Dear Obama - Please Stop Giving Handouts to Christians

Ralph Nader keeps looking better all the time.

The last thing that irritated me about Obama was his support for the recent FISA act. Before that was his support for the coal industry and the amount of money he's gotten from the nuclear power industry. (See the Harper's profile.) Now I read that he wants to expand Dubya's faith-based funding programs:

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.

Obama does not support requiring religious tests for recipients of aid nor using federal money to proselytize, according to a campaign fact sheet. He also only supports letting religious institutions hire and fire based on faith in the non-taxpayer funded portions of their activities, said a senior adviser to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the new policy.

The article notes that Bush "conducted the program through administrative actions and executive orders" and the Supreme Court ruled that taxpayers have no say on how our money is spent when it's done via executive fiat. Despite being a godless heathen, I'm not theoretically opposed to the government helping religious organizations help the poor and the meek. For instance, if some church or synagogue or mosque served food to the homeless, I'd have no problem with our tax money buying some of the food that's served there or subsidizing the heating costs of a homeless shelter. The problem is that, in practice, the government gives religious groups money and it often goes towards Christian proselytizing.

The article describing Obama's plans for faith-based programs also notes that he "planned to talk bluntly about the genesis of his Christian faith in his work as a community organizer in Chicago, and its importance to him now". Speaking as someone who doesn't believe in old bearded white men up in the firmament, I have to say that I don’t give a rat's ass about the genesis of his faith. What I want to know is what's going to happen that first day in office if he's elected. How will he approach Iraq? Coming from a state that mines a buttload of coal and having taken lots money from the nuclear power industry, exactly what kind of energy policy can we expect him to put forward? With gas prices rising and the economy in the gutter, I want him out there talking about the economy, not his faith. And I want to know what cogs will start spinning his head that first day in the Oval Office if he's elected. The Director of the CIA, the head of the NSA and who knows who else is going to drop by for a visit. He's going to have a desk full of papers detailing lots of stuff that goes on that doesn't get elaborated upon by the Tim Russerts of the world. In addition to revealing the truth about the Roswell Incident and the face on Mars, he's going to learn about Iran, the increasingly less democratic Russia, unrest in Africa, South American countries who are not happy with us right now, et al. In other words, as the leader of the free world, he's going to have a lot on his plate and I want to know what he's going to do besides pray.

If Obama is as keen on change as he says he is, how about leaving Yahweh out of the race for office. That would be real change.