Barack Obama

Right or wrong, a candidate’s religion is often at the center of a political campaign. George W. Bush proudly touted that his born again beliefs would be at the center of his decisions as President. A video of a Barack Obama’s fiery, some said radical, minister put his faith into the national spotlight. And whether Mitt Romney or Rick Perry wins the Republican nomination, you can be sure it will be a major issue, although for different reasons for each man.

Since phrases such as “Christian Values” are bandied about in the public arena, it seems like it would make sense to go to the source and see what Jesus Christ might actually have thought about the issues of our day. Surprisingly, some of the hot button issues are rarely, if ever, mentioned in the Bible. There are, on the other hand, several scriptures and parables that give us a pretty clear indication of what a “Christian” candidate should actually stand for, and what he or she would stand against.

Many people have been exasperated by the Obama administration's appeal of a recent court case that repeals DADT and I understand that frustration. During the 2008 campaign and in his State of the Union earlier this year, Obama promised to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that has been in effect since the Clinton Administration in the 1990s.

This year, as in years past, families will pack up their cars and hit the road to start their vacation. As the cost of air travel increases and family budgets are squeezed, analysts are again predicting that the price of gasoline will fluctuate in the months ahead. This only adds another unnecessary burden of uncertainty on Americans.

A few weeks ago President Obama had a health care reform conference with Democrats and Republicans to try to reach a bipartisan consensus on a health care reform bill.

I'm not sure how I got on their email list, but over the past couple of months I've been receiving emails from MoveOn, a progressive Democratic web organization that was started by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs

Ever since the special elections where Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, I've been disappointed and a bit angry at the results. As a Democrat, though, I have to admit that we Democrats have only ourselves to blame. Ever since conservative activists made a lot of noise at the town hall meetings in August, these conservatives have been able to control the terms of the debate.

I read an article in the March issue of the Progressive by Howard Zinn that I thought made a good point. In it Zinn warns Progressives not to expect the election of Obama to unleash any great reform cycle, unless his election is accompanied by the hard work of Progressives to move the nation to be receptive to reform. In his article, Zinn wrote:

"I'm talking about a sense of proportion that gets lost in the election madness. Would I support one candidate against another? Yes, for two minutes- the amount of time it takes to pull the lever down in the voting booth.

But before and after those two minutes, our time, our energy, should be spent in educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the neighborhoods, in the schools. Our objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White House, in Congress, into changing national policy on maters of war and social justice.

Let's remember that even when there is a 'better' candidate (yes, better Roosevelt than Hoover, better anyone than George Bush), that difference will not mean anything unless the power of the people asserts itself in ways that the occupant of the White House will find it dangerous to ignore."

Four months ago, I didn't know very much about health reform. I had a vague notion of supporting universal health care based on the experiences of friends and family members who cannot obtain health care insurance. I didn't, though, have any opinon on what kind of system would be best. I'd hear people mention single payer health care, the public option and an all private insurance system, and I had little understanding of what the terms meant, or what the strengths and weaknesses of each system were. Over the past 4 months, I've been trying to educate myself on the different types of health care to better understand what was being said in the recent debates that we're having right now on the health care reform bill that is going through Congress. I did a cartoon for the November 11, 2009 edition of the Tri-City Voice on the road to health care reform.

Here at Crossleft are several insightful blogs on the health care reform debate. As the Senate begins its debates on health care reform, here are some of the blogs that the Crossleft writers have done on these past couple of months health care reform debates. Some are supportive of the Democrats. Some are critical. All of them offer great insights on a progressive Christian view of the health care debate.

"Turning now to the rest of the agenda for 1974, the time is at hand this year to bring comprehensive, high quality health care within the reach of every American. I shall propose a sweeping new program that will assure comprehensive health insurance protection to millions of Americans who cannot now obtain it or afford it, with vastly improved protection against catastrophic illnesses."

Richard Nixon, January 30, 1974

Over 35 years ago, Senator Ted Kennedy tried to collaborate with President Richard Nixon to achieve a goal that both dearly desired: universal health care insurance for all Americans. It was an odd partnership, as Kennedy and Nixon were political rivals, and Nixon was fearful of running against Kennedy in the 1972 Presidential election. After Nixon won the elections, Kennedy began secret negotiations with the White House that almost led to an agreement on a health care plan. Nixon introduced his Comprehensive Health Insurance Act on Feb. 6, 1974. It would've built upon existing employer-sponsored insurance plans and would've provided government subsidies to the self-employed and small businesses to ensure universal access to health insurance. Sadly, the Watergate scandal derailed Nixon and Kennedy's efforts at health care reform.