courtesy of the new york times...
short version: the evangelical christian vote, normally taken for granted by most political observers as being staunchly republican, most definitely should not be, according to this article. long version here (free registration still required).
commentary: the article made a major mistake in separately discussing the lunacy of james dobson as being separate from the family research council, which is a conservative organization under dobson’s leadership: see yesterday’s entry for my thoughts on the dobson/obama thing.
but on to the matter at hand: several weeks ago, the NYT (the paper, not the soulcaster!) had a fascinating article about younger evangelicals who don’t want their votes to be taken for granted, and whose political stances are more nuanced than just the twin issues of abortion & gay marriage.
i believe that this demographic will be this election’s version of the “soccer moms”.
ed
silverwhisper posted on Jul 01, 2008
| views: 151
Comments
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curmudgeon said on Jul 01, 2008....
The Democrats have been taking great pains to court evangelicals this election cycle. Meanwhile, McCain seems to want to stay away from conservative Christians as much as politically possible.It could very well be that liberal-leaning evangelicals will provide the Democrats a boost this year. Whether or not the Democrats follow through with whatever they've promised these voters is another issue altogether. -
carmachu said on Jul 01, 2008....
Dont bet the ponies just yet. Both canidates have a chance to screw this up. Obamas flopping around on issues can and will come back to bite him....him trying to come in as a reformer/ change guy isnt going to go over well when his feet are made of clay. -
SocialPenguin said on Jul 01, 2008....
Republicans have historically shown themselves extraordinarily adept at making sure evangelicals don't stray at the polls in close situations. Look at 2004--Bush was getting hammered on an increasingly unpopular Iraq war, which just happened to be 2004's hot-button issue (like the economy this year). The Republican solution? 20-some odd states magically ended up with gay marriage amendments on their ballots. Who's going to show up to vote against gay marriage and end up voting Democrat? Yes, the evangelical movement is more than abortion and gay marriage, but these nonetheless are huge issues for them, and the Republicans will be sure to bring these issues up whenever they can come this fall. By the same token, Democrats tend to harp on Medicare and Social Security when it looks like the elderly may go Republican (you'll see this happen again as November nears). The base never strays in large numbers. -
silverwhisper said on Jul 02, 2008....
curm: well, mccain was absolutely right to call those two "agents of intolerance". sadly, self-awareness isn't one of the traits for which those idiots are known.
carm: i don't think there's any flopping taking place here. ?
socialpenguin: i agree wholeheartedly the republican party used the gay marriage bogeyman to scare social conservatives--who were all too happy drinking that kool aid. haven't seen you around in a while, hope you've been well.
ed -
carmachu said on Jul 02, 2008....
when the NY times starts posting he is or needs to march to the middle.....yes, he has. On more than a few issues. -
silverwhisper said on Jul 08, 2008....
you got anything specific there, carm?
ed
Comment on "the young evangelical vote: the soccer moms of this election?"
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