North Carolina Council of Churches, Every Major Newspaper in North Carolina, Fellow Republicans Agree

ELIZABETH DOLE IS OVER THE LINE, RELEASES SECOND AD ATTEMPTING TO ATTACK KAY HAGAN’S CHRISTIAN FAITH

GREENSBORO, NC- As Elizabeth Dole released her second attack ad trying to use Kay Hagan’s faith to attack her, it’s clear that North Carolinians are not buying it. Every major newspaper in the state (listed below), her fellow Republicans and the North Carolina Council of Churches (letter below) agree – Elizabeth Dole’s ads are “indecent,” a “gross misrepresentation,” “worse than dishonest,” and “beyond the bounds of acceptable political disagreement.”

“The overwhelming reaction to this ad has been disgust – directed at Senator Dole – for stooping to this low and attacking a fellow Christian,” said Hagan Campaign Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. “Senator Dole knows Kay is a strong Christian, a former Sunday school teacher and a member of Greensboro’s First Presbyterian Church, and she knows that her advertisements are lies. But what North Carolinians know is that these kind of political attacks won’t create one good job or help turn our economy back around. These are the issues folks here are concerned about and looking for leadership on, and these are the issues that will decide this election.”

Yesterday the North Carolina Council of Churches sent a letter to Senator Dole asking her to remove her ad, saying, “As you no doubt know, Sen. Hagan is a faithful and active member and leader in the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro. To say or even to suggest that that outstanding congregation has chosen a lay leader who doesn’t believe in God is appalling and should be offensive to churches and church leaders throughout the state.

They continued “The Council has, however, called for greater civility in political discourse, and we cannot remain silent when you challenge the beliefs of faithful fellow Christians and suggest that a leader in one of the state’s oldest and largest denominations doesn’t believe in God.”

In addition, the Council of Churches pointed out that two of the other hosts, Senator John Kerry and Ambassador Swanee Hunt are both leaders of great faith, with Ambassador Hunt having began her theological studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and graduated from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. It was also reported Thursday that the man in the grainy picture at the end of the advertisement with Kay is actually Charles Frederick Stone III, a former Sunday school teacher at Kay Hagan’s church, First Presbyterian, in Greensboro. Stone also taught religion at Greensboro and Guilford Colleges.

10 daily newspapers across the state have joined the chorus, calling for Dole’s ads to be removed and questioning why a woman of her stature would have released the ads in the first place. Fellow Republican, consultant Alex Castellanos, responsible for the infamous “White Hands” ad in the race between Jesse Helms and Harvey Gantt said that her attack was over the line.

“When you’re making ads that say ‘There is no God,’ it usually means your campaign doesn’t have a prayer,” he said.

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CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: This is indecent. It is the modern-day version of the “white hands” ad, a lie born of Dole’s desperation in a race in which she has trailed for weeks. It is also a deliberate attempt by Dole’s campaign not just to distort the truth, but to shatter Hagan’s admirable record as an elder for more than a decade in Greensboro’s First Presbyterian Church, as a Sunday School teacher and a volunteer in her church’s fundraising campaigns, worship services and community service programs… It has no place in N.C.
politics. Unless she admits this egregious, shameful mistake and acts appropriately, Elizabeth Dole has no place in N.C. politics, either.

ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES: The ad is not only a gross misrepresentation of the circumstances surrounding the fundraiser, the implication that Kay Hagan believes “there is no God” flies in the face of her long and close involvement with First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, where she is an elder and has taught Sunday School.

GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD: If Elizabeth Dole is still the gracious person North Carolinians have admired for many years, she’ll pull her new attack ad off the air. It’s worse than dishonest in its depiction of rival Kay Hagan as a “Godless American.”… Even in a campaign long ago driven down in tone by Democrats and Republicans, this is a low blow. Making false insinuations about a candidate’s religious beliefs is beyond the bounds of acceptable political disagreement.

FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER: The paper called Dole’s attacks on Kay, “desperation” and said, “The polls show she’s trailing Hagan, and she’s dipping into her own pocket to support her campaign. But jumping into the deep end of the slime pool is no way to catch up.”

WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS: A recent TV ad from Sen. Elizabeth Dole is shameful even by today’s threshold for slime. It smacks of desperation, and it’s unbecoming of a senator representing North Carolina…Hagan is no heathen. An elder in her Presbyterian church, she has taught Sunday school and does lots of other things that good people of faith do. Apparently Elizabeth Dole and her handlers missed the lesson that covered “Do unto others…”

WINSTON- SALEM JOURNAL: Political ads often get far too negative in the last, sometimes desperate, days of a campaign. But U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s TV ad painting her opponent, state Sen. Kay Hagan, as godless is a new low, even for this ugly campaign season…The latest Dole ad, however, is a lot more irresponsible than any others we’ve seen.

RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER: Dole clearly is desperate to hold on to her seat for herself and the Republicans, and Hagan has been tough on Dole for what the challenger says are rare appearances in North Carolina and steady support for the unpopular Bush administration. This ad is the most telling sign yet of just how stressed Dole is, but it may well leave a permanent stain on a long government career. Appearing to question someone’s faith, particularly when the question clearly isn’t applicable in Hagan’s case, is beneath a person of Elizabeth Dole’s stature and reputation.

SALISBURY POST: Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s “Godless Americans” advertisement may well go down as a watershed moment in her bare-knuckles brawl with upstart challenger Kay Hagan…Hagan has never advocated stripping “God” from the pledge or the county’s coinage – and in fact opposes doing so. She has taught Sunday school and serves as an elder in her Presbyterian church…It crosses the line into tactics that tarnish Dole and diminish the above-the-fray reputation she once cultivated.

DURHAM HERALD-SUN: A person’s faith is a deeply personal matter, and every piece of evidence from Hagan’s personal life leads one to believe her faith is genuine. The Dole ad clearly suggests otherwise, and, as such, is purposefully misleading and insulting. And Hagan is right that it seems a last-ditch, desperate effort by an incumbent who fears she is about to lose…Dole’s ad is offensive on two counts — it misrepresents Hagan’s beliefs and insults anyone whose beliefs are not seen as mainstream.

GREENVILLE DAILY REFLECTOR: These are scare tactics, plain and simple, and citizens expect better from so respected an individual as Dole. Just as North Carolina should be appalled by this attack, Dole should be ashamed of herself and her campaign…Nothing could justify the tone and content of the advertisement released by the Dole campaign this week…This week, Dole hit the bottom with an ad that is an embarrassment to this campaign and to the electorate. Voters deserved better than what she has delivered.

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Dear Senator Dole:

We are writing to deplore as strongly as possible your recent thirty-second television advertisement and the extended but similar piece from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, suggesting that your opponent is “godless” and concluding with the words “There is no God,” which the viewer could easily believe are being spoken by Sen. Hagan. As you no doubt know, Sen. Hagan is a faithful and active member and leader in the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro. To say or even to suggest that that outstanding congregation has chosen a lay leader who doesn’t believe in God is appalling and should be offensive to churches and church leaders throughout the state. And, as we learned from this morning’s News & Observer, other participants at the “godless” fundraiser in question included Sen. John Kerry, whose membership in the Roman Catholic Church is pretty well known, and Ambassador Swanee Hunt, who began her theological studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and graduated from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, a United Methodist seminary.

The North Carolina Council of Churches does not endorse or oppose candidates for political office, and neither you nor Sen. Hagan should construe this letter as taking a position about the outcome of your race. The Council has, however, called for greater civility in political discourse, and we cannot remain silent when you challenge the beliefs of faithful fellow Christians and suggest that a leader in one of the state’s oldest and largest denominations doesn’t believe in God.

Sincerely,

Rev. Sèkinah Hamlin
President, North Carolina Council of Churches

Rev. J. George Reed
Executive Director, North Carolina Council of Churches

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