Monday, March 31, 2008

Carson's Muslim Faith Hurting Him With Black Churches?

The Star's Robert King pens a story today which suggests U.S. Rep. Andre Carson's Muslim faith may be hurting him in winning support among the 7th District's black churches. King writes:

The ads for Democratic congressional hopeful Carolene Mays, which are expected to debut today on radio, feature a glowing endorsement from the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson.

That's the same Johnson whose church held the funeral of U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis. Her grandson is now the 7th District incumbent.

Johnson's support for Mays, a state representative for Indianapolis, is only one of many signs that black clergy once unified behind Julia Carson may be pulled in many directions as the May 6 primary draws closer.

Not only is the field divided among three well-known black candidates, but one of them, Andre Carson, is a Muslim, further complicating the picture for some. With a little more than five weeks left until the primary, more ministers than usual remain uncommitted. And all of the candidates in the Democratic primary, including a fourth prominent contender, state Rep. David Orentlicher, D-Indianapolis, are working to secure their endorsements . . .

A key aspect of the uncertainty is the fact that Carson is Muslim. Though many black pastors say that should not be a factor -- King said it would be "petty" and constitute "prejudice" -- many still say it will be a concern.

I'm having a difficult time believing that Carson is having difficulty within this community because he's a Muslim as King's article suggests. That thinking is counter-intuitive, and I note that King's article attributes a quote on that point to nobody. Further, blacks voted as overwhelmingly in the special election in support of Carson as they traditionally vote in support of Democratic candidates when he faced an opponent who was Christian, albeit a white Republican at that. If Carson is having trouble within the black community winning support over his Democratic primary rivals, it's more likely that the problem is one of who is more qualified than Carson's religious faith.

The article once again demonstrates the widespread abuse of the nonprofit status of churches. As federally tax-exempt organizations, churches are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities, which includes support for a candidate for public office. "Leading up to his special-election victory March 11, Carson and his surrogates visited 36 black churches," King writes. He adds, "Many pastors want to avoid legal prohibitions on political endorsements that might jeopardize their tax-exempt status." Nonetheless, the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson of Eastern Star church appears in ads for Carolene Mays endorsing her candidacy according to King's article. And as Advance Indiana previously reported, Light of the World's Bishop T.G. Benjamin "gave as close an endorsement as the IRS will allow from the pulpit to Congressman Carson" according to Carson supporter Wilson Allen when Carson recently attended church services there.

15 comments:

MissouriDemocrat said...

what no comment from this wilson dude? he is so johnny-on-the-spot to defend "send my seed"...... oh must be on his union break though. by the time this thing is over i hope all that vote is split all over the place. Dr. Woody is acceptable to me, the rest are not.

Wilson46201 said...

MissouriDemocrat likes Dr. Woody so much that he's paying Myers' property taxes for him! Dr. Woody lives in a $2.1 million condo downtown in the Conrad Hotel - it's 100% tax-abated so Gary Welsh and MissouriDemocrat end up paying for Woody...

indyernie said...

"Dr. Woody lives in a $2.1 million condo downtown in the Conrad Hotel - it's 100% tax-abated"

Wilson you didn't seem to have a problem when Peterson was giving away downtown Indianapolis.
Now you want to jump on the soapbox?
Carson bought his credentials. Dr. Myers earned his and has served in government. Dr. Myers found his own way without Grandma opening doors. Lets talk about who's the better man and candidate, not where they live.

Wilson46201 said...

Only "little people" like Ernie Shearer and Gary Welsh pay property taxes -- Dr. Woody uses his money instead to run for Congress...

MissouriDemocrat said...

Indyernie I second your motion. Peterson wanted Dr. Woody and everyone else to move into those new developments, and had Granny retired and Send My Seed not been elected Mr. Wilson would be defending Dr. Woody. Thats the hypocracy of my party. They need to re-read the combined written works of Mr. Common Sense. He took and extended vacation south to warmer climates some time back.

Indy4U2C said...

Louis Farrakhan was right up front with Andre at Julia's funeral. No single man has spewed more hate venom and divided more in modern day.

America was founded on principles of people working together. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,..."

Now isn't sending Carson, a militant black separatist and emmissary of Louis Farrakhan, to congress a contradiction to the very reason our country was founded?

Wilson46201 said...

The above comment demonstrates the depth of religious and racial bigotry the Carson-haters have sunk down into...

Indy4U2C said...

It seems that Farrakhan is the one who spews racial/religious bigotry, Wilson.

I, personally, heard a Farrakhan follower refer to "your government" when speaking of the USA, clearly showing the separatism.

Joanne J said...

I too think Dr. Myers is by far the best candidate and would give the 7th district the strong representation it rightly deserves. I have nothing against Andre Carson as a person, but I hate what he represents, nepotism and machine politics at its worst. The 7th was handed to him, he did not earn it. If Carson wins in May, I will be throwing my support to Elrod, as I did in the special election and hope for the best.

indyernie said...

"The above comment demonstrates the depth of religious and racial bigotry the Carson-haters have sunk down into..."

Wilson I don't "hate" Carson. Only the Carson's spread the "hater" message. I don't "hate" you either.

I do "hate" the hateful racist message that you and the Carson's are keeping alive in my community.

And that's one reason why Andre Carson isn't qualified to serve.

Concerned Taxpayer said...

When is ANYBODY going to do something about the absolute open campaigning that democrats are doing in black churches?

They are the ones who are always crying about "church and state, church and state."

IndyFacts said...

Pastors have NO RESTICTIONS on who they can endorse when they are not on the church property. Pastor Johnson is totally within his rights to endorse Carolene Mays for Congress!

Anonymous said...

Wilson spent his entire working life sucking off the public teat in low-level clerk's position, saddling up to those in power so he would never have to get a real job. That's why it's so funny to hear him attack a Carson opponent for living in a tax-abated condo.

Woodrow Meyer -- educated, self-made, successful African-American being belittled by Wilson Allen, a legend in his own mind, bump-along-the-bottom-of-low-level-bureaucracy, mindless attack-dog, garbage-picking nobody.

Hilarious!!!

mr. jackson said...

As a Black Christian male, It is against the word of God to endorse an unbeliever to represent me. The word of God teaches us to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Which means I can hang with Mr. Carson, thats not a problem. The problem lies with my choosing of someone to represent me in office. For if I believe the word of God to be true, then I must support someone that stands on that very same foundation. I believe that Christ is the answer for the world today, so if a candidate such as Mr. Carson that does not believe Jesus is the Lord-then they may not represent me or any other Bible believing Christian in office.

Don Sherfick said...

For an indication of where this kind of conversation can lead take a look at the Indianapolis Star editorial page this morning (April 1) in an item by nationally syndicated conservative Cal Thomas. It specifically mentions Andre Carson in suggesting that "faith in moderate Islam may be the biggest counterfeit faith of all". This kind of stuff from the Righteous Right is simply irresponsible fear mongering regardless of how one might or might not feel about Andre Carson.