Deceitful Tactics By Gov. Kaine To Promote Obama In Churches

By: RK

email ^ Sept. 6, 2008 (local pastor)

Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 4:38:33 PM by beezdotcom

(This is from an email forwarded to me that allegedly came from a local pastor. I have followed up with the pastor personally, and he confirmed that the email was indeed originally sent by him, and accurately represents his experience. Even though he did not specifically ask me to do this, I have redacted the most easily identifying information - but I will provide it to folks who FReepmail me with a specific request for it.)

Gentlemen,

I never write mass emails and am repulsed by hyped up causes that are emailed to me. But I am writing to you as a colleague who almost suffered an embarrassing moment at our church, attempting to spare you that same situation.

Last week, I received a call from Governor Tim Kaine's office, apprising me that our church had been carefully selected by the Governor to come and worship with us on Sunday, (MONTH) (DAY). The representative asked if the Governor could have ten minutes to greet our congregation. I was honored to be asked and opened our pulpit to him without hesitation.

Then I received a second call from this same representative the next day, just firming up details. At that point, I noticed that he was calling from the 312 area code, which is Central Chicago. So I inquired as to why a man from Chicago with a Yahoo email address was calling to schedule the Virginia Governor officially in a Virginia church. He was very hesitant to give me an answer. So I pressed insistently, notifying him that I had his number on Caller ID and that I would investigate.

Only then did he admit that he was actually calling from the religious affairs office in Barak Obama's Campaign Headquarters.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing! As he attempted to defend himself, he let me know that the presidential race is very tight and that most Christians in America traditionally vote Republican even though their candidate would better reflect all their values if he was elected president. They are obviously counting on a lot of believers being disappointed in some of Senator McCain's views. He assured me that if our congregation was just informed, then they would most likely switch and vote for Senator Obama rather than Senator McCain, like believers across the nation are doing, he asserted. So the connection with Governor Kaine was that, since he has loaned himself for the Obama campaign for a few weekends between now and November, he was being scheduled in strategic places to "stump" (his words) for Obama.

According to him, our church was selected as one of those strategic places.

When I answered that Senator Obama's voting history is now public record and that he has rarely voted in keeping with our church's values, he literally hung up the phone on me! Five minutes later, I got a call from his boss, the chairman of Obama's religious affairs committee, attempting to do damage control. He insisted that withholding the Governor's connection to Obama was discretion, not deception. I wouldn't hear of it. I was incensed that they would attempt that strategy on us. Since then, I have received several calls from Governor Kaine's office attempting to do damage control to his constituents - even offering to come greet our congregation without mentioning his connection to the Obama campaign. But suffice it to say, this Governor won't ever be speaking at our church.

My concern is that they might be calling your church as the next possible location to stump since they have been rebuffed at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

I just wanted you to be on your guard.
posted originally in Free Republic