No matter what a man believes in, he’s always FAR too ready to believe that, when people vote his way, they’re doing so for the noblest and most intelligent of reasons… and that, when the people DON’T vote his way, they’re idiots who don’t know what they’re doing, sheep who’ve been misled by some third party, or just plain malevolent.
The liberals on this board clearly believe that Christian conservatives are sheep, easily duped into voting for whoever the Svengalis of the Christian Coalition endorse. This is, in a word, nonsense.
Interest anecdote: after dropping out of the PResidential race, Gary Bauer briefly endorsed John McCain. ALmost immediately afterward, McCain began badmouthing prominent Christian conservatives. Bauer tried to tell McCain and his campaign leaders “You fools, you’re driving away voters you’ll need in November.” Warren Rudman and other McCain advisors scoffed at Bauer, “Come on, those people have nowhere else to go in November. They’ll beef and moan now, but in November they’ll vote for us. What else can they do, vote for Gore?” ANd Bauer replied, “YEs, you idiots, that’s EXACTLY what most of them will do!”
You see, Gary Bauer understands something about “the Christian Right” that their detractors don’t (in fairness, even many conservatives don’t grasp this): white, working-class Southerners are not wealthy people. They may hate abortion, they may hate pornography, they may oppose gun control, they may support school prayer, they may be hawkish on foreign policy… but “the Church Lady” is living on Social Security, and is terrified of cuts in her benefits. “Bubba” (the guy with the El Camino and the NRA bumber sticker) works in a factory, and is worried about his job being shipped overseas.
Get the idea? These people will vote Republican if the social issues are first and foremost in their minds in November. But, if the Republican candidate backpedals on the social issues, then the Christian conservative can and WILL vote for the Democrats (who always appealed to him more on the economic issues anyway).
Reality time: Christian conservatives are not a monolith, and cannot be delivered to ANY candidate on a silver platter.
Now, it’s certainly odd how John McCain and George W. Bush have come to be perceived. A year ago, I’d have rated both as moderate conservatives. Both had solidly conservative records, but neither was beholden to the far right. Apart from campaign finance reform, they agreed on almost every major issue. So, how did McCain come to be a darling of the far left??? And how did Bush come to be seen as the voice of the far right???
I think what happened is this: a year ago, it seemed a foregone conclusion that George W. Bush was going to win the nomination handily. That had little to do with his personal qualities, and MUCH to do with the perception that he was an ideal candidate. He had a famous name, a moderate image, a conservative record, and great personal charm. He SEEMED like a very electable candidate, and Republicans of ALL stripes were dying for someone who looked like a WINNER! Even though George W. was not EVERYTHING a fundamentalist CHristian would want in a candidate, he was good enough… so the leaders of the Christian Right began to endorse him.
McCain threw a wrench in the works, of course. Though he’s never been a leftist, he chose to campaign like one. FOr that reason, even though the Far Right had NEVER loved the Bush family in the past (they always eyed George Sr. with suspicion), they embraced him when he seemed to be under attack from the left.
In short, the CHristian right probably wouldn’t have embraced McCain, but they didn’t have to be his mortal enemies. McCain MADE them his mortal enemies, all by himself. Sad thing is, McCain was surrounded by so many fawning, pandering reporters, he came to believe those reporters represented America in general. The press LOVED hearing McCain trash CHristians, so he foolishly assumed his words were going over well with the mass audience.
Wrong! And it cost him dearly.
