(RNS) Criticized by Republicans and some members of their own party, Democrats voted to restore the word “God” to the Democratic national platform late Wednesday (Sept. 5). The GOP had seized upon the omission as a failure of their opponents to appreciate the divine's place in American history.
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan took to the airwaves early Wednesday to blast the change from the Democrats’ 2008 platform. “I guess I would just put the onus and the burden on them to explain why they did all this, these purges of God,” Ryan said on “Fox & Friends.”
Ryan also attacked the Democratic platform’s initial failure to affirm Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, an issue important to some American Jews and conservative Christians. After a voice vote at the party's convention in Charlotte, language about God and endorsing Jerusalem as the capital was added.
God is mentioned 12 times in the 2012 GOP platform. The 2008 Democratic platform made one reference to God: the “God-given potential” of working people. The 2004 platform had numerous references to God.
The new language referencing God reads: "We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential."
According to the Associated Press, a high-ranking Democratic official said President Obama personally intervened to encourage Democrats to add "God" and "Jerusalem" to the document.
Democrats had initially defended the lack of the divine in the platform by pointing to a section on faith.
“Faith has always been a central part of the American story, and it has been a driving force of progress and justice throughout our history,” the section reads in part. “We know that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith and the countless acts of justice and mercy it inspires.”
Melanie N. Roussell, national press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, said the platform “mentions ‘faith’ 11 times, ‘religion’ or ‘religious’ nine times, ‘church’ two times and `clergy' one time.”
The Democrats’ emphasis on “faith” as opposed to “God” will not likely to please many atheists, according to Hemant Mehta, chairman of Foundation Beyond Belief.
“The Democrats could have at least suggested that people without faith also care about progress and justice and that we support or volunteer with organizations that work toward those ends,” Mehta wrote on his “Friendly Atheist” blog. “Instead, they ignored us.”
On the initial cutting of “Jerusalem” from the platform, the Republican Jewish Coalition decried the omission of “critical pro-Israel language.” But the National Jewish Democratic Council called it inconsequential. “Jewish Democrats know full well that Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel,” said council president David A. Harris.
Jack | Sep 6, 2012 | 8:35am
This was a disaster at the convention. The chair asked for a vote of the delegates. The “yeas” and “nays” sounded even on the first vote. So the chair asked for a second vote, and “nays” were probably a little more prominent. The chair was confused on what to do, and then asked for a third vote. The “nays” absolutely won the vote, yet the chair completely disregarded the will of the DNC delegates and lied as he said “2/3rds affirm” the change in the platform to include “God” and “Jerusalem”. It was VERY clear, the DNC at their own convention proved that they don’t value the votes of their own delegates. The only thing that counts is the will of the bosses. People should google this and they will see what happened and interpret this for themselves. It is a very accurate reflection of the way our President has been leading for the last four years.
I believe the DNC should let the delegates decide. The reference to God is not prominent in any way in the 2008 platform which is what the 2012 platform now reflects after the chair disregarded the delegates votes. The delegates clearly did not want the reference to God. They clearly did not want to affirm Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel.
I think this was the Democrats being honest about the stand they wanted to make. I would wish the parties would just be honest about what they really envision for the U.S. And then let the voters choose. I just hope our votes won’t be ignored like they were at the DNC when the platform was “amended.”
Deacon John M. Bresnahan | Sep 6, 2012 | 1:07pm
Jack left out part of the farce. Some news outlets showed the words placed on the teleprompter before the voice vote. It told the chairman to say the “Ayes” won the vote. But it was so obvious that the needed 2 thirds vote had NOT been reached that the chairman got very confused.
Unfortunately, much of the biased media took the attitude that the bloody disaster in the road should be ignored as they took the attitude:” Move Along! Nothing to see here! MOVE ALONG! MOVE ALONG!”