Dean can bridge the religion gap

Liberal Oasis has an interesting post that calls for Democrats to be bold about injecting themselves into religious debate, such as the Ten Commandments circus in Alabama. And concludes that Dean may well be the natural candidate to take the mantle:

it’s safe to say that it’s perceived disputes over values that sets the Dems back in rural areas and the South.

(It can’t be because the South hates big government, as they benefit more from federal government largesse than supposedly liberal New York and California.)

And if Dems want to claim stable majority status, it can’t cede an entire section of the country.

So how can Dems bridge the cultural divide?

Creatively, and boldly, step into hot-button controversies, like the current one in Alabama over displaying the 10 Commandments in a government building.

Now, this is generally the last thing politicians want to do, for good reason.

There’s not a lot of room for win-win compromises with polarizing social issues. More than likely, you’re just going piss off a lot of people.

But when you run for President, you get asked about everything, especially what’s on the front pages.

If asked about this one, chances are most Dems will probably sidestep. The issue will probably fade, so why kick up dust?

Yet a response that successfully bridges the religion gap would show that he or she can really be a uniter, not a divider.

Such a response would have rely on admittedly predictable liberal arguments. For example:

“Our Founding Fathers wanted separation of church of state so we all can practice our religion and beliefs freely without the fear of the theocracy preached by Osama Bin Laden.”

But Dems should also include the unpredictable, praising those who believe so strongly:

“To see Americans bravely standing on a courthouse steps, to express their deep faith to the world, also makes our Founding Fathers proud.

“We must always stand up for rights of Americans to worship as they please, while making sure the government doesn’t send the signal that some faiths don’t warrant the same support.”

This is not an argument that is going to get hard-core religious voters to switch their positions on the intersection of politics and religion. That’s not doable.

And it’s not a simple silver bullet to winning the South in ‘04.

But such inclusive arguments, on this issue and future ones, may help Dems, over time, reverse the perception that the party is fundamentally antithetical to the core values of the very religious.

As well as mitigate GOP attempts to paint Dems as immoral.

Howard Dean may be the natural candidate to attempt such a bold strategy, as he has similarly tried to position his support for gay civil unions, and has talked of winning over voters who display Confederate flags by finding common ground on health care and education.

It would be awesome to see Dean make such a statement. The other candidates won't go near the issue, that's for certain.