God’s Democrat

The first Democratic Primary Debate is over and now Republicans can be outraged that religion was barely mentioned. With that said, God did get a few shout-outs. It actually didn’t take long either. As the candidates introduced themselves, one candidate stood out as God’s Democrat. Hillary Clinton was the first and only candidate of the night to invoke an imaginary magical being.

It was actually kind of jarring and seemed very out of place. I would like to think that it wasn’t just because I am a secular minded atheist. Three times during the debate Hillary Clinton said the phrase “God given” in relation to rights and each time it seemed really forced, phony, and out of place with the rest of the candidates and with the tone of the debate overall. It sounded like something a rookie politician would say and that is strange because Clinton is no rookie.

Her “God talk” stood out also because none of the four other candidates on stage mentioned religion even remotely. Okay, Sanders did at one point cite the Pope, but Bernie isn’t Catholic and his reference to the Pope wasn’t a religious one.

Over the next few weeks, Fox News will undoubtedly complain that God and Jesus didn’t take center stage. Personally, I think that’s great. I do wonder however, why Clinton inserted a supernatural being three times during a debate about the serious problems facing this nation and the world. It sounded like pander to me and I am curious to what other people have to say.

It seems to me that Clinton threw in “God” because she thought it would play well to certain voters. It did not sound very genuine nor do I expect her to weaken the Jeffersonian Wall of Church/State Separation. It just sounded very political and being political has been a common criticism of Clinton’s entire campaign.