Monday, October 5, 2009

Vote for me or you're a bigot

It's an interesting line Erik Curren is treading in his candidacy for House of Delegates. How do you deal with someone with a diverse religious tradition in the mostly Christian Valley?
For many Christians, Episcopalian and Buddhist don't go well together. Kind of like a vegetarian hanging out at a steakhouse.
There's no problem with Curren running for office. The Founders didn't want a state church like England had, where you had to be a member of the official church to run for political office. Anyone of any belief set can put themselves in front of the voters.
But if voters have questions about how person's religious beliefs, they don't have to put those thoughts aside when they enter the voting booth. They don't have to be lectured about Jefferson every time they raise the question.
You can run. And there's nothing wrong with voting against you.

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