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Erroneous AP Report: Obama to Support "Hiring And Firing Based On Faith"

By Big Tent Democrat

NOTE - The title has been changed due to further information seemingly disproving the AP report.

This to me is a stunning development if true. But the Media is not very good at reporting so I will wait to hear Obama's own words. But the AP is reporting that:

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.

. . . Obama . . . supports letting religious institutions hire and fire based on faith in the non-taxypayer funded portions of their activities, said a senior adviser to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the new policy.

If religious institutions have such policies then they should not be eligible for tax payer funds period. This is an outrageous, indefensible and contemptible position. It is support for religious discrimination. If it truly is Obama's position, I would have to question whether I could continue supporting him for President.

IMPORTANT UPDATE - David Mizner points to this statement from the Obama campaign:

The new partnership will not endanger the separation of church and state, so long as a few basic principles are followed. First, if an organization gets a federal grant, it will not be permitted to use that grant money to proselytize to the people it serves, and the group will forbidden to discriminate against them on the basis of their religion. And groups will be required to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws in their hiring practices—including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

It appears the AP report is wrong. Phew.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 01, 2008 (boomark / email).