----- Original Message -----
From: Obama for America - Faith Outreach
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 4:54 PM
Subject: AP: Democrats frame economy as 'values' issue

“The challenges we face today – war and poverty, joblessness and homelessness, violent streets and crumbling schools – are not simply technical problems in search of a 10-point plan. They are moral problems, rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness – in the imperfections of man.”

--Barack Obama, June 5, 2008

Democrats frame economy as 'values' issue
By ERIC GORSKI AP Religion Writer

Published on Wednesday Sep 24, 2008

In Parma, Ohio, an organizer for Barack Obama arrived at a recent "Catholic house party," a campaign-sponsored chat about values, prepared to answer questions about abortion.

The conversation instead lurched into the battered state of the local economy _ not surprising in a community where laid-off Ford auto workers are now greeters at Wal-Mart.

Across the religious spectrum, from atheists to evangelicals, the economy ranks as the top issue on voters' minds _ a scenario that usually works in Democrats' favor.

Now, with U.S. financial systems in turmoil and the government rushing to fix it, Democrats sense an opportunity to highlight the economy as a values issue and attract middle-of-the-road religious believers who were central to George W. Bush's winning coalition in 2004.

For years, more liberal faith leaders have tried to elevate fighting poverty at home and abroad onto the values agenda. What's changed is that an increasing number of voters are seeing suffering not just in the streets but in the mirror.

Barriers remain to both major parties if they seek to appeal to religious voters on the economy. You're either for or against gay marriage or abortion rights, but no one supports foreclosures and layoffs. Differences arise over solutions, and analysts say it can make more sense for campaigns to make general pitches on the economy than faith-based appeals.

Then there's the mind-boggling complexity of things like the $700 billion government bailout Congress is considering this week just as the presidential race is heating up.

"This is daunting, complicated stuff even for sophisticated voters," said John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron in Ohio. "You can make values arguments about the economy. But you'd have to be subtle and complex and require a good bit of discussion _ not the sorts of things presidential campaigns are given to."

Green released a study last week saying 51 percent of voters quizzed over the summer _ well before the current crisis _ ranked economic issues like jobs and taxes as their top priority.

Black Protestants (61.5 percent) and Latino Catholics (58 percent) ranked economic issues as their highest priority, while Jews (43 percent) and evangelical Protestants (46 percent) ranked them slightly lower but still more important than foreign policy and social issues.

In 2004, just 18 percent of evangelicals ranked the economy as their top issue. Other groups, like mainline Protestants, also are much more concerned about the economy now.

But despite the seismic changes on ranking the issues, Green found remarkably little movement among faith groups' presidential preferences. Even with a sour economy and a Republican in the White House, Obama was polling about the same as '04 nominee John Kerry among faith groups. More recent surveys show the same thing.

Green said it's possible voters had yet to hear cogent solutions on the economy from either Obama or Republican rival John McCain and were holding to past voting patterns.

Groups independent of the Obama campaign are trying to seize on the economy as a values issue in efforts limited in scope and budget but nevertheless new for progressives.

The Matthew 25 Network, a political action committee, began running an ad this week on Christian radio in a dozen Ohio markets with former Congressman Tony Hall of Dayton talking about Christians' responsibility to care for "the least among us" when the economy is hurting.

Hall introduces himself as a "pro-life Democrat" and says Obama would work to feed the hungry, create new jobs, cover health care and cut taxes "for those who need it most." He also alludes to Obama's own struggles as someone who relied on food stamps as a child.

Another group, Catholics in Alliance for the Commmon Good, is raising money to run a newspaper ad in Michigan, Ohio and elsewhere on the moral dimensions of the economy depicting a woman fretting over an overdue bill. "One paycheck away from disaster?" it says.

Religious appeals on the economy can be made by pointing to Scripture verses in favor of helping the poor, honesty and integrity and criticism of greed and materialism.

More specifically, the evangelical Protestant ethos of individual responsibility leans to market solutions and suspicion of government, while the Roman Catholic emphasis on community and solidarity means many Catholics are more open to government solutions, Green said.

On Tuesday night on the University of Colorado's campus in Colorado Springs, the Obama campaign kicked off its latest "faith tour," talks meant to convey that Obama shares the values of believers the campaign hopes can be persuaded: moderate mainline Protestants, centrist Catholics and younger evangelicals.

The speaker, evangelical writer Donald Miller, 37, stuck mostly to cultural issues because that's his thing and he was in one of the nation's evangelical meccas. But he also argued that economic policies that help young women have an added benefit: reducing abortion rates.

The economy was on the mind of fifth-grade teacher Cathy Van de Casteele, an evangelical and undecided voter who came to the forum.

Van de Casteele, 25, said she and her husband are feeling it at the gas pump and holding off on buying a house. She said the economy is an important moral issue and thinks Obama gets it.

"As Christians, part of our responsibility is to take care of those in need," she said. "With the current state of the economy, more people are in need. As Christians, we need to learn more about the economy and figure out the best policies."

While the economy clearly is at the forefront of voter priorities, conservative Christians also draw a connection between traditional social issues like abortion and gay marriage and the economy, said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council.

"As there's a breakdown in the family and the family weakens, it's only logical it will hit Wall Street," Perkins said. "A nation cannot be strong just because of a financial structure alone. It has to have strong families and values."

Other conservative Christian activists supporting McCain don't believe the economic downturn will resonate in that community.

"I have never believed the president of the United States, regardless of who it is, can help the economy get better," said Phil Burress, head of the Ohio-based Citizens for Community Values. "I believe a president can make it worse. The best thing to do is to get off the backs of private entrepreneurs and small business."

Democrats, however, can argue that the Bush administration's spending on the Iraq war and expansion of government doesn't mesh with the smaller government that many independent voters desire, said Eric McFadden, former director of the Ohio Office of Faith-Based Initiatives who also worked to get out Catholic votes for Hillary Clinton during the primaries.

To connect with religious voters on the economy, Obama needs to focus not so much on tailoring a message to specific faiths as talking about job loss and showing empathy, he said.

"Someone said to me, 'We need to create a flier that shows McCain's tax plan and Obama's,'" McFadden said. "We don't need that. People get lost in detail. They want to understand that someone is compassionate and understands what's going on and will fix the problem."

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This message was sent from Obama for America - Faith Outreach Joshua Dubois, 233 N Michigan Ave. Suite 1100, Chicago, IL 60601.

There is way too much hyperbole.

A financial package is necessary to keep the banks solvent.  It isn't only rich folks who are helped.  It is everyone with a 401k or IRA that has a fund that holds financial sector stocks.  We are all in this together.  Or owns stock or owns a company that needs capital. 

1 - A moratorium on foreclosures.  Evey mortage that gets reset can be renegotiated with a new interest rate and terms the borrower can afford.  The difference is a candidate for bailout help.

2 - All bonus pay for all bank officals that ask for help is forbidden.

3 - All transactions are transparent.  The problem is no one knows what went into those mortgage bonds.

4 - More oversight to ensure transparency and suspicious timing.

5 - Banks that need funding are owned by the government similar to the Keating 5 S&L mess.

6 - Raise the rate banks charge to borrow from each other and the FED.

7 - Rebuild our infrastructure. 

----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Angelides, The Apollo Alliance
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 12:42 PM
Subject: Beyond the bailout

$700 billion is a big number.

That's the proposed cost of the financial bailout plan now being considered in Washington. It's also how much America sends off to the Middle East each year to pay for oil.

A Wall Street bailout might keep us afloat in the short-term, but it isn't going to turn our economy around, end our dependence on oil, or create millions of green jobs.

To do those things, America needs a bold new plan. And the good news is, we've got one.

It's up to us to get America back on track – sign on to the new Apollo Program!

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What is the New Apollo Program? A comprehensive plan to put Americans to work, slash soaring energy bills, and rebuild America's economy. And just like John F. Kennedy's plan to put a man on the moon, it's going to take all hands on deck.

Boiled down from 20 pages of detail, here's the basic idea:

1. Rebuild America clean and green, with energy-efficient buildings and factories, mass transit, and renewable power sources.
2. Make it in America – rebuild the U.S. auto industry to produce efficient cars and trucks, and create new green jobs in clean energy manufacturing.
3. Help America compete, by investing in American-made clean energy technologies – instead of falling behind countries in Asia and Europe.
4. In the process, we create 5 million green-collar jobs – and train and educate people from across the economic spectrum to fill them.

This isn't just pie in the sky. These practical steps are backed up by rigorous economic analysis. We even outline how to fund it all. That's what's allowed us to bring together an unprecedented coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders to support a clean energy-good jobs agenda.

We don't have time to waste. Our rusting 20th century economy is failing working families and communities – they can't wait any longer for these changes.

Stand with me in endorsing this bold, new plan. Add your signature right now! When you do, we'll pass your message along to state and national leaders to make sure they're with us.

http://ga0.org/campaign/apollopledgelaw?rk=q1STJ7p1v3j4E

Historic challenges haven't stopped us before. America won the race to the moon, and with your help, we can win the race to energy independence.

Thank you for taking action,

Phil Angelides
Board Chair
The Apollo Alliance

PS: We're holding ten events this month in communities around the country, releasing our bold new plan with supporters like Sen. Barbara Boxer in California, Sen. Debbie Stabenow in Detroit, and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. Stay tuned for updates.