Jerry Brown Campaigns in Church

As this blog has noted many times, both liberals and conservatives have used religious appeals. This morning, California governor Jerry Brown, campaigned in four traditionally black churches for his ballot initiative to raise the state sales tax and income taxes . The Sacramento Bee reports:

The churches Brown visited in Los Angeles' poorer neighborhoods have hosted Brown before, and also Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The congregations are large - the West Angeles church has more than 25,000 members - and the constituency reliably Democratic.

At West Angeles, Brown told the congregation a vote for his measure, Proposition 30, is a Christian act.

"It's like tithing," said Brown, a Democrat. "You've got to pay. And it's not about me, it's about us, it's about we, it's about us together."

In brief remarks at each church, Brown referred to the Gospel of Luke, as he has previously in the campaign.

"We are asking those who have paid the most money, those who've been most blessed, to give a little back in our time of need," Brown said at his last stop, at Ward AME Church.

The 74-year-old, third-term governor said he has been coming to Ward for 40 years, since he was secretary of state.

"Not that often," Brown said. "But when it counts. And it counts on Tuesday."

The IRS defines involvement in ballot-measure campaigns as lobbying, not political campaign activity, so churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations can take stands on such measures.