Republicans in NC targeting church-goers

[RebelOne]

Just receive this today in an e-mail

Notice how they start out sounding like they are doing this only in
defense against the wily Democrats.


To: Registered Republicans in North Carolina
From: Chris Mears, Political Director
Date: February 15, 2006
Re: The pew and the ballot box

Voter registration, education and Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts are invaluable to political success in North Carolina. Unfortunately, Democratic candidates know and have mastered this strategy to energize waves of unified voters on Election Day.

The Republican National Committee has completed a study on grassroots activity that reveals that people who regularly attend church usually vote Republican when they vote.

In light of this study's findings, it is imperative that we register, educate and get these potential voters from the pew to the ballot box. To do this we must know who these people are.

I am requesting that you collect as many church directories as you can and send them to me in an effort to fully register, educate and energize North Carolina's congregations to vote in the 2006 elections.

The North Carolina Republican Party holds your church's directory in
strict confidence. This information will be used for voter registration, education and GOTV purposes *only* and will not be used to solicit church members for any other reason. They will simply receive generic voter registration and GOTV materials without reference to your church.

In today's political climate, voter registration, education and GOTV
efforts are essential for success. *Your response is crucial*. We must educate and energize our base voters, a task only accomplished through voter education and a concentration on GOTV efforts.

If you have any questions or concerns about this initiative, please
contact our Political Director, Chris Mears, at [phone] or
[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>.

[CRK7376]

1. Thank God I'm

not in any CHurch Directory. Guess I'll be in hell for that someday...That's all I need, some Church/GOP calling me to joint their cause and vote Repug....

[Greylyn58]

2. I just saw this in Late Breaking News

and I'll repeat what I said there here:

This is absolutely outrageous. :grr: :grr: :grr:

ANY and I mean ANY CHURCH that sends this info to the GOP should immediately lose their tax-exempt status. Because for the time being--there is still a separation of Church and State(even if it is becoming more and more invisible) and once these churches cross that line they should be penalized.

And I mean slap them down...HARD!!!!

:argh: Have I said today how much I hate these people!! They are killing our country!!!!

[left of center]

3. Change is needed in the laws, because churches and other

tax exempt religious organizations routinely break them. Though it seems more pervasive with the Republican party, the Democratic party is also guilty of this.

I'd be fine allowing churches to campaign and keep their tax exempt status if, and only if, such status were extended to other nonreligious groups that are currently not tax exempt, groups like the Sierra Club for instance. That would be fair. We can't allow religious groups campaigning for nonreligious causes while tying the hands of other groups that address the same issues.

I want my contributions to the Sierra Club to be tax exempt just like those sent to rabid TV preachers like Pat Robertson.