This isn’t about Hillary or Bernie. This isn’t even about whether the DNC violated its own rules with regards to neutrality this primary season. This is about standing up for core Democratic, progressive and American values by saying it should never be acceptable for a Democratic party official to suggest attacking a fellow Democrat—or anyone else—for their religious beliefs or lack thereof.
I want to set aside the argument over just how much the DNC was tipping the scales in one candidate’s favor and what should be done about that because I believe there’s something even more troubling in one email in particular. In it, the Chief Financial Officer of the Democratic Party suggests trying to pin down a candidate (most likely Bernie) on the whether or not he believes in God because voters might get squeamish about voting for an atheist:
From:MARSHALL@dnc.org To: MirandaL@dnc.org, PaustenbachM@dnc.org, DaceyA@dnc.org Date: 2016-05-05 03:31 Subject: No shit
It might may no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.So far, the only defense Marshall has offered, via the same article is this:
“I do not recall this. I can say it would not have been Sanders. It would probably be about a surrogate.”
This is not a defense. This is like the cop in Florida trying to defend his shooting of an unarmed black man by noting he was really trying to shoot an unarmed patient with autism. Either way, what he did was wrong, though I guess it would be nice if it weren’t just another blatant case of racism.
Marshall is basically saying, “Sure, I was suggesting we attack someone’s religious beliefs or lack thereof, but it was someone that was definitely not Bernie Sanders though I don’t remember who it was.”
I don’t care whose religious beliefs or possible atheism you were out to attack. Such an attack is reprehensible and should not be condoned in the Democratic Party or the progressive movement, especially when it comes from one of our top officials.
The Democratic Party consists of people of many different religious faiths. It also consists of millions of agnostics, atheists, and people who would claim to be “spiritual but not religious.” We were the first party to both nominate and elect a non-Protestant to the presidency (Al Smith and JFK). We were the first party to nominate a Jewish Vice-Presidential candidate (Joe Liebermann). This year millions of us voted for a self-proclaimed democratic socialist Jew who may or may not believe in the kind of God that is traditionally imagined by lots of other believers. And many of us saw our own thoughts and feelings about religion reflected in the thoughtful, nuanced and inclusive way Bernie talked about religion.
We should also keep in mind that “none” is the fastest growing “religious preference” in the United States. People with no religious preference now make up 23% of the American population, increasing from 36 million to 55 million people from 2007 to 2014. That number is even higher among millenial Americans with more than a third (35%) choosing that preference.
It cannot be acceptable to contemplate “smearing” someone by labeling them as part of any religious group, especially when you realize that group represents nearly a quarter of the population as a whole and more than a third of younger voters.
This is no more defensible than the Republican efforts for years now to “smear” President Obama as a Muslim as if it would be some terrible thing if he were.
From the founding of this nation, one of our most important freedoms is enshrined not only in the freedom of—and from—religion int he First Amendment but in Article VI of the Constitution where it clearly states that no religious test will be required of any seeker of public office. While the Republican Party seems ready to do away with both of these protections from time to time, we, as Democrats, must defend them now more than ever.
We, as Democrats and progressives can have really heated arguments and knock down, drag out fights. But we also believe those fights should be about issues and actions and not about identity. We cannot tear people down for belonging to any particular ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. That is not who we are. That is not what we do.
Brad Marshall should resign as CFO of the DNC because someone who contemplates tearing someone down just because they might not believe in God the same way you do or at all does not represent the values of the Democratic Party or the progressive movement.
I hope this is one thing we can all agree on.