New Topic -Dole & guilt by association

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
New Topic -Dole & guilt by association
1
Mon, 10-13-2008 - 10:11am

Elizabeth Dole is running against North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan in North Carolina. Apparently, Hagan is winning, so Dole decides to appeal to anti-atheist bigotry to try and turn the race around.

Here is a link to one of her mailings where she calls atheists "most vile"

http://friendlyatheist.com/5016/republicans-smear-senate-candidate-kay-hagan-for-meeting-with-atheists/

Here is a link to her website where she says atheist are people most North Carolinians would not be comfortable having atheists over for dinner.

http://www.elizabethdole.org/docs/articles/Godless-Americans-PAC.html

What exactly according to Dole's campaign is Hagan's big crime ? She is not accusing Hagan of being in agreement with any particular position of this group, she is villifying and demonising Hagan for merely associating with this group. (she also uses her own brand of the phoney "War on Christmas" clap-trap to further her rhetoric)

I guess the most vile thing about Hagan according to Dole is the fact that she is attending a fundraiser in Kaminer's home and

"Kaminer is also an advisory board member (Woody is the chairman) of The Secular Coalition for America which is "the national lobby for atheists, humanists, freethinkers and other nontheistic Americans with the unique mission of protecting their civil rights.”

So there you go, anyone who even TALKS to an atheist, or a group that protects the civil rights of those "vile" atheist is unfit to hole public office. Anyone who wants to protect the civil rights of atheists is "anti-religion".

I thought the constitution prohibited a religious test for public office, but Dole seems to have no problem trying to creat a de-facto test.

Unfortunately, this type of hate mongering against atheists will appeal to many Americans. Non-theists are one group in America that it is still largely acceptable to discriminate against and/or hate.

Do you agree with the "guilt by association" with atheists thing that Dole is promoting. A survey revealed that most Americans would not vote for an atheist (no matter their qualifications for office) Does this mean that politicians should not only believe in God, but that they should refuse to TALK to atheists, and that they should be against civil rights for atheists ?

Or do you think that Dole's brand of bigotry in this race is unacceptable.

Does being an atheist automatically make one "anti-religious" ? Does wanting equal civil rights for atheists make one "anti-religious".

Read both links and substitute the word "atheist" with "Jew" "Black" "Catholic" etc, and tell me if you think this campaign tactic is honorable or less than honorable.

PS - Yes, I know about "free speech" and all that, and I am not suggesting that Dole has no legal right to express her bigotry against atheists. I am just exercising my free speech to comment on hers, and apparently atheists expressing their free speech according to Dole makes them "vile".

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Mon, 10-13-2008 - 10:21am

I find it despicable.