Reverend Obama

Barack Obama has, over the last few months, quite clearly demonstrated that he has no problem appealing to religious conservatives. He also accuses secularists of being overly preoccupied with the separation clause, and too attached to the idea that "constitutional principles tie our hands": a statement which, if uttered by a GOPer, would have surely provoked panic and a few days of Sally Fields-like righteous indignation among the gauchistes of blogland.

AS Hitchens recently noted, a candidate's religious affiliations should be on the table (as should Article VI, if only to a few cynics). The gauchistes relish attacks on fundies such as Chuckabee and Mormonic Mitt--so why not on Rev. Obama? Consistency matters. Obama biblethumps nearly as much as the rightists do--he stands up on stage with preachers, even conservative hick preachers, and chats about his relation with Jee-zuss, his personal savior. Even Christian bloggers approved of his recent tour of the mainstream Jee-zuss businesses:

"""""God-o-Meter--like so much of the news media--was impressed with Barack Obama’s appearance last Sunday at a Greenville, SC megachurch as part of his campaign’s “40 Days of Faith and Family” tour of the state. After all, the conservative evangelical congregation’s previous political guests were Sen. Lindsey Graham, Gov. Mark Sanford, and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, all Republicans.""""""

Beliefnet/BO

(that's no endorsement of Beliefnet, another brainless fundie site)



Can ah, ah get a wit-ness?


Others have noted Obama's occasional conservative tendencies (including his odd suggestion that Ms Clinton's health care proposals might offend some insurance execs). Obama may not be a rightist biblethumper per se, but he does have the support of many religious organizations (both Xtian and muslim). Secularists should feel a bit uneasy supporting someone who throughout the Fall of 2007 stood in pulpits in protestant churches across the USA (including churches notorious for denying Darwinian accounts of evolution), rallying support for his "40 Days of Faith and Family” platform. No other democratic candidate has been so willing to court the fundamentalist vote, Hillary included (nor has say a Ron Paul, who has made a few interesting comments in support of Constitutional principles, notwithstanding some issues).

In fact a new study from the Center for Responsive Politics (you can do the googlin') reveals that BO "has received more money from clergy than any other 2008 presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican." He's received three times the amount of shekels from clergy than has the top Republican moron, Mitt Romney. We here at Contingencies can only say like, phuck that freak.