First Republican Ad Hits Democrats for Booing, Rejecting God

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 6, 2012   |   1:25PM   |   Washington, DC

The first Republican ad is out that hits Democrats for initially rejecting God and then booing adoption of an emergency amendment to the party platform adding God back in after coming under heavy criticism nationwide.

The add, sponsored by the congressional campaign of Florida pro-life Rep. Allen West, features both footage of Democrats loudly rejecting the amendment and booing it after its eventual adoption as well as footage of talking heads like Democratic strategist Paul Begala calling the ordeal an embarrassment for the Democratic Party.

The change was proposed by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland immediately after the convention was gaveled into order on Wednesday.

“I am here to attest and affirm that our faith and belief in God is central to the American story and informs the values we’ve expressed in our party’s platform,” Strickland, who chaired the party’s platform committee, read. “In addition, President Obama recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and our party’s platform should as well.”

Following the vote, Debbie Wasserman Schultz tweeted and claimed, “The platform is being amended to maintain consistency with the personal views expressed by the prez…”

Schultz said the platform was changed to “maintain consistency with the personal views expressed by the president and in the Democratic Party platform in 2008. Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”

AP indicates President Barack Obama personally intervened to change the Democrat platform language on including God.

But, according to Politico, “Obama had seen the language prior to the convention, a campaign source said, but did not seek to change it until after Republicans jumped on the omissions of God and Jerusalem late Wednesday.”

And less than 24 hours ago, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt, according to reporter David Freddoso, said, “The platform represents the inclusiveness of the party…and represents the president’s positions and vision.”

CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!

 

Before the debacle, Mitt Romney said the removal of any reference to God in the initial 2012 version of the platform “suggests a party which is increasingly out of touch with the mainstream of American people. I think this party is veering further and further away to an extreme wing that Americans don’t recognize it.”

Eagle-eyed reporter David Brody of CBN News discovered the omission.

“Guess what? God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform,” he wrote. “The Brody File has calls into DNC to explain why God’s name has been dropped from the platform. Some critics will suggest that when you have planks in your platform that support abortion rights and gay marriage then it’s no wonder that God’s name would be dropped as well.”

This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform:

“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this:

“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”