Congressional Dems have decided that congressional ethics — or in the case of the Republican majority, the lack thereof — is an issue that warrants considerable attention, particularly in next year’s mid-term elections.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) strategy, still in development, aims to make ethical charges the touchstone of those campaigns and would use several high-profile local races to create a national image of corruption in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.
I’m pleased to report that Dem candidates won’t be the only ones emphasizing this issue.
Faithful America, a project of the National Council of Churches, is focusing on the ethics of House Republicans, and urging supporters to “let your elected official know that faithful voters expect a higher standard in the House.”
“No nation can afford to vote away its ethical standards, and the United States, whose credibility is imperiled here and abroad, is particularly at risk of losing its shaky reputation as a moral nation,” the group says in “talking points” for supporters.
If this approach is going to be effective, support from the “religious left,” if there is such a thing, may help make a difference. It’s also an easy way to expand the debate about moral/political issues away from benchmarks such as gays and abortion, to include even more basic questions about how (or whether) our elected leaders conduct themselves in a principled way.
Faithful America’s message is obviously a religious one, but the group’s message may resonate with a broader audience, particularly on the left, which is troubled by the apparent disdain congressional leaders like Tom DeLay have for ethics in government.
As a person of faith you know that living to our highest moral and ethical standard is not a drudgery to be endured, but a privilege to be exercised. Thousands of years before the words of our nation’s constitution were penned, a far more enduring, holy law was written upon the hearts of those who cared to give it heed. It taught us that before we could “form a more perfect union, establish justice” and the rest, we must first know in the deepest sanctuaries of our hearts what it means to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) It is a standard of ethics worthy of our best efforts not because we fear getting caught lying, but because it is the way “we the people” show up for life when we’re at our very best.
These values are not true simply because they are in Holy Scripture. They are in Holy Scripture because they are true. If our civilization is to grow and not decay, if our nation is to deliver on the promise of liberty and justice for all, if our society is to advance into the light of compassion and courage, rather than retreat into the shadows of a selfish and clutching survival, then we must insist that our own standards reflect the best and highest of who we are as a human family. Until we do, and despite all religious rhetoric, the United States of America will forever be a morally poor and subject nation. We need not be Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Buddhist to feel and to know the law that resides in our hearts — that we cannot know freedom until we embrace truth, Or as Christian scripture has put it, “the TRUTH will make us free.
The discussions of late among Dems on the Hill have focused on how best to frame the party’s priorities in the language of faith, presenting them in a way that will resonate with people of faith. Faithful America’s pitch sounds like as good a place to start as any.