Kevin Drum, a perspicuous writer at the The Washington Monthly, sees Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani as a precursor of the religious right voters eventually lining up for Rudy in a general election.
But Drum, and Rich Lowry with whom Drum agrees and whom he quotes, are off on this one. Writes Drum:
RUDY AND THE EVANGELICALS....Rich Lowry on Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani:
Just talked to a top social conservative. He says, hinting that more prominent social cons will end up going with Rudy, "There's plenty more where this comes from." On the
impact of the Robertson endorsement on the race: "What it does for Rudy is it says, 'It's OK to vote for Rudy.' I think there will be more of that, pre-nomination and post-nomination." On conservative evangelical voters and Giuliani: "If Rudy is the nominee, they're going to vote for him — period."This strikes me as right. The real core issue of the Christian right has always been "moral decay." Increased acceptance of abortion and gay rights are symptoms of this, and they get most of the attention, but moral decay itself has always been the bedrock fear that drives everything else.
Drum's contention that the religious right voters focus on their conception of moral decay is accurate to a point, but religious right voters are sufficiently independently thinking that they will not, in overwhelming numbers, automatically and on command fall in line for a candidate who does not speak their language and who is not sincere. [Lowry's writing on this issue isn't serious; he's just spouting a line.]
Ask the first president Bush, whom Karl Rove and other Republican politicos accurately gauged as under-performing with the religious right voters.
As much as I personally disagree with the religious right on just about every aspect of their descriptive views, these voters hold much more nuanced world and ethical views than Drum and Lowry would have you believe; and, more than some Republican operatives may realize: Genuine views.
George W. Bush connected with these voters, and as much as W. is a truly repulsive political and ethical leader, he is genuine in his religious convictions.
In enough churches of the religious right, it's not all authoritarianism and 'our leaders say we must vote for this man to save the world from Satan'.
The churches are a community: People coming together to help an elderly lady paint her house; people coming together and talking about a personal problem; sharing a success; comforting a church member in a crisis; and solving non-political issues about quality of living.
Sure, there will be some, possibly many (especially in the south), among the religious right voters who will pull a lever for a Republican nominee, when enough political propaganda and brand pressures are applied.
But there will also be many, and more than enough to sway an election, who will dedicate their energies in places other than a polling place and expected political campaigns when they feel insulted and used; [and they may be found in the political offices where you might not expect them to be residing].
###
No comments:
Post a Comment