The three top Democratic presidential candidates will discuss faith, values and poverty and take questions from religious leaders Monday at a forum sponsored by Sojourners/Call to Renewal, the progressive social-justice group.
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. and Barack Obama, D-Ill. as well as former North Carolina senator John Edwards will all take part in the forum, to take place at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, best-selling author and evangelical activist who heads Sojourners/Call to Renewal, said having only three candidates participate allows for “a more thoughtful, more in-depth conversation.”
“This gives us a good long time to really engage with them,” Wallis said. The event will be televised by CNN and is part of Sojourner’s 2007 Pentecost conference, which draws social justice activists from across the country to gather for workshops and to lobby Congress.
I’m not sure of Obama’s bank statement amount, but Mrs. Bill Clinton and Mr. John Edwards are among the wealthiest, most self-centered politicians on the field today. Seems to me a bit hypocritical that they would speak on this topic.
The larger hypocrisy is this: Suppose conservative Republicans had a seminar on how their faiths affect their views on public policy. The media storm would be intense and negative! But these people have the “right” faith and the “right” policy views, so they can discuss it with the media’s approval.
What exactly will they have to talk about? I do not think any of them have any first hand experience with poverty. Obama seems to me to be the only one that possibly has a genuine faith. They are all lockstep with the current radical liberal values.
What will they have to debate?
If I were the moderator and had an opportunity to ask questions, I would ask a few like:
“What is your favorite Raman Soup and why?”
“How long ago did you last eat Macaroni and Cheese made at home from the box?”
“What have you done personally [not through government] to alleviate poverty?”
“How much did you earn last year and how much did you give to charity?”
“Have you ever eaten Spam? Vienna Sausages?”
“How will you allow your faith to influence your decision making process?”
“What do you believe about abortion and why?”
“What do you believe about gay marriage and why?”
“What do you believe about taxation and how it affects working families and why do you believe it?”
“What is your opinion about illegal immigration depressing the wages of American workers?”
“Will you or won’t you reduce federal taxes on gasoline that disproportionately affects the poor and why or why not?”
These are questions I would love to hear answered.