March 24, 2006--Friday Fanaticisms XXVII--Holy Hillary!

After the presidential election in 2004, disappointed Democrats concluded that George Bush was reelected because he did a better job of appealing to voters who were more concerned about “values” than the war in Iraq, terrorism, or the economy. In other words, he did a better job than Kerry of appealing to those on the Religious Right.

So what have we seen since then? Among other things, lots of Democrats adjusting their positions on abortion, gay marriage, and school choice. And we have also seen lots of pictures of Democrat presidential aspirants attending church on Sundays.

So it was not at all surprising to hear Hillary Clinton wondering out loud about what Jesus would think of our current immigration policy. (See NY Times article attached below.)

In commenting about a bill pending in Congress that many view as overly stringent, Senator Clinton said, “It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scripture because the bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself.”

The blogisphere erupted in mockery as did all the pundits on Fox News. There she goes again, pandering to religious conservatives in an attempt to widen her appeal.

I was about join in but stopped myself because I realized that--Hillary is right. Senator Frist’s immigration bill will in fact land Jesus in jail after his Second Coming because he will for certain embrace and shelter those poor immigrants suffering under this mean-spirited law.

Good for you, Senator Clinton, I thought, toss it back in the face of those hypocritical Republicans who are the real panderers!

But just as I was getting swept up in my own new-found religious fervor, I again caught myself, thinking that even though her heart and mind are in the right place, Hillary Clinton and now I need to keep God out of our political discourse.

To be invoking Jesus in support of legislation is not so different than claiming that he is guiding us in war. Remember that our president, when asked if he follows his father, former President Bush’s advice, said, no, but he follows “a higher father.”