NICK LAMPSON CAN AND SHOULD WIN (AGAINST DELAY)

[Coastie for Truth]

(E-mail from the National Jewish Democratic Committee)

Every American has more than enough reason to support Nick Lampson's effort to unseat Tom DeLay - but American Jews... well, we have even more reason to want to return Tom DeLay to Texas.

What more reason -- you might ask -- is needed, above and beyond DeLay's creatively corrupt leadership of the House Republicans, indictment for money-laundering, admonishments from the House Republican-chaired Ethics Committee, and overall brazen support for the corporate special interests over the interests of America as a whole?

Well, none - and, indeed, we urge you to support Nick's campaign however you can.

But in case you're not convinced, we will tell you more - why DeLay is especially bad for American Jews, and why Nick Lampson can, should, and -- with your help -- will, cleanse the House of the embarrassment that is Tom DeLay.

TOM DeLAY AND THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY

DeLay expressed the wonderfully tolerant sentiment that, "Christianity offers the only viable, reasonable, definitive answer to the questions of 'Where did I come from?', 'Why am I here?', 'Where am I going?', 'Does life have any meaningful purpose?"

It's wonderful to know that Jews - or Muslims, Hindus, or any of the many patriotic Americans (including many who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country while serving in Iraq and elsewhere) who embrace creeds other than Christianity - are incapable of reason on important issues in the eyes of arguably the most important Republican member of Congress.


Perhaps because he questions the ability of Jews and others to reason well, DeLay advocates supporting candidates not based on their political ideas, but their religion: DeLay told a Christian pro-Israel rally that, "This is the week you put people in office who stand for everything we believe in and stand unashamedly with Jesus Christ."


DeLay's reckless partisanship on matters of deep concern to the state of Israel have imperiled the bipartisan consensus on behalf of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship - a consensus carefully built by generations of American Jews.
For these reasons, and a host of others, we hope you support Nick's campaign however you can.

NICK LAMPSON CAN AND SHOULD WIN

A USA Today/Gallup poll released just last week showed just how vulnerable Tom DeLay really is. 52% of DeLay's constituents disapprove of the job he's doing in Congress. Further, only 36% would vote for DeLay against a generic Democrat.

Well, Nick Lampson is anything but generic. Nick Lampson became a national leader on children's issues founding the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Kids, which worked to create the national Amber Alert program. Nick will fight to protect Social Security. The $19/month Nick's mother received from Social Security after his father's death, as long as he stayed in school, helped all six children go on to earn degrees while working themselves through school.

Finally, Nick believes it's important to continue to maintain a strong relationship between the United States and Israel and to respect the separation of church and state. While in Congress, Nick voted for an amendment to prohibit religious discrimination in Community Based Block Grant Programs. Lampson also supported an amendment prohibiting religious employment discrimination within Head Start Programs. As leader, DeLay defeated both these amendments.

If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to give, we urge you to help Nick end Tom DeLay's corrupt influence over the House of Representatives.

REFERENCES:

DeLay's corruption is detailed in many places, including http://www.dccc.org/houseofscandal/main.html>

DeLay on the irrationality of Jews and others can be found here: http://njdc.org/search/detail.php?id=229> (emphasis added)

DeLay on preferring Christian candidates: http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/print.php?id=9651 >

DeLay's vulnerability: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/05/delay.poll/index.html>