A lot has been written and said about the post-election realities.  In the interest of getting some of these thoughts out concurrent with the web episode, I will simply add links and bullet point comments. 

First of all, a word on PostElection 08 Church politics:

1. 1)A new faith community approach is needed in the Obama years. Faith communities can not longer afford to be co-opted by conservative politicians’ agendas and so-called “wedge issues” that divide ecclesial communities. If faith communities continue to head down the road with wedge issues, they will become more and more irrelevant and will lose their own populations.  Immigrant voters and their American-born children are wising up to use of wedge issues and with each election are abandoning the “politics of resentment” (which is the politics of wedge issues) and moving en masse toward more inclusive, progressive, ideals
   

2. 2)Faith communities will need to promote the COMMON GOOD and not the uncommon interest of wedge politics that masquerades behind the façade of piety.  Faith communities should be very careful to forge any more coalitions like the Prop 8 coalition.  Most people can sniff out the stench of prejudice and intolerance covered over by the sickeningly sweet perfume of “righteous indignation.”
   

3. 3)Faith communities will need to engage the Obama administration in dialog around life issues in a way that creates bridges of understanding.  Calling Obama a “pro-abortionist” is not only unwise, undiplomatic and not prudent;  it is simply stupid.  Faith communities should speak about the promotion of life which includes anti-poverty legislation with programs that support the education of youth, supporting community based career centers, creating jobs for young people, making companies offer more post-natal support for mothers and fathers, and providing solid health education in secondary schools.  The discussion about life must include preventative measures and not only abortion.  If the discussion about life is so focused on the unborn child to the exclusion of seriously discussing these other issues, faith communities will lose even more credibility when discussing other domestic social policy issues.
   

LINKS

Krugman Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/opinion/05krugman.html

Palin Article: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/05/bush_immigration_chief_julie_m.html

My post-election homily: http://stjulies.org/Jon%20Pedigo%20Sermons/HOMILY%20PDFs/2008/Post%20Election%202008%20Homily.pdf