Soon after President Bush’s inauguration in 2001, he created the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. According to whitehouse.gov, “President Bush created the White House Office of Faith-based and Community… to lead a determined attack on need by strengthening and expanding the role of Faith Based Community Organizations in providing social services.”
Many people cringed at the creation of this office, fearing that it would further erode the line separating church and state. I however was happy to think that finally the religious right might actually do something righteous, like help the poor. Bush promised to give eight billion dollars a year to help the poor through the OFBCI. This claim, like so many others during this disappointing presidency, was never brought to fruition.
This past week, a book was released by David Kuo, entitled “Tempting Faith.” Kuo, a self-proclaimed “Christian Conservative,” was second in command of the OFBCI during President Bush’s first term. Kuo’s background includes stints working for neo-conservatives like William Bennett and John Ashcroft.
Kuo’s book categorically outlines how the Bush Administration never had any real intentions of furthering faith based outreach. Instead, the book asserts that Bush only used the OFBCI to placate the Christian Right while reaping huge political gain from its support. In 2000, as well as in 2004, pundits attributed Bush’s wins to the staggering turnout of “faith” and “moral value voters.” Kuo goes on to add that in private, Bush and his staff vocally mocked the Christian Right. “National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ‘ridiculous,’ ‘out of control,’ and just plain ‘goofy,’”
As for the eight billion dollars that was promised to faith based groups; when Kuo left the White House after three sobering years, the grand total given was around 60 million dollars (substantially less than was given during any three years under Clinton).
Over the past year I’ve written at great length about the wedge issues that the Republican Party has used to drive our nation apart (gay marriage, abortion, prayer in school, Terri Schiavo, etc.). While I’ve given up trying to rank Bush catastrophes in terms of which ones are the worst, this is undoubtedly one of the more duplicitous acts of the presidency… a presidency of many such acts.
I fear the advancement of the Christian Right as much as anyone. However, the people the President used for gain here weren’t religious zealots trying to force us to tattoo the Ten Commandments to our foreheads. These were good, selfless Christians who were trying to be good keepers of their brothers. Rather than helping them to achieve this noble goal, they were met with nothing but lies and empty promises from the Bush administration.
What I find so troubling in all of this is the way in which faith has been perverted. Real faith, in Christ or any religion, comes from doing good deeds, and taking care of each other. Remember all that stuff about “Am I my brother’s keeper?” But it’s not just limited to Christianity. The core, central tenet of most religions is “Do unto others as you’d like done unto you.” This administration however, from the beginning of the OFBCI, was far more concerned about re-election and mobilizing voters than altruism.
It is not enough that many Christians have come to understand that they’ve been duped by this administration. People, of all denominations must begin talking about their faith. The reason that President Bush has been so effective in using the religious vote is that no other party reached out to them in such a manner.
In this election, and all others for that matter, look to candidates who truly encompass and practice the politics of real faith, whether they talk about it in those terms or not. Anyone can talk a good game and this administration has proven that they can play that game far better than most.
And lastly, MAIL IN YOUR BALLOTS!
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