If you are an atheist and care about politics, then you really need to support Arizona congressional candidate James Woods. He is the Democratic challenger against a Republican incumbent in a heavily Republican district. On the plus side, he is doing everything right. He isn’t running from his atheism like most politicians in his position. He is actively using his humanist values as a positive.
Woods is playing it smart. He is using turning standard attacks against him into positive PR campaigns. For example, a Pro-Life group recently sent him a form letter trying to get him to sign a Pro-Life pledge and he responded by sending them back a letter supporting a woman’s right to choose and condoms. The condoms not only promoted his campaign, but also had a pro-birth-control message printed on the packaging.
PR stunts like that are sure to make national news and that is exactly what Woods needs to do if he hopes to win against an incumbent Republican in a Republican district. But Woods needs something else too. He needs us. He needs atheists from all over the country to donate to his campaign.
Just imagine with atheists from all over the country donated $10 or $25 to his campaign. He would be able to raise a huge amount of money from atheists (news worthy in itself) and be able to outspend his Republican opponent. In politics, money matters. Just having it is enough to sway many voters and to be taken more seriously as a contender.
Now imagine that Woods wins this race and an atheist pushing strong progressive values is able to defeat an incumbent Republican in a heavily Republican district in Arizona. It’s the jugular of politics! Atheists aren’t supposed to win in politics. Vocal progressives aren’t supposed to win in politics. And in Arizona of all places…
This is an opportunity to really change things in politics. Not just for atheists, but for progressives too. If atheists can rally behind James Woods and are able to help him win an uphill battle like this, other politicians will see that being an atheist isn’t a political death sentence. This would mean more politicians will come out of the closet as atheists and more atheists will start running for office. It might also open the door for politicians to start listening to some of the concerns of atheists while in office.
We can do this, but we need to do it together. Please support James Woods for Congress!
Here is my interview with James Woods.
Related articles
- In Response to Pro-Life Group’s Survey, Atheist Congressional Candidate Sends Back Condoms Reading “Prevent Abortion” (patheos.com)
- 4 Things Atheists Should Be Doing (skepticink.com)
- The Myth That Atheists are Unelectable (dangeroustalk.net)
- Atheists Need To Get More Politically Active (skepticink.com)
