Religious conservatives take a back seat in 08 elections

[babylonsister]

For a Trusty Voting Bloc, a Faith Shaken

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: October 7, 2007

AFTER the 2004 elections, religious conservatives were riding high. Newly anointed by pundits as “values voters” — a more flattering label than “religious right” — they claimed credit for propelling George W. Bush to two terms in the White House. Even in wartime, they had managed to fixate the nation on their pet issues: opposition to abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research.

Now with the 2008 race taking shape, religious conservatives say they sense they have taken a tumble. Their issues are no longer at the forefront, and their leaders have failed so far to coalesce around a candidate, as they did around Mr. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

What unites them right now is their dismay — even panic — at the idea of Rudolph W. Giuliani as the Republican nominee, because of his support for abortion rights and gay rights, as well as what they regard as a troubling history of marital infidelity. But what to do about it is where they again diverge, with some religious conservatives last week threatening to bolt to a third party if Mr. Giuliani gets the nomination, and others arguing that this is the sure road to defeat.

Many religious conservatives were proud to claim the mantle that Karl Rove bestowed on them as “the base of the Republican Party.” Now they fear they may have lapsed unwittingly into the same role that African-Americans play in the Democratic Party: a dependable minority constituency that is courted by candidates but never really gets to call the shots.

The candidates are certainly sending signals to that effect. While they’re eager to get as many conservative religious votes as they can, they’re no doubt aware of a shift since 2004 — that perhaps these voters aren’t the bloc they were once taken to be, that they don’t all answer to the same leaders, and that they might even be more pragmatic than in the past, more willing to sacrifice purity for viability in a candidate.

Scholars who study the role of religion in politics now say it is possible that the Bush years were an anomaly and that evangelicals, of whom religious conservatives are only a subset, could find themselves back where they were before — divided among themselves and just one of many interest groups vying for attention.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/weekinreview/07goodstein.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=dd9d25cb61b0d6e4&ex=1349409600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[NMMNG]

1. Amen to that

It's about time their manipulations and tantrums stopped running things.

[OnionPatch]

2. They need to take a back seat after

being pandered to for the last eight years.

[NMMNG]

3. Particularly considering

that their "moral values" platform has been nothing but deception and hatred. They're nothing more than thugs in the guise of angels.

[NC_Nurse]

4. The back seat is where they belong.

They are bringing up the rear of society's attempts to evolve. They don't even believe in evolution!

[Wise Child]

5. Swinging pendulum

I believe the powers that be realize they can't be in power for too long at a time. It all sort of works in twenty year cycles.

That CNN series on "God's Warrior's", Jerry Falwell was inteviewed a week before his death, and he expressed doubt that Roe v. Wade would be overturned in fifty years. He seemed a bit more interested in demonizing Hillary Clinton this election season. He seemed more comfortable at his static role of demagogue than actually acheiving his lofty goals.

If Hillary Clinton gets elected, The Religious Right will have eight years of negative energy to feed off of. I'd watch out when the 2020s approach.

[pwb]

6. You got that right Sis.

The moral majority is now where it belongs, The Moral Minority.

[BlackVelvet04]

7. Something I believe that is happening

and not being reported is that as the right wing Christian fanatics have become more fanatical is a large segment is leaving the movement. I personally know quite a few who have been so turned off by the hatred toward gays and the stupidity about stem cell research that they are leaving the right wing Christian churches and moving toward more tolerant and open minded churches.

The old adage "You can't fool all of the people all of the time" all the time applies.

The Christian author of an op ed piece in our local paper encouraged Christians to stop fighting stem cell research since none of us know when life begins. The same piece encouraged Christians to love instead of hating gays and to quit making life hell for gays......it pointed out that the constitution guarantees ALL citizens rights, not just rightwing Christian. That author received a lot of support with phone calls from Christians thanking him for speaking out. The author of the piece was my 81 year old father.

[babylonsister]

8. WOW! Props to Dad! That is the logical, humanistic stance to take

on homosexuality and stem cell research. I'm glad to hear people are using their heads instead of blindly following 'leaders' so fanatical.

[BlackVelvet04]

9. I was surprised at how much support he got.....

he and my mother left a church that was constantly preaching against Roe vs. Wade and homosexuals and told them why they were leaving.

[madrchsod]

10. they believed the kingdom of heaven

should be here on earth .they believed heaven will be built on earth by giving riches to the money changers in the temple