# How is the Religious Right dealing with the election **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 7, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671 "2008-11-07T17:55:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/21 "2008-11-08T00:13:54Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Same way they dealt with it when Clinton won, I would imagine. Eight years of “America Held Hostage” and witch hunts? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/22 "2008-11-08T03:01:58Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > But that’s just it: they have those votes no matter what, so there’s no need to pander to them. What, they’re going to vote for Democrats? Not a chance. A third party? That might happen one time, and then they’ll be completely ignored after they get demolished. **Airman** is right. The social conservatives have absolutely nowhere to go, so they might as well keep their bigoted and prejudicial yaps shut and stick with the party they’re familiar with. The Republican base is going to be dragged, kicking and screaming, out of the dark ages, whether they like it or not, and if the Religious Right wants any future consideration whatsoever, they should think seriously about riding shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/23 "2008-11-08T03:11:42Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > **Airman** is right. The social conservatives have absolutely nowhere to go, so they might as well keep their bigoted and prejudicial yaps shut and stick with the party they’re familiar with. The Republican base is going to be dragged, kicking and screaming, out of the dark ages, whether they like it or not, and if the Religious Right wants any future consideration whatsoever, they should think seriously about riding shotgun. The problem is this; if they don’t get what they want, they may well decide to either sit things out or even create their own party. In either case, what happens to Republican electability if the fundies and bigots either don’t vote or insist on voting for a spoiler candidate ? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/24 "2008-11-08T03:19:17Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Social conservatism is dead. No it’s not, not by a long shot. The social conservatives OWN the Republican Party now, and they’re going to spend the next two years purging the moderates. Is that a recipe for electoral disaster? Hell, yes! Do the social conservatives give a fuck? Hell, no! They’re on a mission from God and they’re not going to let a little thing like reality get in their way. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/25 "2008-11-08T03:21:44Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > When I want to know what the far right is thinking, I go to World Net Daily. Here’s a letter from today: > > **RIP, USA** > > Obituary notice: The United States of America. Born July 4, 1776, and voted out of existence Nov. 4, 2008, after a long battle with moral cancer. Requiem service Jan. 20, 2009. > > Mark Lewis I gotta ask this. Is the ‘moral cancer’ homos and abortions or is it torture and shredding the constitution? The former only affects those involved; the latter affects me. I don’t want to be touched by cancer; moral or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/26 "2008-11-08T03:23:26Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > No it’s not, not by a long shot. The social conservatives OWN the Republican Party now, and they’re going to spend the next two years purging the moderates. Is that a recipe for electoral disaster? Hell, yes! Do the social conservatives give a fuck? Hell, no! They’re on a mission from God and they’re not going to let a little thing like reality get in their way. Then the party will spend a longer period in the wilderness than their wildest nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/27 "2008-11-08T03:24:51Z")
I suspect that a lot of the “he’s an Arab” remarks were actually intended to root the belief that Obama is the Anti-Christ. I think it’s a fairly common belief that the Anti-Christ will be born in the Middle East, so they pushed this one. It’s also a factor that he has charisma and is liked around the world. All of this talk about him as a Savior plays into that, too. In other words, this is another opportunity to preach gloom and doom, heathens of the world. Expect this reaction any time a Democrat gets elected, regardless of how many times the world _doesn’t_ end between now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/28 "2008-11-08T03:29:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The problem is this; if they don’t get what they want, they may well decide to either sit things out or even create their own party. In either case, what happens to Republican electability if the fundies and bigots either don’t vote or insist on voting for a spoiler candidate ? Let them create their own party then, or try to. Social conservatives are living anachronisms. The willfully stupid of this group will eventually die off, leaving the pragmatic, who will either mollify their self-defeating rhetoric, or die off as well. One way or the other, the Republican party is going to begin to lose its appetite for irrational hatred and demonization, if only out of self preservation. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/29 "2008-11-08T03:35:03Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Social conservatism is dead. You know, just because the remnants have not yet been swept away that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t died an institutional death.The Religious Right is dead. The Republicans lost for two big reasons: the economy and social conservatism. You can’t seriously believe this. Maybe if you mean 95% the economy and 5% social conservatism, I might give it to you, but even that would probably be a stretch. There will always be social conservatives. Even in San Francisco and Manhattan and high holy Europe where members of this board don’t like to admit it. What is and isn’t conservative might be moving at a glacial pace, but social conservatism will never die. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/30 "2008-11-08T03:38:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The problem is this; if they don’t get what they want, they may well decide to either sit things out or even create their own party. In either case, what happens to Republican electability if the fundies and bigots either don’t vote or insist on voting for a spoiler candidate ? Then they lose again, and by doing so they don’t have any voice at the table. For them to have any say they have to tag along with the Republicans, and knowing that, the Republicans should not allow themselves to be dominated by them. The next RNC Chairman should tell the Religious Right to shut up and tag along or get left behind. > [@Pohacco](#): > > No it’s not, not by a long shot. The social conservatives OWN the Republican Party now, and they’re going to spend the next two years purging the moderates. Is that a recipe for electoral disaster? Hell, yes! Do the social conservatives give a fuck? Hell, no! They’re on a mission from God and they’re not going to let a little thing like reality get in their way. Which means that social conservatism is dead. if they can’t get elected they have bupkis. Either way, the social conservatives are about to get a big whiff of what some of us like to call reality, and they can either adapt or die. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/31 "2008-11-08T03:42:42Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > You can’t seriously believe this. Maybe if you mean 95% the economy and 5% social conservatism, I might give it to you, but even that would probably be a stretch. There will always be social conservatives. Even in San Francisco and Manhattan and high holy Europe where members of this board don’t like to admit it. What is and isn’t conservative might be moving at a glacial pace, but social conservatism will never die. It is as a major political movement. I believe that. They will never again have the traction they’ve had for the last 20 years if Obama doesn’t blow it by doing what they are most afraid of and giving them another bite at the apple. 8 years of moderate liberalism like he has promised, and POOF! the Religious Right won’t have a leg to stand on. Oh, they’ll piss and moan about it, but to no avail. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/32 "2008-11-08T03:44:00Z")
I wouldn’t say it’s dead YET, **Airman**. It’s getting there, but they’ve still got a LOT of influence. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/33 "2008-11-08T03:51:32Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I wouldn’t say it’s dead YET, **Airman**. It’s getting there, but they’ve still got a LOT of influence. Right now they have influence over a powerless party, which is not to say they don’t have their tendrils buried deep in all segments of society. They do. However, they will soon have no one to advocate or open doors for them. Their lines of sustenance are soon to be cut off, or at least severely impeded, and their local influence will begin to wither as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/34 "2008-11-08T03:52:42Z")
If the religious right decides to form their own party, then we’d see a re-alignment of the rest of the political sphere. If the Republicans really and truly lose the religious right, then their only option would be to yield to some degree on some portion of their platform, to draw in enough right-leaning Dems to bring them back to approximately 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/35 "2008-11-08T03:54:11Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > I’ve read a couple of far right-ish blogs and they are blaming it all on McCain’s moderation and **disrespect for his evangelical base** , and are getting psyched for Palin’12. I haven’t been following US politics all that long, but does McCain even _have_ an evangelical base? (Did anyone else automatically think ‘prayer’ in response to the thread title?) ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/36 "2008-11-08T03:54:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If the religious right decides to form their own party, then we’d see a re-alignment of the rest of the political sphere. If the Republicans really and truly lose the religious right, then their only option would be to yield to some degree on some portion of their platform, to draw in enough right-leaning Dems to bring them back to approximately 50%. This is one of the few logical paths to their salvation. I suggest they take it. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/37 "2008-11-08T04:12:47Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > This is one of the few logical paths to their salvation. I suggest they take it. Not going to happen. This election saw the loss of seats of a few moderate Republicans, who felt that they could accomplish nothing caught between the Dems and the religious right. The best hope is for Ron Paul to take the reins of the Constitution Party in hand and attempt to draw out all the fiscal conservatives from the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/38 "2008-11-08T04:18:29Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Not going to happen. This election saw the loss of seats of a few moderate Republicans, who felt that they could accomplish nothing caught between the Dems and the religious right. > > **The best hope is for Ron Paul to take the reins of the Constitution Party in hand and attempt to draw out all the fiscal conservatives from the Republican party.** You may have something there. ETA: bolding mine ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/39 "2008-11-08T04:33:56Z")
I thought the Constitution Party was a Christian religious party? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671/40 "2008-11-08T04:53:46Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > What, they’re going to vote for Democrats? Not a chance. That depends. If you believe neither party reflects your ideology in one area, you vote for the one that reflects your ideology in another. It’s not money issues keeping pro-life people in the Republican fold, for example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-religious-right-dealing-with-the-election/471671.md?page=3)