Gov. Granholm's 10 Commandments About Face

[paineinthearse]

Two days after saying she would support the display of the 10 commandments in government buildings, she has done an about face,

Granholm's "Off the Record" interview will be broadcast on most public television affiliates around Michigan over the weekend. Check local listings.

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http://www.freep.com/news/politics/granholm12e_20050212.htm

Symbol of faith gets a boost

Ten Commandments display is backed
February 12, 2005

BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Taking a position practically indistinguishable from that of Christian conservatives, Gov. Jennifer Granholm endorsed Friday the display of the Ten Commandments in government buildings, including the state Capitol. In an interview for the public television program "Off the Record," Granholm said she has no objection to display of the commandments in public buildings "because the Ten Commandments are universal."

Although government should not be promoting religion, Granholm said, the values expressed in the commandments from the Old Testament reflect a "universal desire for people to behave with dignity and honor God." She said she would have no problem with the installation of a Ten Commandments display in the rotunda at the state Capitol.

Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said later Friday the governor was expressing a personal point of view in response to a question from program host Tim Skubick. Boyd said the governor doesn't disagree with court rulings that have curtailed the display of the commandments in public places, nor has she taken a position on pending court cases on the issue. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to take up a series of rulings on Ten Commandments displays this year, after declining last year to overturn a ruling that required the removal of a monument from an Alabama court building.

But former Michigan Rep. Ken Bradstreet, R-Gaylord, who twice introduced legislation to authorize public displays of the commandments, said Granholm's position was a "welcome surprise." Bradstreet said his legislation, which was approved in committee but never voted on by the full House, would have allowed displays that included the commandments and other historic documents. Bradstreet, now an officer with the Michigan Conservative Union, said Granholm appears to be willing to "go further than my bill."

more...

Contact DAWSON BELL at 313-222-6604 or [e-mail].

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http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw111714_20050214.htm

AP Interview: Granholm now says no on displaying Ten Commandments
February 14, 2005, 6:18 PM


LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm now says she wouldn't support displaying the Ten Commandments in the Capitol Rotunda, calling such a display unconstitutional. During a taping Friday of public television's "Off the Record" program, however, Granholm said she didn't have a problem with having the commandments at the Statehouse. "I know that will make some people mad. But I think they are universal values," she said on the show. She added that, while the government should not be promoting religion, the Ten Commandments promote "a universal desire for people to behave with dignity and honor God." "That is not promoting a particular religion. That is just recognizing some universal values," she said.

Granholm now says she was expressing her personal opinion, not encouraging such a display. "I'm not interested in violating the United States Constitution," she told The Associated Press in an interview Monday.

Her earlier comments had dismayed the American Civil Liberties Union but brought an enthusiastic response from the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan. AFA-Michigan said in a statement that it would seek Granholm's sponsorship for a temporary display of former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Ray Moore's Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol and start a nonprofit foundation to raise money for a permanent display of the Ten Commandments there.

Moore was removed from the Alabama court in November 2003 when he refused a federal judge's order to remove the monument from public display in the rotunda of the state judicial building in Montgomery, Ala. He appealed his ouster to the U.S. Supreme Court, but lost. The monument now is on a national tour set to end in late March.

more....

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On the Net: Gov. Jennifer Granholm: http://www.michigan.gov/gov

[Az]

1. The very first commandment is simply unconstitutional

1 Thou shall have no other gods before me.

This pretty much spells out a bias against polythiests and atheists. Definately not the intent of the framers of the constitution.

[CindyDale]

2. She changed her mind.

That's what happens if people think, sometimes.

I also think she's right that people can have personal beliefs, but decide not to impose them on others.

[LiberalVoice]

5. Which is exactly why they shouldn't be posted in govt buildings. nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. That's a relief, but this makes her look bad.

I guess the "personal opinion" and "constitutionality" is a good way out though. ;) She did make me angry with her earlier statement. We don't need Dems going around supporting this crap.

[trotsky]

4. "That is not promoting a particular religion." WTF?

Gov. Granholm needs to learn about the Lemon test - a display or activity cannot be permitted if it has the overall effect of promoting even religion in general.

Despite that, even the Protestants and Catholics have different versions of the 10 commandments!

Glad she came around, but this is why the separation of church and state is so damn important.

[Az]

7. Granholm plays a very tricky balancing game

She is one of those prochoice Catholics. Thus she has to express what she believes personally as well as what she believes is possible within the laws of the land. Such dancing can often lead to missteps.

[paineinthearse]

6. Nothing on Granholm's press website - yet.

http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-23442---,00.html

Complementary to the conservative idiots of the week feature, does DU have a generic idiots of the week?