An Oregon Voice For Hillary Clinton, Guest MINDSETTER™ Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

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Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Guest MINDSETTER™ Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

As an Oregonian deeply concerned about the common good of our nation, I have great interest in the race for president.  On issues such as homelessness and affordable housing, for example, I have seen how a president can make a difference while working on these issues across five presidential administrations.  

Last year, I endorsed Hillary Clinton.  She alone has the progressive agenda and experience to help build on the hard work and success of Barack Obama’s time in office.

As we approach the May primary in Oregon, the campaign on the Democratic side has become increasingly divisive.  That is unfortunate and only serves to bolster the chances of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz winning in November.

Bernie Sanders is someone I admire.  His focus on economic inequality is important – vital really – and as a senator and presidential candidate he has helped move the debate on this moral issue forward.  

Clinton, contrary to what some might say, is a progressive as well.  As a young advocate, I worked alongside side officials from the Clinton Administration as Hillary Clinton led the fight for health care reform in the 1990s.  Her efforts laid the ground for the successful passage of the Affordable Care Act.  She has been a steadfast champion of the rights of women and girls, and the strongest of defenders of Planned Parenthood and their critical health care services.  

As Secretary of State in the Obama Administration, Clinton helped create the conditions that made the Iran Deal possible.  This act of courageous diplomacy has helped avert another endless war in the Middle East.  

The far right has spent untold millions trying to smear Clinton during her work in public service.  As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz go around the country insulting women and promising to restrict civil rights for every group except people like themselves, Hillary Clinton is advocating the most detailed reforms in our broken criminal justice system and fighting for voting rights.

You’ll often hear Hillary Clinton tell people “that my family and my faith taught me a simple thing, do all the good in all the ways you can for all the people you can.”

Her faith has inspired her to take on the NRA and work for common sense gun violence prevention measures.  We know too much about gun violence in Oregon.  Her faith, deeply impacted by hearing The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preach as a teen, has led her to be a champion of civil rights for all.  Oregonians need her leadership to help get comprehensive immigration reform passed.

We’ve worked hard in Oregon to overcome a legacy of discrimination against the LGBT community.  As First Lady, U.S. Senator from New York, and Secretary of State, Clinton has been a champion for equality.  

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are promising to build walls around America.  Hillary Clinton is promising to open doors of opportunity.  There are issues where I disagree with Secretary Clinton.  If she wins, I will not hesitate to state public disagreements.  The record will show I have opposed Barack Obama when I felt it important (and I think President Obama to be the most consequential president of my lifetime). Still, as a father, minister, and professor, I am convinced that her leadership will move this nation forward in ways that benefit the next generation.    

As I have said many times, as a minister in the United Church of Christ I trust deeply in the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state and my endorsement is, therefore, a personal one and does not reflect on Pacific University, where I serve, or my denomination.   

 

Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie is director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality, university chaplain, and assistant professor of religious studies at Pacific University.  He lives in NE Portland.

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