CEMENTING THE BASE

Hustler's Larry Flynt wants to replace Davis (Carla Marinucci, August 1, 2003, San Francisco Chronicle)

Larry C. Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, says he wants to be the Democratic Party's standard bearer -- or maybe "barer" -- in the coming California recall election, and he's running for governor.

"They said that the person with the best name recognition stood the best shot, so why not?" said Flynt, 61, who has taken out papers to run for the state's top job. Speaking in a phone interview last night from his Los Angeles home, Flynt said his reason is simple: "I think I can do a better job balancing the budget than those bureaucrats in Sacramento." [...]

Unlike many who say they want the job, Flynt says that he has a plan on "how to balance the budget without raising taxes . . . I've done my homework."

"I would expand the gaming and the private casinos, the slot machines," said Flynt, who is connected with the Hustler Casino in Gardena. "This would provide enough revenue to where the state could get out of debt -- the entire deficit. Nobody's taxes get raised, and no programs get cut."

Does bread go with that circus?

MEANWHILE, IN RED AMERICA:
New tolerance for faith in politics (By Jane Lampman, 7/31/03, The Christian Science Monitor)

[R]eligion and politics are becoming more entwined in the American psyche. A nationwide survey released last week shows that religion plays a significant part in people's thinking about contentious policy issues and is seen increasingly as an important element in political life.

Religious perspectives show up readily, for example, in public attitudes toward such disparate issues as gay marriage and US foreign policy in the Middle East, according to the survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The groups surveyed 2,002 adults between June 24 and July 8. [...]

Strong support for Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is tied to faith concerns. Fully 44 percent of Americans believe God gave the land that is now Israel to the Jewish people, the poll says.

And 36 percent believe that "the state of Israel is a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy about the second coming of Jesus" - 63 percent of evangelicals, 21 percent of mainline Protestants, and 25 percent of Catholics.

On the role of faith in political life, the survey could help boost religious rhetoric in the presidential campaign. It finds Americans are quite comfortable with the religiosity of public officials - particularly President Bush.

A 62 percent majority says he strikes the right balance in how much he mentions religious faith, and 58 percent say his reliance on religion in policymaking is appropriate.

When asked in general about expressions of faith and prayer by political leaders, 41 percent said there was "too little," and only 21 percent said "too much."

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 1, 2003 4:08 PM