Clinton urges use of faith-based initiatives

Headline is linked.

Sen. Clinton urges use of faith-based initiatives

Ha! probably fooled you already, as you probably thought that the Clinton that was mentioned was gonna be Bubba, I mean former Pres. Bill Clinton, and not wanna be future Pres. and current Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Showing (yet again, apparently) that she's a very shrewd politician, it seems that perhaps Sen. Clinton "gets it":

On the eve of the presidential inauguration, US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton last night embraced an issue some pundits say helped seal a second term for George W. Bush: acceptance of the role of faith in addressing social ills.
In a speech at a fund-raising dinner for a Boston-based organization that promotes faith-based solutions to social problems, Clinton said there has been a "false division" between faith-based approaches to social problems and respect for the separation of church of state.
"There is no contradiction between support for faith-based initiatives and upholding our constitutional principles," said Clinton, a New York Democrat who often is mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008.
Addressing a crowd of more than 500, including many religious leaders, at Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza, Clinton invoked God more than half a dozen times, at one point declaring, "I've always been a praying person."
She said there must be room for religious people to "live out their faith in the public square."
The issue of faith in politics has been at the center of debate following the presidential election, with some arguing that Bush's strong identification with religious values was a key to his victory over Senator John F. Kerry.
The dinner was a fund-raiser for the National TenPoint Leadership Foundation and the Dorchester-based Ella J. Baker House. Both youth outreach programs are directed by the Rev. Eugene F. Rivers 3d, a leader of the clergy-based efforts to stem youth violence in Boston in the 1990s that has become a national model for community-police partnerships.
The minister has often criticized established black leaders and liberal politicians, saying they have failed to deal honestly with the problems of youth violence.
Rivers said he hoped Clinton's appearance last night would build broader support for an issue on which some Democrats have been skittish.
"She is in a position to articulate a progressive vision around this issue of faith and values," Rivers said.
"The Clintons, on faith-based solutions, have always been way ahead of the curve," said Rivers, citing President Clinton's support of a 1996 law banning the federal government from discriminating against religious organizations seeking funding available to groups delivering social services.
In her speech, Clinton praised the efforts of Rivers and others working to curb youth violence, saying those of faith are often most willing to walk the streets of the country's most dangerous neighborhoods to try to reach young people. Where others "see trouble," she said, Rivers and faith-based soldiers "see God's work right in front of them."
Although the senator has insisted that she is focused only on her work in the Senate and constituents in New York (she faces reelection in 2006), talk of another Clinton seeking the White House seems to be a topic of speculation wherever she goes.

... more at linked article, linked from article by Michael Jonas, Boston Globe Correspondent | January 20, 2005

Note the highlighted section. I have trouble reading the words myself, as I might actually be in agreement with Senator Clinton on this one (or perhaps she's in agreement with me, which may or may not be less comforting to me).

I do believe that this is part of Hillary's effort to make herself more "main stream", a move taken from her husband's playbook, and which he used pretty successfully.

I wonder what Dick Morris would have to say about this? I expect we may hear from him about it soon on FNC or Sean Hannity's radio show.

politics

Locked Post

Advanced Search

Watch this post

Do not email me updates for this post Email me updates for this post