I do think an anti-war platform would be a lot more popular with white evangelicals than its leadership. And I agree that American Christians are far more diverse than the media presents.
HOWEVER, white evangelicals (which, unfortunately, is what the media usually means when they talk about "Christian" voters) are NOT a diverse group.
According to the Pew Center, (http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=174), in 2004, 78 percent of white evangelicals voted for Bush. It was Bush's highest level of support among any demographic group. More evangelicals voted for Bush in 2004 than in 2000.
So what happened during 2006--the year the Democrats had one of their biggest victories ever? Well, in 2006, 72 percent of white evangelicals voted for Republican Congressional candidates---about 3 percentage points less than the previous election. That's it. That was the whole "defection."
White evangelicals make up 22 percent of the overall voting population---and more than 40 percent of all Republican voters which is why the GOP really can't afford to piss them off.
But based on the Pew figures, the GOP shouldn't worry. White evangelicals aren't goin' anywhere. I keep hearing the folks in the pews are getting weary of right-wing politics. Well, in 2006, they weren't weary enough. I mean, 72 percent voting GOP after all the scandals and bloodshed! Christ Almighty.
I think white evangelical support for the GOP is based more on a tribal identity thing as opposed to issues or values. If you're a white evangelical, you vote Republican. That's it When I attended Wheaton College (IL) in the late 70s, the college president told me that he didn't believe any one could have "an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ" and vote Democrat. He was completely serious.
Yet the flip side of the Pew statistics also shows that at least one out of five white evangelicals are voting Democrat. Which sounds about right to me. I'm white. I was raised evangelical. My parents were staunch Democrats. My mom is now 88 years old and recently announced at a church meeting that she would never, ever vote Republican again. (This was less impressive than it sounded because I don't think my mom has voted Republican in more than 40 years. But still. The church folks didn't know that.)
She said she expected to be socially ostracized for a while after that meeting. But instead, lots of folks approached her after that meeting and quietly said, "Me too. I'm glad you said that." Her stand has sparked a small underground movement at her church---Mom says people now come up to her at coffee hour and hand her books by Michael Moore, Al Franken---all hidden inside brown paper bags so no one can see what they're reading.
Hey man, maybe it's the start of something.
Anyhow, thanks for a great post. I got here via your comments on Digby. Love your blog slogan!
HOWEVER, white evangelicals (which, unfortunately, is what the media usually means when they talk about "Christian" voters) are NOT a diverse group.
Good info, Meg. I guess I should have said "Christians" are a diverse group, which would be more accurate since they aren't all evangelicals.
I really think the "Values Voter" crowd will stay home, vs. vote third party or hold their nose and vote for a candidate they don't really believe in.
Have to say, even McClatchy doesn't peep about the parade of closeted gay Rs exploding into the public consciousness? Hey, cowards, this is more than just the vanguard (i.e. Olbermann, Stuart and Colbert). Jay Leno is making jokes about it!
Also, in the "height of power" matter, the Terry Schiavo fiasco was a Pyrrhic loss. If you're going to go over the top and beyond the pale, shouldn't you get something out of it, like a stolen election, totally inappropriate person appointed for life, or crackpot spending bill passed? (Karl Rove, Eeeevil Genius, was responsible for that? Gee, thanx!)
I stand with John Diulio, who related the quote from the White House: "I don't give a damn what it is, just as long as it says 'Faith-based'!"
Who is John Diulio? I did a Google and didn't get anything.
Never mind, I spelled it wrong. Two L's.
Deer Hunting with Jesus, by Joe Bageant. 'nuff said...
So true...whether it's the religious rights discontentment over their 2008 crop of GOP candidates, or groups of Catholics banding together to form Web sites like http://www.catholicsagainstrudy.com, it's clear that the religious right is fractured heading into 2008. Who wants to write their obituary?
The "values voters" will mainly vote for Rudy. His personal views on women's choice are obviously not going to translate into policy.
And they remain powerful. Don't kid yourself. If they stay home, the GOP loses, no question. If they turn out, it could get close enough for them to steal it again.
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