmer]

18. And this is bad....

Because?

[Blaukraut]

19. you either have faith or you don't

and it's a personal choice. Hiring a 'faith guru' or consultant is exploiting other people's beliefs in order to garner support and/or votes. In other words, it's pandering.

[SaveElmer]

22. What makes you think she does not have faith...

What deep insight do you have on her spirtitual life that none of the rest of us have...

I see absolutely nothing wrong with hiring someone to help her reach out to evangelicals more effectively...

[Blaukraut]

24. you misunderstood me, SaveElmer

I did not say that Senator Clinton doesn't have faith. She probably does, in all likelihood. What I disagree with, is the need to hire someone who tells her how to approach the evangelicals. What would be more genuine, imo, would be speaking about her own faith, what it means to her, and how it translates into her life.

[SaveElmer]

26. That is true...

But since evangelicals are not her traditional consituency, and the fact that she does not wear her religion on her sleeve constantly...advice on how best to approach that dialog from someone t hat has experience doing it seems like a good idea to me.

[paulk]

23. is it "exploiting" people's beliefs

or just getting the message out that you have a belief system?

In light of the gains made in the 2006 election among evangelicals and people of faith, I predict you're going to see every 2008 candidate do this sort of thing.

[SaveElmer]

25. The truth is they think it is bad because...

It is Hillary Clinton doing it...

I guarantee if Dennis Kucinich had hired a "faith guru" people here would be fawning all over him, praising his effort to be inclusive...

[StoryTeller]

28. No, it's not because it's Hillary doing it.

I'm upset because hiring someone to "reach out to evangelicals" means that the politician doing this views faith groups as a political demographic. And while a lot of evangelicals have welcomed this, our churches and faith communities are reaping disastrous consequences.

The problem is that when you combine faith with political power, you end up with corruption. That can be said for any faith, not just Christianity.

My evangelical brothers and sisters ignored this truth and availed themselves to a political party. I don't need to recap for you what the results have been. We all know that in many, many ways, evangelicals do not at all resemble real Christianity any more. This is what happens when you turn faith into a tool to gain political power.

If Senator Clinton wants to connect with people of faith, she needs to do it by meeting them and listening to them as individuals first, not as members of a certain faith. The emphasis needs to be on understanding them and creating a relationship based on the fact that these are valuable people who are citizens of this country. Not because she wants the evangelical vote. There should NOT be such a thing as an "evangelical vote."

One more thing--for people whose faith is genuine, all the consultants and strategists in the world won't make a difference if the politicians own claim to faith doesn't line up with that person's actual behavior and attitudes. Many of us on this board have lamented and scorned the hypocrisy of the evangelical community as they have sold out their moral integrity to gain political power. The same standards MUST apply to our own political leaders as well. (I'm not targeting Senator Clinton here. This is a message I wish to send to ALL political leaders.)

Any politician who wants to really connect with people of genuine faith needs to first look at their own lives and evaluate their own integrity over their political career. NOBODY likes hypocrisy.

[rinsd]

35. That's not really fair to the people in this thread

Dennis Kucinich could pull a Michael Richards and certain DUers would defend him.

But the people in this thread may have valid arguments and shouldn't be painted with that brush.

All that said, I think its a great move by her. If she can make in roads, great. If she can simply blunt talk that she will cause some huge electoral revolt by the religious right (as opposed to other candidates), that's great too.

[AZBlue]

30. Wake up. ALL of politics and elections is pandering to some degree.

That applies to all candidates in all elections and all issues.

[Bushknew]

21. One more reason to vote for Dennis Kucinich

No political maneuverings with him, he says what he means, and I believe he would follow through on is word.

[paulk]

27. actually, when it comes to DK and faith

I would argue that it's a reason NOT to vote for him.

DK was one of the harshest anti-abortion voices in the House of Representatives for many years, and the reason for that was his religious beliefs. In other words, he felt it was acceptable to force his religious beliefs on other people who didn't share them, through his role as a legislator. I find that hard to accept in a politician, especially a self described progressive like DK.

And as for political maneuvering, he suddenly became pro-choice when he decided to run for President in 2004. Did he really mean it, or was it just political expediency?

[Le Taz Hot]

38. Would that include Kucinich's

"epiphany" when he turned from anti-choice to pro-choice. Nope. No pandering there.

[Blue_In_AK]

29. Ack... n/t

[Vinca]

31. Double ack. nt

[rinsd]

32. Not a bad move. Could become more strategic as the campaign wears on.

This could help blunt any mass movement within evanglicals to oppose her or at the very least temper those forces.

And that helps blunt the argument that the religious right will come out in droves against her.

[Ninja Jordan]

33. If you have to hire a faith guru that means you don't have any.

[mtnsnake]

34. Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord!!

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

36. God just told me to vote for Hillary. *sarcasm*

[AtomicKitten]

37. It's politics, baby. Nothing wrong with it.

I suspect the announcement that Hillary flosses would be met with disdain here at DU.

[IndianaGreen]

40. This is why Obama comes across as genuine while Hillary

always comes across as calculating and triangulating.

[IndianaGreen]

39. LGBTs and reproductive rights advocates need not apply

Hillary is a closeted fundie anyway! She is an active member of that GOP-run prayer group in Congress. The former Goldwater girl may still harbor views similar to those of Phyllis Schlafly, the woman that wrote the 1964 political manifesto Goldwater: A Choice, Not an Echo.