On your message and your effort.  Religious values are by no means the sole perview of Republicans, in fact I think more Christian values belong to the Democrats, at least when you look at our policies.

But this isn't really a diary, but more of an ad.

I really like the ads, very nice.

I think the democratic message of inclusion, peace, helping the less fortunate, and helping our planet has always been closer to most Christian people's values than the right's views.  Lets win them over.

I find this diary to be extremely offensive. I believe firmly in the separation of church and state. America is in the shape it is in today in large part because it has become more of a  theological dictatorship than a democracy., The admins removed this diary once, and I call on them to do so again.

Thanks, we need Americans of every background to win this thing.

especially since McCain is struggling with the evangelicals who so fervently supported GWB.

Thank you so much for your efforts and good luck.

Looking forward to seeing you guys making inroads.  Keep us posted and let us know how we can help!

if your group has any outreach with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, wiccans, etc.  Not saying you should because each group can do the same thing.  I am a firm believer in separation of Church and State -- but also a strong advocate of people of every religious/non-religious persuasion to be actively involved in politics.

I marched with the Daniel and Phillip Berrigan back in the day -- and believe that religious voices (in opposition to the hierarchy) had an impact.

"Sermon On The Mount" reflects my political values as a Democrat.

I am a boundless non-theist and extreme "separation of church and state" kinda guy.  IMHO we actually need theists like yourself to help us get the two disconnected again - folks like myself have a tendency of driving theists into tighter circles...

Everyone is prolly tired of me pumping up my step-dad's and his books (oops, did it again! ;-), but you should connect with him - I think he'd like your actions and you his.

Thanks for coming and stirring things up.

Game on!

-chris

Jesus H. Christ!

I graduated from Fuller Seminary out in CA.

...should one donate to this group, or directly to Obama?  I ask because Obama has expressed some apprehension for outside groups working on his behalf (I believe he asked the HopePAC to shut down, did he not?), because he's concerned with controlling the message of his campaign, which is a strategy that has been extremely successful for him.

Obama is already courting evangelicals with his Joshua Generation program and others, so it's not like it's an audience that will not meet attention.

I really, really approve of the work that could be done on this issue, but I have to wonder if this is the right format for it.

I'm agnostic, but I 110% support this initiative from the Obama campaign?

It's generational, the younger evangelicals are looking for a change, away from the racist and homophobic old school idiots like Dobson and Falwell.

If you read the text of the article on CBN, the author even says, "though we may have issues that can not be directly agreed (pro-life) we have common cause in the environmental stewardship and outreach to the poor?"

Obama is simply opening OUR tent, saying, if you can't stand the ugliness of the RR, come talk to us?

Beside, do you know how many of our Red State Democrats have to pretend they are some outliers from the party to get elected? We can't just howl at the RR anymore, we are on the verge of changing this dynamic, and become the Majority Party in America, especially with the young?

We are NEVER going to win over the vast majority of the over 50 white evangelicals, but their sons and daughters might find a home in the Democratic party, and refuge from the War, Brutality and Greed of the Republics.

The values which you are talking about are DEMOCRATS' VALUES... not specifically Christian values. All Democrats believe in these principles of social justice, caring for the poor, peace, protecting the environment etc.

But the Democratic Party which I want to be a part of also believes firmly in a secular government and the separation of church and state.

The Democratic Party which I want to be a part of supports expanding gay rights, protecting full reproductive freedom and encouraging personal freedom and individual choice. This includes freedom of religion and also freedom FROM religion.

If people of faith (ANY faith) want to vote for a Democrat or support Obama, fantastic... but I'd rather see you voting for DEMOCRATIC values because they mirror your own faith and beliefs. The specific linking of the Bible and religion to politics and political candidates is VERY off-putting to me personally... especially as it is conveyed in the blue ad in your diary.

I think this might be a harbinger of a campaign that might be disturbing for some of us traditional older democrats, especially those who live through the Reagan era.

I believe, when Obama campaigns in the South, and when he goes and talks to Wall Street, he is going to use some concepts, even language, that will be real dog whistles for some of us.

This is going to open an old wound for some, but when he was talking about Reagan in the newspaper article, to a certain extent, this is what he meant.

You fashion a NEW colilition by speaking in the language people feel comfortable in.

Now, that doesn't mean you compromise your values.
It means you can't win people over if you start by insulting their fundemental beliefs.

Watching Obama speak to Harwood yesterday, when he speaks about "Free Trade" those words make me want to grab a baseball bat and clobber somebody.

But, if you listen to the PRINCIPLES Obama was elucidating to Harwood, it was "Free Trade" as a concept has some value, but it's execution is terribly flawed.  

It's trying to get them to listen to our side, rather then make them villians?

This has a dual value, same as talking to Evangelicals in that same manner.

One, Obama lets them know that he MAY NOT AGREE with their values, but he understands them, and their importance to them.

Then, without sacrificing core principles, he looks for common ground, to bring them to us.

This is WHY this sells with the millenials so well.

We created a generation in schools, in sports teams, that were told "you have to work together, everyone has value"...

So, this rings true to them.

You are just hearing the first New 21st Century Democratic Presidential Candidate run a new kind of campaign.

Relax, Falwell and Dobson are being put out to pasture, we either work with their successors, or they become our NEW enemies for the next two decades?

I think Obama has the right idea, and, besides, if he can take 10-20% of the Evangelical vote, We CAN flip states like Virginia!

It has no place in the political discourse.

Religious cults have routinely tolerated and propagated injustice.  Reproductive rights and GBLT rights, to name two.  In the past (and in the present in some capacity), they have been instrumental in gender and racial injustice.

Obama and the Democrats shouldn't actively court groups and organizations that are expressedly religious in nature.

What are your views on gays and lesbians? (Be specific here, please. No nice-nice words that mean bupkis.)

How do you feel about same sex marriage? For it, against it?

How do you view abortion?

What about embryonic stem cell research?

How about the separation of church and state?

Feeding the poor etc. is all really nice and indicative of good human values (not just Christians do this you know).

But there are other things that a lot of us have to face every day and before I accept any of what you have to say, I want to know all of what you have to say on these issues.

I thought about cross posting my DKos diary (I'm Deoliver47 there) to MyDD but had already posted a Joshua Project one here earlier, and was rushing off to school.  

Thanks for the link to my diary there - and many thanks for the good work.  You know where I stand on these issues and the big tent that needs to get bigger.

Funny how some folks get so bent out of shape by this.  I figure I'm pretty objective - since I'm not a Christian (I'm a pagan I guess you might call it), and am the daughter of an atheist, but it really annoys me that somehow as Dems we just cede the entire subject of spiritual values to Republicans.  

We forget that some of our greatest heroes of the Civil rights Movement were religious - like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, along with a host of priests and rabbis - as were anti-war activists like the Berrigans and the Maryknolls.

Look forward to hearing more - please keep us updated at both sites.  

Alafia/peace