Tuesday, February 19, 2013

House Approves Federal Aid for Churches Damaged by Hurricane Sandy - NYTimes.com

This is, frankly, pandering crap. Jerry Nadler had the right of it:

"Representative Jerrold Nadler of Manhattan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, said: "This bill would direct federal taxpayer dollars to the reconstruction of houses of worship. The idea that taxpayer money can be used to build a religious sanctuary or an altar has consistently been held unconstitutional.""

Look, churches are great. But we already grant a massive subsidy to religious organizations, in the form of tax-free status.  And with the sequester looming, and all the very serious people screaming about deficits and refusing to fund any number of badly needed investments, this is not only unconstitutional but also irresponsible pandering. 

And I use the word pandering advisedly.  Many if not most of the people who will vote for this know full well it is unconstitutional.  It's shameless. 

Kudos to Rep. Nadler for not going the easy route and pointing out the reality. 

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