Kerry Religious Advisor Supported Newdow

The new adviser for religious outreach to John Kerry's campaign and the Democratic National Committee was one of the signers of an amicus brief supporting Newdow's case against the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. For the far right, this is a reason to be horrified. For everyone else, this is a very positive sign.

The Washington Times, a propaganda arm of Rev. Moon’s Unification Church, reports:

In February, the Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson was one of almost three dozen Christian and Jewish clergy who — along with the Unitarian Universalist Association — asked the Supreme Court to support Michael Newdow, the California plaintiff trying to change the Pledge's wording. ... She is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), an Indianapolis-based Protestant denomination.

How long will it be before conservative extremists try arguing, overtly or implicitly, that she isn’t “really” Christian? They already do this with Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a minister in the United Church of Christ.

[T]he New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights sees her in a different light. "This is the person the Democrats want to dispatch to meet with the heads of religious organizations?" said the conservative group's president, William Donohue. "Are they out of their minds? Would they hire a gay basher to reach out to homosexuals?"

Let’s be absolutely clear about this: according to William Donohue, a person who insists on the strict separation of church and state, even if they are a devout Christian and a minister, is to other Christians what a gay basher is to homosexuals. I think that “extremist” might be too mild of a label for people like Donohue.

The selections of Miss Vanderslice and Mrs. Peterson "suggest that either no one bothers to vet candidates for religious outreach or the elites making the choices are anti-religious," said Mr. Donohue, who is registered as an independent. "If the former is true, then this shows that the Democrats place no priority on appealing to people of faith."

So, a liberal Christian can’t realistically appeal to “people of faith.” It didn’t take all that long to implicitly deny that Peterson is a “real” Christian after all. Indeed, it was even faster than I expected — but this is Donohue we are talking about.

Update: Pressure from the Christian Right has forced Peterson to resign.

Read More:

• 2004 Elections
• Election Polls
• George W. Bush
• John Kerry
• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News