Alonzo Fyfe

Just a quick note:

Working through family and other contacts, we managed to convince a couple of fairly significant Republican financial supporters to tell the Republican party that they are withholding future financial support pending a correction of the Republican Party's pursuit of certain church/state issues.

They, in turn, will be contacting other important contributors that they know.

Buffman

Good show! One can only hope that that type of informed attitude spreads. Unfortunately, those more knowledgeable and financially influential Republicans lost control of the Party several platform committees ago.

Perhaps, as this current administration drags America closer and closer to a pre-emptive, unilateral, war-strike against Iraq, more and more influential conservatives will come to see the dichotomy in the morality being voiced by this radical religious leadership and their overt actions.

Here is an extract from former President Carter's 5 Sep., "Washington Post" article:

"We have thrown down counterproductive gauntlets to the rest of the world, disavowing U.S. commitments to laboriously negotiated international accords.

Peremptory rejections of nuclear arms agreements, the biological weapons convention, environmental protection, anti-torture proposals, and
punishment of war criminals have sometimes been combined with economic threats against those who might disagree with us. These unilateral acts and
assertions increasingly isolate the United States from the very nations needed to join in combating terrorism." (End extract)

Even though the former President was wise enough to resign his membership in the Southern Baptist Convention, I wish he had called more public attention to how this current administration is actively doing all it can to destroy many of the constitutional rights of American citizens... especially those found in the 1st Amendment. IMHO, the collusion between church and state has never been higher than it is today...unless I look at what is being proposed for tomorrow by these same religiously motivated radicals and their conservative, vested interest, fellow travelers.

(Added)
When I mention the Platform Committee, I am actually alluding to the overall philosophical and material control of the Party.

[ September 09, 2002: Message edited by: Buffman ]</p>

theyeti

[C. Montgomery Burns]

Excellent!

[/Burns]

Do you mind elaborating any? This is such a cool thing that I would like to hear any details that you're at liberty to divulge. For instance, how did you influence these individuals, and how are you directly or indirectly in contact with them? What is it specifically that made them "see the light" (e.g., faith based initiative, allowing church politicking, creationism, etc.)?

theyeti

Rusting Car Bumper

This may be of interest.

I know of a Republican atheist who participates in precinct level politics! He goes to the precinct gatherings on election days and makes his case.

Imagine if lots of atheists did this and what you ahve done Alonzo!

DC

Alonzo Fyfe

There are other people involved who may have their own interests to protect, so I wish not to name names without permission.

The general story is that a family member contacted me saying that she knows a fairly well off businessman who makes substantial contributions to the Republican party and republican candidates. (Basically, any time the Republican party calls, he sends money where they tell him to send it.)

She asked this person about Bush's policy with respect to church/state issues and he answered, "I'm certain he won't let it get out of hand."

She then contacted me for information about such things as Bush's instructions to implement as much of the Faith Based Initiative as possible through executive order rather than through Congress, about the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" (H.R. 2357), about Bush's announcement that he will only appoint judges who "realize that our rights come from God," about rewriting federal regulations to allow recipients of government money to "consider religion in hiring and firing workers" (e.g., fire workers who do not profess belief in God).

This businessman answered that he had no idea this was going on and that he must have been wearing blinders to not see what he did not want to see. That he would be passing the information on to friends who also constribute heavily to the Republican party.

With 2 months to go before the mid-term election, I think that this could not have happened at a better time. It does give me a sense of accomplishment.

Note 1: I think the most influential factor in all of this is that this businessman is good friends with some atheists, who knows that they are atheists, and puts friendship above party loyalty.

Note 2: This is actually a consequence of my convincing this family member, who also financially supports the Republican party, to withdraw her support in June following Bush's remarks in response to the Pledge decision.

[ September 09, 2002: Message edited by: Alonzo Fyfe ]</p>