Speaking of the Sermon on the Mount...

[No Elephants]

The meme--which I think was a true meme--was that the Republicans were the Party of the Bible as far as (1) their interpretation of abortion being equal to murder and (2)no sex outside marriage (supposedly).

Given all the times Republicans have been caught with their pants down, I think they have given up on claiming superiority in the area of sex outside marriage. However, they do stand fast on the anti-abortion tenet, albeit to extremes. Though, apparently, contraception is fine, even though the Catholic Church is against that as well.

:shrug:

BUT, the Democrats were always the Party of the Bible as far as the teachings of Jesus about taking care of the poor, being mindful of those in prison, etc.

Bill Clinton's White House bragged about having ended welfare as we know it. For profit prisons abound; and, at this point, Obama owns Gitmo as much as Bush did.

And, now, we hear only about "the middle class" and "job creators" from both parties.

As to both parties, the word "poor" seems to have disappeared from public political discourse. It's as though we have "deaded" the poor, as so some religions, when members totally shun those they believe are sinners.

Can Democrats still be said to be "Sermon on the Mount" Democrats? And not even so much literally Sermon on the Mount, but people who bring into governing some principle of charity, which is common to most Abrahamic religions.

If not, what common ground can Democrats point to when they speak with the religious folk of the nation?

[Enthusiast]

1. Democrats that would use the term "job creators"

won't get my support.

[No Elephants]

2. We used to say the same about "entitlements."

Word choices do matter, especially because politicians pay consultants and focus groups to help them choose words and terms that mask and that supposedly are more appealing to the public.

Legislation, administrative rules and budgets also matter.

The less I hear about the financial cliff during this election season, the more I am certain that it won't be pretty.

With the volatility in the Middle East, I don't imagine they will be cutting the defense budget appreciably.