ShareThisBy DAVID WATERS
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
American history was made last week when Minnesota's Keith Ellison was elected to Congress.
Ellison, who converted to Islam at age 19, will become the first Muslim to serve in Congress. So now there's at least one member of Congress who didn't use religion to get elected. Being Muslim in America is not a recipe for political success.
Being Christian, on the other hand, seems to be a requirement in most districts.
No wonder so many candidates spend so much time (and money) trying to out-Christian each other. No wonder so many Democrats and Republicans worked both sides of the church aisle this year, using the Bible as a prop, the church as a backdrop and the pulpit as a political platform.
Same reason they bombard us with so many negative ads and take so many millions of dollars from lobbyists: They know what it takes to get elected and re-elected.
Remember two years ago when Republicans attributed their success to "values voters"? Democrats took the hint. This year, it was their turn to claim the treacherous religious high ground.
"Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania, Ted Strickland in Ohio and Harold Ford Jr. in Tennessee _ some of the most devout and faith-friendly candidates this campaign season _ are cases in point," explained Jesse Lava, executive director of faithfuldemocrats.com.
"Even in a political climate that was destined to be hard on Republicans, the Casey race was supposed to be a nail-biter; it wasn't. The Strickland race was never expected to be a blowout; it was. Ford's candidacy was dismissed as quixotic; though Ford did not win, he made his race competitive and proved the pundits wrong.
"Why? Because these candidates, among others, showcased their religious convictions instead of hiding them _ using moral and, indeed, biblical language to communicate their values. This approach resonated with church-going Americans of all denominations, from the traditional black base to conservative white evangelicals _ thereby trumping the values rhetoric that Republicans usually expect to be their saving grace."
Democrats trumped "the values rhetoric" with their own values rhetoric. How inspiring. Can't wait to see how the Republicans try to trump the trumpers. And you know they will. Even the most faithful and grounded politicians are compelled to serve two masters.
No one was more stunned to discover that than David Kuo, former official with the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. In his book "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction," Kuo explains how and why the Bush administration manipulated evangelical support for their own political ends.
"George W. Bush, the man, is a person of profound faith and deep compassion for those who suffer," Kuo wrote.
"But President George W. Bush is a politician and is ultimately no different from any other politician, content to use religion for electoral gain more than for good works."
Elections always remind me of the story of the preacher who wanted to check out his son's vocational leanings.
One day, the preacher put a Bible, a silver dollar and a whiskey bottle on the kitchen table. Then he hid and waited. He figured that if the boy picked up the Bible he was going to be a preacher, if he took the silver dollar he was going to be a banker, and if he took the whiskey he was going to be a drunk.
Eventually the boy came in and walked to the table. He put the Bible under his arm, put the dollar in his pocket and uncorked the bottle and took a drink.
"Lord, have mercy," the old preacher said to himself. "My boy's gonna be a politician."
Lord, have mercy.
(David Waters may be reached by e-mail at waters(at)gomemphis.com or by mail at The Commercial Appeal, P.O. Box 334, Memphis, TN 38101.)
