More on Ira Knight and the Christian Coalition

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More on Ira Knight and the Christian Coalition

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 10:05am.

You know, if Ira Knight had just kept his mouth shut, mumbled something about not liking the Nuclear Free Ordinance and didn't say anything about not liking gay people, he might have won. But, he goes and shoots himself in the foot.

Its one thing for the local Christian Coalition to put out a "pastors pick" (pdf file) for the entire county, but they also put out this gem (pdf file), pointing out the differences between Ira and Jeff Kingsbury.

Here's a list of the differences:

Ira supports "Voluntary display of the Ten Commandments on public property."
Ira opposes "Benefits for same-sex partners of city employees"
Ira opposes "Protected minority status for homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals, transgender, etc."
Ira supports "Funding for faith-based charitable organizations"
Ira supports "Diversified energy sources including nuclear power"

Not that any of these issues actually came up in the election, because Ira Knight never brought anything up. Big old thanks to the Christian Coalition for pointing all of this out!

emmettoconnell's blog
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I would be interested in seei

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 11:14am.

I would be interested in seeing Olympia voluntarily display the Ten Commandments, if only to see more than half of the population show up to City Hall the next day in protest. He's right in supporting "diversified energy sources including nuclear power" but, again, this is the Olympia City Council. Probably not a whole lot he (or anyone else on the Council) can do to shift the population from petroleum to an alternative.

Its interesting that he point

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 1:31pm.

Its interesting that he points (or the Christian Coalition, for which Rusty Howell, Ira's campaign manager is a field director) to the nuke power thing. On his website, Ira seems to go out of his way from saying that he'll focus on local issues.

I just happened to go to Ira

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 1:54pm.

I just happened to go to Ira Knight's website and didn't know he was African-American. I'm shocked nobody is clamoring for "diversity" on the City Council, since this is a minority candidate. It's too bad his website doesn't have a ton of information (though I found Kingsbury's to be rather vague, too.). Knight would seem like a candidate I'd be interested in hearing more from, if only because he obviously (a) is going to voice what's on his mind and (b) appears to not be the typical candidate running for an Olympia seat.

Ira Knight does not have any

Submitted by magnumsgal on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 3:13pm.

Ira Knight does not have any ideas related to city issues that are his own. Rusty Howell, field director for the Christian Coalition, is his campaign manager. Mr. Howell applied for the open city council seat last year - these sound exactly like his ideas. As well, I've met Ira Knight and he was COMPLETELY clueless. I asked him why he was running and he said because he was recruited to do so by Debbie Swecker, Senator Swecker's wife who is also a prayer coordinator for the Christian Coalition. He had no other reason. Ira Knight may be an African American, but he's also a bigot with a campaign staff full of bigots. Don't let his Web site fool you.

I'm not sure that Ira Knight

Submitted by Rob Richards on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 10:29pm.

I'm not sure that Ira Knight is a bigot. The fact that all of his talking points are pretty much directly from Howell's mouth is key. The Christian Coalition running a black man in Olympia is genius. We're a hip, diverse town, right? We'd snap at the opportunity to elect someone from a minority population. Their mistake was thinking that a face was all it took. Voters in Olympia, at least the ones I know and have talked to, are informed. Knight being black might sell some people, but it doesn't matter to most in Olympia when they hear that the Christian Coalition and the Republican party are his supporters. I think that in this campaign, Olympia will choose a minority candidate, but race just won't be a factor.

Is the Christian Coalition th

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Thu, 10/27/2005 - 10:42pm.

Is the Christian Coalition the same to the Democratic base as moveon.org is to the GOP?

Jeff Kingsbury's treasurer wa

Submitted by magnumsgal on Fri, 10/28/2005 - 10:02am.

Jeff Kingsbury's treasurer was doorbelled by an Ira Knight supporter a few weeks back. When asked the difference between Jeff and Ira, this supporter said, "Well, Ira isn't gay!". Bigot, bigot, bigot...Ira Knight fits the definition to a tee, even if his stances on city issues (and not so city-oriented issues) come directly from the mouth of this campaign manager. As well, campaign managers can only get away with so much, and I speak from experience. If the candidate doesn't believe in what's being said, it won't be said.

From what you said earlier ab

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 10/28/2005 - 10:40am.

From what you said earlier about the Christian Coalition recruiting Ira Knight to run, I assumed that he might not have run otherwise. I'm sure he approved what his literature is saying, I'm just not convinced it comes from his head. This stuff is pretty far out there, and we've seen examples all over the place of such groups running token candidates to advance their platforms.
Your experience with campaigns was most likely with a candidate who had a clear vision of what they wanted to change or do in office. The evidence that I've seen from the Knight campaign doesn't lead me to believe that he has been involved much in his own platform.

Simply assuming the campaign

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 10/28/2005 - 11:09pm.

Simply assuming the campaign material is reflective of Mr. Knight's website, I would disagree that his stance is "pretty far out there." He would appear to fit the bill of a mainstream evangelical. I hesitate to add "Christian" because many Muslims are just as set against homosexuality (if not even moreso). Just to throw it out there: What's your opinion on government simply not recognizing any type of marriage/civil union?

Honestly, I think that would

Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 10/29/2005 - 5:32pm.

Honestly, I think that would be better than the way it is now.

Also, in my opinion, evangelicals are all "way out there" compared to the majority of folks who tend to hover right around the middle.

I can't speak from the Democr

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 10/28/2005 - 12:46am.

I can't speak from the Democratic base, as I'm not a card carrying Democrat, but from what I know of the C.C., they don't believe in equality. They believe GLBT's are not considered equal and should not be protected from discrimination.

I think your question is regarding the reaction that each side has to these groups, so I would say yes. I also think there is a lot of prejudice behind those opinions on both sides.

I must say, I'm pretty shocke

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Tue, 11/01/2005 - 7:33am.

I must say, I'm pretty shocked at the number of attacks on Mr. Knight simply because he doesn't agree with homosexuality. You would think the man had committed a crime, judging by the tone in some of these letters to The Olympian. I never have understood why, if someone can explain a logical reason why same-sex marriage/civil union should not be recognized, they shouldn't at least be listened to. If someone is making a coherent argument, debate the issue. Don't resort to simply calling someone a "bigot" (Also, I am referring to today's letter to the editor from Gary Schmidt, not any post here on this forum).

I can tell you this much. Th

Submitted by OlyCop on Sat, 11/05/2005 - 10:52am.

I can tell you this much. The addition of either Mr. Knight or Mr. Kingsbury will be a good thing for Olympia. The insanity that has been created by the "3 stooges" on the council will hopefully become more balanced. Ware, Green, and Johnson, (to some extent Hyer) have been a negative influence on this city. Their fiscal misdirection and caustic relationship with the Police Department will hopefully be offset by either Kingsbury or Knight. Both Knight and Kingsbury seem to be more business minded, and neither seem to be anti-police. I hope either will tend to gravitate towards the quality leadership of Mr. Mah and the Mr. Foutch. Mah and Foutch have tried to stay focused on local issues instead of wasting taxpayers time and money on National and International topics. Debating Mr. Kingsbury's sexual preference in this race is as non-productive as Ware, Green, and Johnson debating issues outside this City. Hopefully Mr. Kingsbury or Mr. Knight will allow the Police Department to do their job and let us clean up the downtown. And in that light hopefully they will do more to bring business into the downtown and the City in general. To have a viable community you need money. Building and maintaining parks takes money. Building and maintaining infrastucture takes money. And protecting the citizens of this fine community takes money. Either Kingsbury or Knight will be a win for Olympia, certainly when compared to some there now. But both are unknowns to some extent, so hopefully they won't be influenced by Johnson and Ware.

I object to your portrayal of

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sat, 11/05/2005 - 4:58pm.

I object to your portrayal of Ware, Green and Johnson as the three stooges.

I also disagree with your assertion that the council is wasting time and money on national/international topics.

The nuclear weapons industry is a subject which affects us all. Since there are no obvious inroads for addressing this issue, and attaining reform, on the national stage; I am grateful and proud of the council for taking on this issue in a courageous and timely manner.

Why do you maintain an anonymous profile, OlyCop?

A bit random but, I thought t

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Sun, 11/06/2005 - 8:45am.

A bit random but, I thought the funniest part about the NFZ was that each year the City Council will be notifying US and international leadership about their stance. I do believe they are supposed to notify D.C., the Kremlin, and the UN. I wonder, does the City have direct communication to these places? Or do they have to use the same method that I do? For some reason, I'm going to guess it's the latter.

Rob W, Why would you ask m

Submitted by OlyCop on Sun, 11/06/2005 - 9:54am.

Rob W, Why would you ask me about my profile but not The Fire Inside, Magnumsgal, and others? As far as you objecting or disagreeing, that's what this blog is about, debate, right?

I agree that people should be

Submitted by Rick on Sun, 11/06/2005 - 10:13am.

I agree that people should be able to post without identifying themselves. And, yes -- this blog is about debate. But it is also my hope that through conversation, folks will develop a sense of respect and safety that obviates the need to remain anonymous.

The reason I asked why you ch

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sun, 11/06/2005 - 10:31am.

The reason I asked why you choose to post anonymously and not them, is because they do not advertise themselves as public officials.

That being said, I sincerely appreciate having the opportunity to develop dialogue with people of all stripes, who approach situations from a diversity of perspectives.

Rick, I think you're right: this blog can serve as a function to stimulate and facilitate a better understanding amongst those whom harbor disagreement. At least we can make an effort to find a respectful state of understanding between each other.

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