Can’t Miss Comments, Oct. 1 – Separation Anxiety
It would be an understatement to say that Reporter-Host Chad Blair has been busy covering the gubernatorial election. Since well before the primary, Chad has followed Neil Abercrombie and James “Duke” Aiona around the islands, listening to people talk about what matters to them.
One issue seems to be consistently causing waves this election season — the separation of church and state.
In the last few weeks Civil Beat has published a number of articles exploring the candidates’ stances on religion and politics. From an in-depth analysis into the spiritual life of Neil Abercrombie to Aiona claiming that he is being attacked unfairly for his personal faith. Then there’s our poll, which found that 43 percent of likely voters believe that Christianity should have no role in politics.
Abercrombie
Neil Abercrombie was first to set the record straight on his stance on religion. “(Abercrombie) warned that the idea that a candidate has to meet a religious test to be fit for office is a change that is not Hawaii.”
Civil Beat member Jazzaloha appreciated the insight into Abercrombie’s thoughts on religion and politics:
“The article on Abercrombie and faith issues made Abercrombie a more appealing candidate to me. I get the feeling that many of the Aiona supporters are coming from a place that dangerously blurs the lines between church and state. As a Christian I understand the strong feelings against the civil unions of same-sex couples. At the same time, the idea that we should base laws strictly on religious beliefs is highly disturbing to me. Equally troubling is the notion that a candidate is more qualified and “righteous” simply because he/she is a Christian (or any adherent of a religion). There are things I don’t like about Abercrombie, but on this point I’m with him all the way.”
Lisa Gibson simply shared her appreciation for the piece:
“This is an outstanding story. I am not sure where else this could have been published. Thank you.”
This particular article brought David Briscoe back into Civil Beat discussions after a short break:
“This seems as good a place as any to reenter the fray of Civil Beat discussion, which has lit up considerably in recent weeks. Chad’s reporting on Abercrombie’s baring his soul to the social justice (i.e. liberal/progressive) group FACE was, indeed, refreshing. Can’t wait for a similarly straight-forward approach if Aiona shows. Civil Beat’s coverage of the religious issue in the gubernatorial campaign has been invaluable, particularly in illuminating the spectacle of the GOP chairman presuming to interpret the views of the Body of Christ.”
Aiona
Aiona made his religious activity an issue by holding a press conference where he attacked “supporters” of his opponent for “taking quotes out of context, splicing videos together and manufacturing patently false statements.”
Erica Yamauchi enjoyed the deep digging:
“I appreciated today’s article, especially appreciating the fact-check at the bottom that clearly outlined Aiona’s involvement. That’s exactly what I was looking for. It would have been even better if it was higher up in the piece. Thanks again.”
Caroline Oda provided insight into the religious group linked to Aiona:
“I am responding to the October 21st article on Aiona and I thank you for your fair handling of the rumor which erroneously implies the International Transformation network (ITN) is linked to support for oppressive anti-gay legislation in Uganda. This link has been invented by inuendo; it does not exist. I was part of the Transformation Hawaii (TH) group that visited a remote hospital in Uganda in 2007. That day about 2000 mothers and babies had walked miles to receive anti-malarial mosquito-netting. We were told that by age five, half of those babies would probably die from malnutrition and malaria. Seeing abundant organic fruit that could not be marketed because of the abysmal roads, an ITN colleague had a huge road-surfacer driven thousands of miles from South Africa and provided the training to run and maintain it. The ‘hospital’ had no running water, no electricity (anti-malarial medications need refrigeration,) and no doctor. Subsequently TH and ITN provided a clean water system, In Kampala we met with business people to encourage “Unashamedly Ethical” business practices: paying taxes, no giving of bribes or paying employees under the table. Since then the Uganda IRS, once considered highly corrupt, has received a UN award for ethical practices and tax collections have increased appreciably. ITN and TH went to help the Ugandan people help themselves – that is our sole purpose there. Our work was complete before this egregious anti-gay legislative proposal developed, a proposal we strongly oppose.”
