Howard Dean Says I Can Go To Heaven

Now that Howard Dean has spoken in front of the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities I feel so much better after all before he spoke I didn't think I ever had a chance to get to heaven. But Mr. Dean told this convention of "machers" that Jews can go to heaven.

You see, that is the difference between Democrats and Republicans according to Mr. Dean, Republicans don't think that Jews can go to heaven. Who Knew? I feel so much better now...But wait a second I'm a Republican I think Jews can go to heaven...I know tons of Republicans who think that Jews can go to Heaven...sorry Mr. Dean...you are being stupid again. But don't believe me read what Soccer Dad Said

Dean says Jews can go to heaven

By: Mike Allen

November 12, 2007 08:21 PM EST

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean came out for inclusive team prayers in public schools while speaking Sunday to a gathering of thousands of Jewish leaders, according to a leading Jewish news agency.

In another statement likely to stir debate among the evangelical Christians his party is urgently trying to court, Dean also asserted “there are no bars to heaven for anybody,” according to the report by JTA, a 90-year-old non-profit organization which calls itself “the global news service of the Jewish people.”

The remarks in Nashville, Tenn., come at a time when Democratic candidates in general – and the DNC in particular – have been increasing outreach to voters for whom faith and values is a decisive issue.

A DNC official said the chairman was saying that “Democrats, unlike the Republicans, are an inclusive party, respectful of all people, and he said that prayer in public settings should reflect that.” The official said Dean’s comment about prayer was “not that you can or can’t use Jesus’ name – he was not that specific at all.” The bulk of Dean’s remarks were devoted to “the power that people have to make a change when they work together,” the official said

The news agency said Dean made the remarks to 3,500 Jewish leaders at the opening plenary session of the annual General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities which the group calls “the largest annual gathering of Jewish leadership in the world.”

The report said Dean’s comments followed an address by the University of Tennessee's head basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, who told the crowd that as a Jewish student in public schools, he always felt uncomfortable when he was playing sports and his team's pre-game prayers would end with an invocation to Jesus.

"This country is not a theocracy," Dean said, according to JTA. "There are fundamental differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party believes that everybody in this room ought to be comfortable being an American Jew, not just an American; that there are no bars to heaven for anybody; that we are not a one-religion nation; and that no child or member of a football team ought to be able to cringe at the last line of a prayer before going onto the field."

The report was confirmed for Politico by Ami Eden, managing editor of JTA, which was originally the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The report said that in a “decidedly partisan speech,” Dean “painted the Republican Party as religiously and racially exclusive.”

Dean, the former Vermont governor, told a gathering of students earlier this year that he is “a member of the [First Congregational] United Church of Christ in Burlington [Vt.], and I worship in a church that has chosen to be supportive of cultural diversity as an expression of love.”

The DNC’s web site says the party “began a faith outreach initiative over the past two years”: “This past election, the DNC invested resources in communication and organizing efforts in the faith community on the local level. As part of that effort, the DNC advertised on rural and religious radio and held listening sessions across the country talking about the Democratic Party's values.”

The site displays “Faith in Action” as one of the party’s five top “communities,” along with young people and students, union members and their families, Native Americans, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Dean increasingly discussed religion during his insurgent 2004 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The New York Times reported back then that in an interview, Dean said that “a 2002 trip to Israel deepened his understanding of the connections between Judaism and Christianity.”

"I'm a New Englander, so I'm not used to wearing religion on my sleeve and being as open about it," Dean told The Times.

"I'm gradually getting more comfortable with talking about religion in ways that I did not talk about it before."

The United Jewish Communities assembly is being held Sunday through Tuesday at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel Resort and Convention Center.

The group says it represents and serves 155 Jewish federations and 400 independent Jewish communities across North America.

“Some UJC officials and local Jewish federations quietly grumbled that Dean's comments were too partisan,” JTA reported.

“G.A. organizers had invited President Bush to represent the Republicans and the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to represent the Democrats. Instead, the Democrats ended up sending Dean, and the White House is dispatching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice … .”

Her schedule shows she is scheduled to address the closing plenary session, at lunchtime Tuesday.