In a recent column, I described Sen. Elizabeth Dole's 'godless' ad about her opponent, Kay Hagan. I wrote: "In the ad, Dole raised legitimate questions about Kay Hagan's attending a Boston fundraiser hosted by a couple known for promoting atheist causes." That prompted some questions from readers. One wrote: "Why do you consider these questions legitimate?"
The fundraiser was at the home of Woody Kaplan. He sits on the advisory board of the Godless Americans PAC, which supports separation of religion and government and is opposed to references to God in government. Hagan's attending the fundraiser raises questions about whether she supports the legislative agenda of the PAC. I'm not passing judgment on that PAC's agenda; I'm just saying it was fair for Dole to raise questions about whether Hagan supports the Godless Americans' agenda. It also would have been fair for Hagan to raise questions about the views of people who raised money for Dole. If a candidate is going to accept money from a fundraiser, she (or he) has to be willing to talk about whether she shares the views of the person raising the money.
For more on the ad, see Rob Christensen's article about how it came about.
Comments
Agenda? Please explain
Fri, 11/28/2008 - 20:38 — aveteran"I'm not passing judgment on that PAC's agenda; I'm just saying it was fair for Dole to raise questions about whether Hagan supports the Godless Americans' agenda." You mean equal rights and privileges for non-believers, separation of church and state, and upholding the Constitution of the United States? Just what are you insinuating about godless Americans? We are no less moral (usually more so), no less loyal (because we uphold the First Amendment) and no less charitable (we just aren't trying to "buy" our way into "heaven"). So what is your point about the "agenda" of GAMPAC?