This is How to Win

via Time

Democrat Timothy M. Kaine's quick and convincing victory in the Virginia Governor's race Tuesday night gave his party a huge morale edge and fund-raising boost heading into next year's midterm congressional elections, and perhaps a lesson for the next Presidential race of '08: Democrats can talk about religion too.

The first ad that Kaine bought in his quest for the statehouse in Richmond was on a Christian radio station in rural Virginia. His first television spot of the fall told about his experience with Catholic missionaries, when he took a one-year leave from Harvard Law School to service as principal of a vocational school teaching carpentry and welding to teenagers in Honduras. Red, white and blue "Catholics for Kaine" bumper stickers proliferated in the Old Dominion. David Eichenbaum, Kaine's media strategist, tells TIME that he sees a recipe for national Democrats in Kaine's victory in Virginia, a GOP stronghold that President Bush won by 8 points in 2000 and 9 points in 2004. "Talking about his faith gave people a comfort level that he wasn't a big, scary liberal," Eichenbaum said. "We're trying to show voters that God isn't a Republican." Kaine echoed that in his acceptance speech: "We proved that faith in God is a value for all, and that we can all share, regardless of our partisan label."

It was a discouraging night for the White House. The other marquee contest was for Governor of New Jersey, where Sen. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat, drubbed Republican benefits-management executive Doug Forrester. Across the Hudson, Republican Michael Bloomberg was easily reelected Mayor of New York City in a blowout of Democrat Fernando Ferrer.

I suppose a win is a win. I've made no secret of the fact that I have no god belief; nor any supernatural beliefs whatever. Yes, I'm well aware that most of my fellow Americans hold some form of religious belief..By some accounts, as much as 90%.

If this is a template for winning at any level of government, I cannot support such a scheme.

While it is a rational way to woo the religious right, 'running on religion' is, at face value, irrational.

Open the bubbly, and celebrate today. But if you're truly part of the 'reality based community,' you'll see this victory as a win-at-any-cost approach to which I do not ascribe.

If this post seems harsh, that is not my intention for making this entry. I'm neither sorry, nor apologetic for my non-belief. It seems to me that playing the god card to election victory leaves you an obligation to your constituency to do the 'godly' thing during the proposal, enactment, and veto, of legislation. To me, this is not the way to move the country forward. In fact, I could make a strong case that this is the way to move it in the opposite direction.

But today, we celebrate :)