Helping Democrats Reach Believers

Common Good Strategies' Founder Mara Vanderslice Discusses Faith in the Public Sphere

By Lynae Anderson, Beckie Supiano, August 24, 2007

The full transcript is below:

Q. How does a girl from Colorado end up at a Quaker college and then here?

A. I was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, which is a beautiful part of the country but was not raised in a Christian home, although my spirituality and my faith was always important to me. I actually became a Christian in college. But when I was growing up in Colorado, I think I saw the really strong voice of the religious right as the voice of Christianity in American public life. So I really had just a one-sided view of what Christians were saying in the public square.

So, when I went to college, I went and studied in Latin American and went and worked with Catholic missionaries and Pentecostal missionaries in the slums outside of Bogotá, and they really were people who were driven by their Christian faith to serve the poorest of the poor. And I had just never come across Christians like that before in my experience growing up in Colorado, and I was so moved by their witness, by their really giving their lives to those who Christ would call the least of these. So I came back to college and was just fascinated to find out just who was this Jesus Christ and what was this faith about. So I got involved in the Bible study on my campus, which was run by the inter-varsity pastor at my campus at Earlham, which was a small Quaker school in Indiana.

The more I read - I just fell in love with the teachings of Jesus and with Jesus of Nazareth, and even though there were a lot of things I struggled with, I came to know God through coming to know Christ. And so one evening in our campus worship I had a moment where I really felt like God was calling me and said "I have been calling you by name, I have been knocking on your door. You are mine." And so I made a decision to accept Christ into my heart and to become Christian and made a decision for Christ.

Q. That’s sounds like that song, the "Here I Am, Lord" song.

A. Yeah, the "Here I Am, Lord" song. And I just felt like, you know, the song goes, "I hear you calling in the night." I just felt like I had been hearing God’s voice calling me and that I wanted to set down my doubts. I just remember wanting to set it down, like setting down luggage you were carrying and just making a decision for this path. But what I found is that so many people who had had a born-again experience or who became evangelicals in school – that it affected their political outlook as well.

And I felt like my commitment was still very much to the poorest of the poor and to social justice issues, and the Jesus that I found and the gospels that I read seemed to always care about those who were on the margin, those who were not always lifted up or valued the most in our society, and I have never understood why the Christian voice that was raised up in American life seemed so focused on conservative issues and not as much on those who I think Jesus spent much of his ministry with.

So for me it was very frustrating that once I claimed a Christian identity that somehow there was a sense that I should then change my party membership to becoming a Republican. I just really felt like there had become a real imbalance in our country with the Christian church in America aligning too strongly with one party. It felt like that’s not, that’s not, I don’t think that’s a good reflection of the Gospel, and I don’t think it’s healthy for the church in America.

And so, I went through a number of paths working on development issues and poverty issues and traveling back to Latin American and traveling to Africa before I got involved in politics.

But I think it was ultimately the sense that there is such a great imbalance that somehow if someone’s identity is first in Christ, which I think is true for many Americans that their faith is more important to them than their political affiliation, that it is the most important thing first before they think about how they affiliate with politics and to me it was such a tragedy that somehow if someone makes a decision for Christ first then that means they should somehow become members of one party or the other.

And my colleague Eric and I have always been saying we don't want to try to make to make all Christians become Democrats, that is not our goal, but the goal is that there should be more balance, and it just felt so wrong for me in every way that people of faith would feel that there is only one political persuasion for them. And that is where the passion for the work started.

Q. And you interned at Sojourners and then was it right after that you ended up working on Kerry’s campaign?

A. No. I was at Sojourners from 1997 to 1998, and after that is when I spent the bulk of my 20s doing international development work. I worked on the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt relief that was a big – you know – kicked off by Bono, but all the church groups were part of the coalition.

To me that was a fabulous example of the way Christians, people of all faiths were part of the coalition, but really it was Christians that were putting their faith into practice in the world taking a biblical principle about the year of jubilee and God’s teaching around lending and usury and applying it around the world and so for me it was a wonderful example of how religious communities united together, conservative and progressive to see real change in the world.

So I worked on the Jubilee campaign for a long time and then I spent some time doing mission work in Africa, in South Africa and Zambia, did some work with World Vision and some women’s groups on the AIDS crisis, which really convicted my heart, and then it was sort of from there that I eventually got into the political work.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about what it was like emerging on the political scene, for someone who had been involved in development to make that change?

A. Well, I had read an article of a good friend of ours, Amy Sullivan, in the summer of 2003 where she said if Democrats are going to win … if Democrats have a prayer – they have to get religion. This is something I had been thinking about and feeling a lot already, and so when I read that article I said, this is so true that Democrats had been tone deaf to issues of faith in the public square and to the concerns of religious people, I think, even though most Democrats are religious and most Democratic elected officials are religious.

But the Republicans had done a very effective job at reaching out to these communities using wedge issues to polarize these communities. And so I really felt like this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to try to find a way to get involved in the presidential election cycle and to help the Democrats better to understand - first of all the diversity and complexity within America's religious communities and to also find a way to build relationships and reach out and resonate better.

So, I actually picked up everything from my life in DC. I moved to Iowa, and I had done some work there on the global AIDS issue, but then I ended up getting on Howard Dean’s campaign, which now seems an amazing turn of events. But at the time he was the only candidate who had spoken out on the war and so many in the faith community had been opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning. But I found very quickly that the so the operatives, so to speak, in the campaign world did not understand or appreciate what the faith communities were about.

I think after that experience in Iowa I came back to Washington, and I just wanted to tell everybody I could find Democrats can do this and we need to do a better job at it, so I eventually found my way to getting an interview with the Kerry campaign and was hired there and started as a young 29-year-old.

I had never really done this before. And as far as I know I was the first person hired for a Democratic presidential campaign whose job was to exclusively to liaise to the faith community. And we learned a lot during that time. I think everything we tried then was very nascent.

There was a lot of reticence as to how this should be done. And I think at the senior staff level – just a lot of reticence is really the word. This had not been something that was part of the culture in campaigns before. I think we have really come a very long way since 2004 and the end of the Kerry cycle. We learned a lot from that time.

Q. And so was it after that that you and Eric came together to found Common Good?

A. Yeah, it was the very next year when I think there was a little bit of a wakeup call to Democrats, frankly, that Kerry had lost and there was an understanding that we had lost religious voters, values voters – but also with Catholics, with weekly church-goers, Bush had made even greater gains with evangelicals and also even those that we would think in our base communities, what Democrats would call our base communities – Hispanics, Protestants, where we had lost a lot of ground. So think there was more interest than there had been in the in the past. And it was that very next year that I met Eric and we founded Common Good Strategies.

And really the heart behind it was: We wanted to get out there and work with candidates, work behind the scenes to change the culture within our party. There’s many in the religious community that are speaking to issues, and that is wonderful, but what we felt what was needed was a real culture shift within the Democratic Party itself. And we had it within our heart and mission that we could get behind there and help build bridges and build relationships that would ultimately change the culture within our party and that was our goal.

Q. So, in 2006 you were working with congressional candidates. Did you find that their political advisers in the campaign were still reticent? Or were they working with you at that point?

We were just honored to get to work with so many credible candidates this last cycle. You think of Bob Casey from Pennsylvania or Ted Strickland from Ohio or Heath Shuler from North Carolina, I think all of these were candidates whose faith was essentially who they were.

They just really got it. And each really had an authentic heart to reach out and engage the faith community and I think therefore their staff did. So we were just really lucky this last year to work with the kinds of candidates we got and I think frankly the ones who wanted to work with us were those with an authentic desire to build relationships.

A lot of what we did with the campaigns was just work with candidates to help them find ways to express what was real and authentic to them about their faith experience, how it informed their calls to public service and to help provide opportunities and venues for them to do that. And we also spent a lot of time building relationships. We reached out to pastors, priests, religious lay leaders and we would get them together with our candidates or with state party leaders in small groups just to listen, frankly.

And some places we were working we did this kind of on the ground work for more than a year and it was just about opening a dialogue, a conversation with people we hadn't ever reached out to before. For us it was stunning to see in some of the states where we worked. They just did not have relationships with people in these communities. I think a lot of our work was focused on reaching out and building relationship.

Q. And what were you hearing form people in these dialogues? What were they saying?

A. We brought the Michigan Democratic Party chair out to meet with the evangelical community in the western part of Michigan, which is very Republican, very conservative, Christian-Reformed part of the state. And the state party had never been out there before – they didn’t have relationships.

But when we got there we sat down with conservative evangelical pastors and they said to us, “Where have you been? We have been hearing from Republicans all the time and we would love to be in conversation with you,” and I think that was such a wake up moment for the state party chair because he never expected to get that kind of a reception from this community - that many Democrats, less so now, had written off, frankly.

And another thing we found – we met with about 1,000 religious leaders all around the states that we were working in. We met with evangelical pastors, we met with conservative pro-life Catholics, we met with African American leaders, we met with mainline Protestant groups. The theme that went through those conversations more than anything else was the sense that they didn’t know what Democrats stood for. They would say, “What do you stand for?”

And I think that was a real surprise to many who we were working with also – they thought the hot button issues would be the primary topic of conversation and what we really found was a desire for politics based on conviction, a new kind of "conviction politics." And I think that that really helped empower us and those that we worked with to locate that moral voice, where is our moral compass for governing. What is it that we want to accomplish for our country? And can we speak more directly about what our convictions are to promote the common good? And I think that was the biggest thing we learned through all that process, and I hope that it will continue to impact the Democrats today to really speak with a clear heart and vision about what it is we’re trying to accomplish.

Q. And what would working with the candidates entail? You talked a little bit about going out there, but do you sit down with them in meetings and talk strategy?

A. It was really different for each campaign, and each time it was about what the candidate wanted. Our first operating principles was that it had to be authentic to them, so we had to sit down with them and say how do you want to express this: "What is real for you in your religious life experience and what it is about that experience that informs your call to public service and informs your public policy decisions?"

But every single time it was helping them articulate what was real for them and then really, the work that we did was to help provide the channels of communication or the venues for the candidates to share that with the public as they were getting to know who the candidates were.

Q. It looks like it succeeded in the different states and regained some of the religious vote for Democrats – in a way.

A. I just can’t emphasize enough how important it was to have the amazing candidates that we did, and they did do really well, and I hope their victories will continue to push the cultural change that I was talking about before in our party – that the religious community – that they have horns and tails that we can’t connect to. Ted Strickland in Ohio almost split the white evangelical vote evenly, we won regular churchgoers, we won white Protestants, we won back Catholic voters.

I think when Democrats – when they make a commitment to this in their campaigns, when they speak with authenticity and they show the respect to these people in these communities and to the role that religion plays in the life of most, of millions of ordinary Americans that we have an opportunity to reconnect again and to win these voters back.

So I hope that all of our presidential candidates will be learning these lessons for 2008. Ultimately if our work catches on, Eric and I say we would love to put ourselves out of a job. We started this to change the culture and if we can change that; we would love to move on to other things. So, we're very pleased with last year's success.

Q. So, 2008 is coming up. What do you have going on for that?

A. I think the most amazing thing about 2008 is that if you look at our top three of our top presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards – I think all three of them have very deep commitments and roots in their own personal religious lives and are comfortable speaking about it and the role religion plays in American life.

And I think ironically, you look at the Republican top three candidates who I think are much more uncomfortable in talking about the role of religion in America. So we could see for the very first time in a while, all the Democratic contenders doing a better job at being competitive in faith communities. So right now we are not choosing sides – it’s way too early for that, but I am very impressed with our top tier. I think that all of them have a very good opportunity to connect with the faith community.

Q. Right now what's a typical day for you like?

A. Well, this year we are working on some work with the faith-based community around hunger, poverty issues – social justice issues. So it is really a combination between the work that we are doing with the faith community on these issue-based campaigns and then continuing to push our work forward with the state parties, at the state party level. Every day is different. Eric and I wake up every day – something new comes, or a new opportunity arises. It’s a challenge every single day. But it is a special year, I think, this time, because we’re really not only doing political work but trying to get back to which I think really motivated both of us to get started – the social justice issues. So, it’s a wonderful time and we will see where everything leads by 2008.

Q. What worked in Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan – do you see that possibly working in New York or California or even Illinois – these states where maybe you don't have such kind of a base of evangelicals?

A. Well, I think there are religious Americans in every state of the country, and the faith community is so diverse that I think you really do need to look at what the current situation is in the local area. It’s going to be different in every place, but I think the same principles, of being willing to reach out, to listen, to show respect, to people of faith and the importance of religion in their lives.

And frankly, I think when our candidates use moral language and speak with deep conviction and share with the voters what informs their experience, whether it is religious faith or whether it’s their moral values that were formed by their grandfather who they grew up with, it’s going to resonate with secular voters, too.

Our experience is that we won back religious voters but we didn’t lose progressives or secular voters, and I actually think that candidates who make a commitment to speak with conviction and share with voters what basically informs their moral compass that that is going to resonate across the spectrum. So, I just think these principles are universal and can be applied in any part of the country.

Q. Are there any particular Bible passages or works that you rely on in your work and in your faith?

A. I don’t know I can say there’s one or the other. Some people like to say that they have one book that’s their favorite. I love the gospels, I love the prophets, the Old Testament prophet books. I think you really have to decide where it is that you - what it is you - are seeking inspiration for from that time. I oftentimes will go back to draw from the letters of Paul to the early Christian communities, when I’m thinking about what does it mean to be a Christian in our world today. There is so much wisdom there that he was sharing with those who were trying to walk the faith in those early days. I get a lot of inspiration from Paul’s letters. It’s awfully hard to kind of pick one part of the Holy Scripture to say it’s your favorite. It's a wealth of inspiration, and I think that’s why people have been turning back to it for centuries and will hopefully continue to do so.

Q. I know you talked before about biblical language – or faith-based language. Is that something candidates have to learn to do?

A. We have actually made a really important point of saying we are not trying to get Democrats to quote from the Bible, and that is absolutely not what we are trying to do, and sometimes we will say that very explicitly that this is not about asking someone to quote from this chapter and verse.

And sometimes I think the most effective languages or ways to connect are not to directly quote from scripture but from really speaking about that deep, heartfelt experience. Again, it has to be authentic. People of faith are incredibly perceptive – just like all Americans – and they are going to see through something that is not real. I think it has been very important to us to say this has to be about what drives you at the deepest level, that's what we're trying to get at, when that comes from a place of faith and prayer –
that we should not be afraid to say that – we shouldn't be afraid to express that.

There is a separation of church from the state in our country, but it doesn’t mean that we should be afraid to talk about the ways that religion informs our public life in our own hearts and in our own journeys. And I think every candidate will be really different. With Gov. Strickland in Ohio, he loved Micah 6:8; this was his favorite verse. He had it on his wall for 15 years. And it may not be someone else’s favorite, but this was his, and so he felt really strongly about quoting from that verse in the radio ad that they did on Christian radio, because that is what had been his deepest inspiration. So, it just has to be different for everyone.

Q. So Strickland had radio ads. What else were you doing with him? Was it more ads – anything on TV?

A. No, I think I sort of shared what our major approach was. It was reaching out and building relationships. Some of the candidates did express their message on the Christian press and radio and other forms of media. Most of our candidates found an opportunity to give some kind of a flagship speech around religion and values and how that informed their call to public service. And oftentimes they would do those at faith based venues although not always. So it was very different in each context.

Q. And I know it's too early to look at 2008, but you said earlier that the Iraq war was a huge issue for faith communities – and that did have an affect on part of the 2006 election. Do you see any big issues emerging in 2008?

A. I think there are a lot. I think the war in Iraq will continue to be one. I think issues around global and domestic poverty are of increasing importance in the religious community. Particularly look at the efforts like the “One” campaign – that Rick Warren, a very prominent evangelical pastor, and Bono and the Catholic bishops are all getting behind. I think the issue of human rights and torture is one that is very important. The National Association of Evangelicals just issued a statement condemning the U.S. practice of torture.

I think it’s stunning for many Christians to think that we have a White House that has condoned the practice of torture. I think that just doesn’t speak well from who we are, how we see ourselves and our leadership and the kind of image we want to portray in the world. I think the issue of climate change and global warming has been one that has come up a lot in the press and is getting an increasing amount of attention among the religious community – amongst evangelicals as well as Catholics.

So I see a lot of these as the main issues I think will be emerging in the next election – I think people are looking for moral leadership, they’re looking for us to return to this sense of having a strong moral compass with our priorities at home and also especially with our role in the world. I think that’s what people will be focusing on.

Q. I just wanted to return back to talk a little bit about your time in South America - because it sounds like it really affected you. In Bogotá?

Bogotá, Colombia. I was 18 years old, going on 19, and I had really long blond hair all the way down to my waist, so I stuck out like a sore thumb as being this girl from middle-class Colorado, Boulder, and we were on the study abroad program but the internship I was with was with women who were working with, who had daycares in homes in the very very poorest slums on the outskirts of Bogotá. And it was just a stunning experience for someone who had always grown up in the middle class to walk down the streets and see sewage running down the sides of the streets with no protection for the small kids.

We knew a small kid who had fallen into this sort of run of sewage off the side of the road who got very sick, just the things we take for granted like, beginning to realize that billions of people who, you know, God knows each by name, are living on less than a dollar a day. So to see that reality – it just really changed my whole life, it just turned it upside down. It was really in that context that I experienced God’s call in my life in a very clear way, although I had yet to become a follower of Jesus. I was really in that place with the sort of the poorest of the poor that I found God.

One of the things that I find very hopeful is that more and more Americans through the ministries of their churches are traveling abroad and getting to see the rest of the body of Christ and getting to see churches around the world that are doing such great work and it’s one of the things that gives me the biggest amount of hope for the voice of the American church in the world is the more we have contact with other parts of the world and see what their realities are the more compassion people are going to have … it’s a profound experience. I hope more people will take the opportunity to do mission work abroad.