Freethought & Rationalism Archive

astreeter · 09-08-2002, 03:35 PM

It's the next logical step that I'm sure the people behind these initiatives have already thought of, although they're never going to come right out and say it explicitly: combine the faith-based initiatives with the repeal of the prohibition on church-sponsored politics.

This way not only can they write off on their taxes donations to churches they use to do their political campaigning, they could actually funnel our tax dollars directly to the churches for this purpose. And because part of the faith-based initiative is a special exemption for churches from scrutiny and oversight in how they use their tax-supported grants, no one would ever find out if they were misused in this way.

No wonder conservatives finally acceeded on campaign finance reform. They knew this was coming that would make a mockery of it.

Toto · 09-08-2002, 08:38 PM

Welcome to the boards, astreeter. I think that most political observers are wary of allowing churches to funnel money to politicians, and that measure is not going to pass (if the House passes it, it will only be because they know the Senate will kill it.)

But I am afraid that the whole point of faith based funding is to allow George W. Bush to buy the votes of inner city churches, and fatten the coffers of the suburban churches. The exemption for political funding is not even needed.

Buffman · 09-08-2002, 09:10 PM

astreeter

Hi and welcome to the Church(Religion)-State(Government) Separation forum.

Though I agree with Toto about Senate non-passage, I am no longer quite sure what to expect from some of those people after the "under God" debacle by both houses. You might find the attached URL interesting since GWB Jr. tends to use brother "Jebbie" to test the waters for some of his religious support programs/ideas. (Florida is the state where Vouchers were legislated, rather than voted, into existence.)

<a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=59&t=000651" target="_blank">http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=59&t=000651</a>

[ September 08, 2002: Message edited by: Buffman ]</p>

09-08-2002, 03:35 PM	#1
astreeter New Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1	Faith-based church politics It's the next logical step that I'm sure the people behind these initiatives have already thought of, although they're never going to come right out and say it explicitly: combine the faith-based initiatives with the repeal of the prohibition on church-sponsored politics. This way not only can they write off on their taxes donations to churches they use to do their political campaigning, they could actually funnel our tax dollars directly to the churches for this purpose. And because part of the faith-based initiative is a special exemption for churches from scrutiny and oversight in how they use their tax-supported grants, no one would ever find out if they were misused in this way. No wonder conservatives finally acceeded on campaign finance reform. They knew this was coming that would make a mockery of it.

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09-08-2002, 08:38 PM	#2
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Welcome to the boards, astreeter. I think that most political observers are wary of allowing churches to funnel money to politicians, and that measure is not going to pass (if the House passes it, it will only be because they know the Senate will kill it.) But I am afraid that the whole point of faith based funding is to allow George W. Bush to buy the votes of inner city churches, and fatten the coffers of the suburban churches. The exemption for political funding is not even needed.

09-08-2002, 09:10 PM	#3
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	astreeter Hi and welcome to the Church(Religion)-State(Government) Separation forum. Though I agree with Toto about Senate non-passage, I am no longer quite sure what to expect from some of those people after the "under God" debacle by both houses. You might find the attached URL interesting since GWB Jr. tends to use brother "Jebbie" to test the waters for some of his religious support programs/ideas. (Florida is the state where Vouchers were legislated, rather than voted, into existence.) <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=59&t=000651" target="_blank">http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=59&t=000651</a> [ September 08, 2002: Message edited by: Buffman ]</p>

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