newsobserver.com projects - Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC - Comments

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

merrilllove — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:16:20 -0400

It is absolutely appauling to know that there are americans out in this great country of ours that think they have to use thier religion to get elected. How weak of mental capabilities must you have to think that just because someone endores a religion means that they are better than someone that doesnt. I can start a list that I will never finish filled with names of people that endorsed a religion just to get votes and then never did anything for said religion. You must be a fool to support anyone that does this. Those people should be treated with distrust. Religion is used as a smoke screen so that the simple people dont see or care about the real issues that we need to attend to. Why do you think religion came about? To control the masses? To all the people out in our great country know this one out of every five people you see, meet, work with, talk to, hang out with, are people that are atheist or agnostic. To the person that was trying to link thier christian god to my country you got it all wrong. The forefathers of this nation were all masons, freemasons, and athiests. So when you see a referance to god by one of them they were not talking about your christian god, and by the way they saw the evil influence religion can have upon a government and put a clause in the constitution to protect the masses against that influence. I tend to ask myself how american are those people that refuse to uphold the constitution because of thier belief system. If your religion comes first then you are unamerican. Protecting our constitution is the most important and patriotic thing an american should do. Its what makes us americans. Its that constitution that protects your right to believe or not to believe. In alot of places on earth people get stoned in the street for not believing in one deity or another, be greatful that you are allowed to practice your religion here.

'In the tank"? :)

scharrison — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:25:00 -0400

I'm not really sure what that means, but I don't think I'm there. I am, however, extremely disgusted with Liddy Dole's performance as a representative of North Carolina. It was the straw that broke the elephant's back, actually. Up until last year, I had been a registered Republican my entire adult life. Although I've been voting mostly Democratic for the last 20 years or so, I still had a notion that Republicans served as a fiscally responsible balancing weight. I even donated to Liddy Dole (believe it or not) in 2002, because I thought she would bring some compassion and understanding to Republican ranks in Congress. I was wrong. She is nothing more than a sycophantic tool for big business, and she's more than doubled her personal fortune since being elected, while the rest of us have suffered.

Here's an extract from a DOJ FOIA document detailing Ken Lay's daily schedule from 2001:

http://www.usdoj.gov/enron/exhibit/04-17/BBC-0001/OCR/EXH012-00209.TXT

"11:30am 12:00pm 11:45 - Earl to drive you
12:00pm 1:30pm Elizabeth Dole luncheon - Four Seasons, Whitney
Room"

And the NY Times:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE6D9153BF932A15752C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

"While Enron's accounting problems worsened last September, Mr. Lay continued to raise money for candidates. He was host of a luncheon for Elizabeth Dole, who is running for United States Senate from North Carolina, at the Four Seasons hotel on Sept. 20. "

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

baremetal — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:58:19 -0400

NNDB? You must be kidding? There are many legitimate sources to track political affiliations and contributions and you choose NNDB? They cite no references to anything the put on their website! You might as well have stated the associations you listed via NNDB were, simply because you said so. That's about what it amounts too. I'm not saying that Ms. Dole is pure as the Arctic snow, but if you're making choices on which candidate to support based off of NNDB you do yourself, our state and this country a grave disservice. Now, lets call this what it really is; a hack job because you're in the tank for Obama and Hagan.

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

baremetal — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:35:17 -0400

The fact that someone has a different view of the world doesn't make them a bigot. Bigotry, by definition is stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own. Ms. Dole votes on issues that she believes are inline with her constituents. By doing so, this may differ with the opinions of certain individuals, but this does not make her a bigot. The handful of people who deny the existence of God in NC or in the US for that matter, should not be dictating changes in public policy nor the traditions and beliefs that our country was founded upon. I hardly think it rational to expect the traditions of our country be censored because they offend the foreign sensibilities of a few. A review of countless documents written by our Founding Fathers reveals that God and references to the Almighty are frequent, particularly as they pertain to the very notion of liberty which our country was founded upon. You are free to believe or not believe, this is your choice. However, your unbelief must not be allowed to affect the general welfare of our state and country.

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

bwatheist — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:37:52 -0400

Dole's bigotry against atheists makes her unfit for office.

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Sen.Dole

riverrd — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:12:31 -0400

Just how low and dirty can Liddy and her repoblican cronnies go to save her political hide? This is just more proof how crooked, slimy and stupid all members of the repoblican party are.

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

scharrison — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:15:23 -0400

"If she doesn't share their views why is she taking thier money?"

Does Liddy Dole believe in perpetrating fraud? Does Liddy Dole believe it's okay to lie to her employees and accept millions of dollars while said employees lose their retirement funds and later their jobs? Does Liddy Dole believe it's okay to lie to investors and investigators? Well, she must, because not only did she attend a fundraiser organized for her by Ken Lay ($20,000 worth), he was also on her Committee:

http://www.nndb.com/org/169/000168662/

Jack Abramoff's on there, too. Does Liddy Dole believe it's okay for lobbyists to buy their way into government? Does Liddy Dole believe in spreading indian casinos all over the place? Is that why she has pushed hard for years for Lumbee recognition?

You folks really don't want to get me started...

Why take the $$$ if she disagrees...

PoliticalJunkie — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:21:19 -0400

If she doesn't share their views why is she taking thier money?

Re: Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

CitizenOpinionated — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:18:42 -0400

Then why associate yourself with this organization. The DSCC and Chuck Schumer have already given you 10 million dollars in the DNC's attempt to buy this race. The campaign she is running is not about her, but rather the DNC adding one more to rolls to blindly follow their ultra-liberal and almost socialist agenda...

http://townhall.com/columnists/LauraHollis/2008/10/07/team_mccainpalin_needs_to_tell_the_real_economy_narrative

Claims Dept: Godless Americans PAC

bkrueger — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:03:35 -0400

The N.C. Republican Party criticizes Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan ties to a political action committee for atheists in a recent mailer.

What the mailer says: Front page: Image of torn photo of children saying the Pledge of Allegiance. "Godless Americans Pac wants to remove 'Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance. And now, they want Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate..."

Inside pages: Pictures of Hagan and supporters of the Godless Americans PAC. "Liberal Kay Hagan flew to Boston to pocket campaign cash from leaders of the Godless Americans PAC. What is Godless Americans PAC? Godless Americans Political Action Committee is a left-wing organization based in Washington, DC - dedicated to 'Mobilizing America’s nonbelievers for political activism.'

"They actively support political candidates who are atheists and who also support their liberal agenda to remove 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance and force the Boy Scouts to accept atheists and homosexuals as troop leaders. Their goal is to remove any reference to God in the public arena, including eliminating the Christmas Holiday.

"Kay Hagan & the Godless Americans PAC. Liberal Kay Hagan flew to Boston to pocket campaign cash from leaders of the Godless Americans PAC, Wendy Kaminer and Woody Kaplan. They held a private fundraiser for Kay Hagan at their home in Boston, Massachusetts on September 15th. In North Carolina, Kay Hagan says she shares our values. But, behind our backs she’s the guest of honor at a fundraiser hosted by the most vile, radical liberals in America.

"We can't trust Kay Hagan to defend our North Carolina values."

Back page: Image of a torn photo of a mother and young daughter decorating a Christmas tree. "And, Godless Americans Pac wants to eliminate the Christmas holiday. And, they want Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate."

The background: Hagan, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, attended a Sept. 15 fundraiser in Boston hosted by author Wendy Kaminer and her husband, Woody Kaplan. Kaplan is on the advisory board of the Godless Americans PAC, whose Web site says it supports candidates who are atheists and supports the separation of religion and government, including a "Godless pledge." It is not clear that Kaminer is a leader of the PAC.

Some readers may be left with the impression that Hagan supports the PAC's position on the Pledge of Allegiance, Christmas and the Boy Scouts — or that Hagan is an atheist.

Hagan's campaign said Hagan does not support removing "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Hagan is an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro.

Hagan does not support eliminating the Christmas holiday. Her family often spends part of Christmas morning at a home for severely handicapped people, where they cook breakfast, wash dishes and play Santa Claus to relieve the home's staff.

Hagan's son is an Eagle Scout. Her campaign said that while Hagan opposes discrimination, she believes questions about who can be troop leaders is a decision for the Boy Scouts, not Washington, to make.

Is the mailer accurate? Yes and no. Hagan did attend the fundraiser in question. But the mailer incorrectly suggests that Hagan shares the view of the Godless Americans PAC on the Pledge of Allegiance, Christmas and the Boy Scouts.

— Bill Krueger