Today is Election Day – the day when your voice, as a citizen, is heard. But it can only be heard if you vote. Find your polling place and make the effort.
In honor of Election Day (which should be a Federal holiday, shouldn’t it?) let’s find out what issues matter most within the Pagan community. (answers are in random order)
Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson says United States could not exist without a “Christian base of liberty.” Also questions if there is a separation of church and state as we are a Christian nation. Local Hellenic Pagan responds.
Debate over how government and religion interact is not new. The main two stances articulated come from groups who believe there is a wall of separation between church and state and those who believe that the Establishment clause only prevents the Federal government from favoring one form of religion over another. Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson‘s comments seem to go further than that. In an interview with Brad Brandon on the Word of Truth Radio show, Severson has this to say:
Quite often you hear people say, ‘What about separation of church and state?’ There is no such thing. I mean it just does not exist, and it does not exist in America for a purpose, because we are a Christian nation. We are a nation based on Christian principles and ideals, and those are the things that guarantee our liberties. It is one of those things that is so fundamental to the freedoms that we have that when you begin to restrict our belief and our attestation to our Christian values you begin to restrict our liberties. You simply cannot continue a nation as America without that Christian base of liberty.
PNC-Minnesota talked with Twin Cities Hellenic Pagan Nightcloud k’Leshya about Severson’s statements that United States is a Christian nation, our values and liberty are inseparable from our Christian identity, and there is no ‘wall’ between church and state. Continue reading
Delaware Senatorial candidate Christine O’Donnell aims to get her campaign back on track after a video of her admitting to “dabbling in witchcraft” came to light. While some on the political Right were quick to attack O’Donell as a Satanist, it was the ridicule from the Left that took many Pagans off guard. The very thought of witchcraft was publicly mocked in the media and treated as a reason O’Donnell is unfit for office.
To counter this, the O’Donnell campaign has released this ad with the attention grabbing title “I’m not a witch, I’m you”:
In it, O’Donnell attempts to position herself as an everywoman candidate saying “I’m not a witch, I’m nothing you’ve heard. I’m you.”
But what if you are a witch?
Pagans from around the country have begun to respond by posting “I am a Witch”videos to YouTube. As these videos come out, PNC-National is adding them to our YouTube channel. (Click the link to see all the videos) One of the of videos so far:
This series of videos by witches not only push back at the idea that witches are the “other”, but they highlight that witches pay their taxes, are active in their community and they vote.
What about Minnesota witches? Will you be posting an “I am a witch” video? If so let us know and we will add you to our channel.
Two weeks ago PNC-Minnesota posted a poll and invited Pagans to cast their vote for the next Governor of Minnesota. Before we reveal the results, let’s look at how the candidates are doing when the general voting population of Minnesota is consulted.
According to Real Clear Politics, Mark Dayton (D) is in the lead, but by a slim margin. RCP averages several polls together to arrive at a composite score. They currently have Dayton at 39%, Emmer (R) at 34%, and Horner (I) at just 15% – with 22% of of those questioned still undecided. An interesting thing to note is that the two polls conducted by national pollsters have Emmer either ahead of Dayton or put the two candidates within the margin of error. The two polls done local newspapers have Dayton ahead by 9 to 11 points. The question becomes, is this race closer than the RCP composite or are the local newspaper polls correct that this is a runaway for Dayton?
Let’s turn now to the results from the (totally unscientific) PNC-Minnesota poll.
Popular Pagan musician announces his write in candidacy for Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional district. Says the two candidates currently running are too partisan.
Mark Digatono, usually known more for his music than his politics, has thrown his hat into the ring for Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional district. This is the district of Incumbent Congressperson Michelle Bachman, who is being challenged by Democratic Candidate Legislator Tarryl Clark. Digatono is unable to appear on the ballot and so must run as a write in candidate. He says he is running to give voters a wider choice of candidates, “Along with the Governors Race I believe both candidates are not viable choices. Both are too entrenched in the Status Quo of partisan politics.”
Pagan Newswire Collective - Minnesota Bureau 