Free Republic

Hoping to attract support among black voters in his re-election race, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is aggressively courting black clergy by luring them to the same after-school aid program that was a springboard for his political career. About $500 million in state grant money for schools, nonprofit groups and faith-based institutions is available this year for the first time under Proposition 49, the initiative Schwarzenegger promoted in 2002. That effort lay the groundwork for his entry into the recall campaign the following year. In recent months, the governor's staff has been offering black churches help in applying for the competitive grants...

Anti-Choice Black Clergy Charge Genocide By Erika Beras WeNews correspondent The Reverend Clenard Childress preaches that abortion is a form of black genocide. While his message is discordant for pro-choice African Americans, it doesn't seem to surprise anti-abortion leaders. Some began recruiting black clergy in the 1990s. (WOMENSENEWS)--When the Rev. Clenard Childress addresses his congregation he speaks of Jesus, of loving thy neighbor and about black genocide. "Abortion," he says, "is the greatest injustice to black women in this country since slavery." From the pulpit of his New Jersey baptist church Childress preaches about many of the same subjects he...

Forget Florida. And Ohio. And Pennsylvania. The next President of the United States may well be elected in Michigan. In 2000, Al Gore carried the Wolverine State by more than 200,000 votes. This year's conventional wisdom has conceded it to John Kerry. Two weeks ago, Democratic operatives began telling reporters that Michigan was in the bag. They were wrong. Last Thursday, a poll in the Detroit News put President Bush ahead in Michigan by 4 points. A Knight-Ridder survey showed the race is a virtual tie. This came as a shock to the Kerry camp, which has concentrated its efforts...

I must give credit to gay activists on one count. They have managed to get evangelical black pastors around the country to overcome their natural aversion to politics. These pastors have good instincts about what they can and cannot ignore and they have concluded that legalization of gay marriage is an issue they cannot ignore. It is true that some African Americans of note, such as Coretta Scott King, have expressed sympathy for claims of gays that their movement is but the newest chapter of the civil rights movement. But these black notables are exceptions rather than the rule. Polls...