Bill Maher- There Is An Evangelical Cancer In The Military

Very disturbing.

Survey: Evangelicals back McCain; other religious voters shift to Obama

We'll take what we can get.

AUSTIN – In a significant shift in party support from four years ago, monthly churchgoers are backing Democrat Barack Obama in this year’s presidential race, according to a new poll.

Mr. Obama, who has tried to tap faith-based voters, has the support 60 percent of Americans who attend religious services once or twice a month, according to the survey for the nonpartisan group Faith in Public Life.

(snip)

Among the study’s other major findings:

More Americans think Mr. Obama is friendly to religion than Mr. McCain, 49 percent to 45 percent. And 71 percdent say it is important for public officials to be comfortable talking about religious values.

Young first-time voters are heavily supporting Mr. Obama. Among those voting for the first time, 71 percent favor the Illinois senator.

Huckabee Quietly Gets A Fox TV Show

This is weird. You'd think they'd be screaming it from the rafters with how popular Huck is in middle America.

FORMER GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's new talk show is set to start this weekend without any fanfare.

"Huckabee" will debut on Fox News Channel tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

The announcement came on Huckabee's personal Web site - not, as is customary, from the network.

A Fox News spokesperson declined to give any information about the show, referring calls to Huckabee's agent. Elisabeth Hasselbeck is slated to be the first guest, according to reports.

But it does give me the opportunity to dust off the 100's of Huck pics I collected during the primaries!

Palin- Iraq is God's plan, plus he can get us that $30b gasline money

She's in full blow caricature mode now.

Speaking before the Pentecostal church, Palin painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Religion, however, was not strictly a thread in Palin's foreign policy. It was part of her energy proposals as well. Just prior to discussing Iraq, Alaska's governor asked the audience to pray for another matter -- a $30 billion national gas pipeline project that she wanted built in the state. "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she said.

Focus On Family Pulls Controversial Obama 'Rain' Video

Mocking works.

DENVER -- Focus on the Family Action has pulled a video from its Web site that had asked people to pray for "rain of biblical proportions" during Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field on Aug. 28.

The political arm of Focus on the Family pulled the video Tuesday after a number of complaints from Focus members.

Stuart Shepard, the director of digital media for the group, wrote and started in the video that he described as "mildly humorous."

In the video, Shepard called for Christians to pray for "abundant, torrential" rains during the Democratic nominee's acceptance speech in order to disrupt it. He had asked Christians to pray for rain that would create flash flood warnings and "swamp the intersections."

In the video, Shepard said he hoped the rain would start "two minutes before the acceptance speech begins."

RNC Accidentally Mocks Messianic Lutherans

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted about the Facebook parody, Barack Book, and all that "fun" the commenters were having over there. Seems like that site can't stay out of trouble:

The RNC has modified a page from their "Barack Book" mock social networking site because the church they associated Obama with -- the Messiah Lutheran Church -- turned out to be a real denomination affiliated with the Missouri Synod.

The site, styled after Facebook, included a link to a real Facebook page, and next to an entry for "employer," the RNC wrote in "Messiah Lutheran Church."

No subtlety there.

Here comes the "oops". The Republicans are "oopsing" a lot these days:

But there really are Messianic Lutherans. Most of them live in Missouri. The church has branches in California and Nebraska.

Oh dear. Those states are what you might call "important" in this election. We mustn't alienate voters there, musn't we:

Since disaffiliating from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, McCain Obama has not formally affiliated with any other denomination.

This is a small point and a small mistake, but it's something that will make some McCain allies cringe. Here in Missouri, the political climate is poor for Republicans and McCain can't afford to alienate any evangelical group. His campaign can't afford the perception that they use evangelicals to mock Obama.

No, they'd never use evangelicals to mock Obama. They'd use racism, but not the evangelicals. That might be offensive.

Book May Help Obama Woo Evangelical Christians

By Paddy


Man, I miss the days when a persons religion was a private matter and not a talking point to be scrutinized at every turn. Via Taeggan-

Politico got an early look at a new book by Stephen Mansfield, the conservative Evangelical biographer of both George W. Bush and Tom DeLay. "And his new book, due out this summer, may lend credibility to Senator Obama's bid to win Evangelical Christian voters away from the Republican Party."

The forthcoming volume from Mansfield, "whose sympathetic The Faith of George W. Bush spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 2004, is titled The Faith of Barack Obama. Its tone ranges from gently critical to gushing, and the author defends Obama-and even his controversial former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright-from conservative critics, and portrays him as a compelling figure for Christian voters."

Evangelical plans lawsuit over new Obama outreach effort

By Paddy


A grab for attention and utterly stupid.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A conservative Christian activist is planning to sue Barack Obama’s campaign over the name of its ambitious new program aimed at evangelical and Catholic young people.

Michael Farris, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, told CNN his lawyers were sending the Obama campaign a cease-and-desist letter Monday afternoon asking them to stop calling the new effort, which debuts in two weeks, the "Joshua Generation Project."

Farris directs “Generation Joshua,” which provided heavy grassroots assistance in key swing states for President Bush’s re-election effort in 2004. He also authored a 2005 book that included the words in its title.

(snip)

The name in question is drawn from the biblical account of how Joshua’s generation, which followed the one that fled Egypt with Moses, led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Obama referenced the story in a speech last year.

As Jake Tapper points out-

There are more than a few ministries out there that include the words "Joshua" and "Generation."

There's one in India, another in Texas, one in Los Angeles, and one in Maryland.
There's a CD with that title, a dance company, another book by a different author, and Pastor John Hagee uses the term to describe younger worshippers at his Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, and on and on.

Is Farris going to sue all these people and organizations?

Simple answer to simple question- No, because it won't get them any publicity.