Evangelical Christian voter erosion away from the Republicans and toward the Democrats in 2008 was undoubtedly a significant factor in the election of Barack Obama. It didn’t work out too badly for those clinging to his coattails, either.
But will the trend continue?
This question will be at least partially answered soon in New Jersey and Virginia where hotly contested races for statewide office have entered the final stretch. Many signs point toward Republican victories – possibly portending a GOP resurgence of sorts. At this point, Chris Christi (R) leads incumbent Jon Corzine (D) in the Garden State, while in the Old Dominion, Bob McDonnell (R) leads Creigh Deeds (D). But both races are tightening.
In Virginia, there is a sharp contrast between McDonnell and Deeds on issues that resonate with social conservatives – a contrast seen as well in the contests for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. In the AG race, Republican State Senator Ken Cuccinelli, a staunch and stalwart cultural and economic conservative who has represented the 37th district in Fairfax County since 2002, is ahead in all polls. Both McDonnell and Cuccinelli hail from Northern Virginia, a section of the Commonwealth that went overwhelmingly for Obama, as well as Mark Warner (D) for U.S. Senate and Gerry Connolly (D) for the House of Representatives, last year.
Of course, some of this can be chalked up to the politics-as-usual way one party has of living to fight another day after being trounced a year or two before. But there is also something else happening – something that is not being widely reported. The Democrats appear to be ignoring something they did with a great measure of effectiveness last year.
In 2008, there was a full-court-press - a conscious and deliberate strategic and tactical effort - to engage and recruit Christian evangelicals. Most famously, there was that “candidate forum” out at Saddleback Church in California, hosted by megachurch pastor, Rick Warren. And many voters, who had usually made electoral choices on the basis of particular cultural values such as the pro-life issue, found themselves being swayed by other neo-fascinating issues. Things that until then had largely been the bailiwick of the Democrats: the environment, universal healthcare, etc, began to resonate with some, particularly younger, evangelicals who didn’t drive Dad’s Oldsmobile and didn’t necessarily want to echo Mom’s very conservative politics.
Now a year later, Democrats in Virginia are refusing every opportunity to participate in similar Saddleback-like candidate forums. Possibly, they feel that without Rick Warren’s star power and his carefully cultivated rapport with the left on some issues, such forums would be like being in the proverbial lion’s den.
But what it really looks like is that the courtship of evangelicals by the Democrats is over and was never actually intended to lead to a happy marriage. It was simply a cynical exercise in strange-bedfellows politics.
In fact, this must be faced by conservative Christian evangelicals who voted for Obama and company the last time around: They were the witting victims of a campaign “roofie” - a political sedative (with obvious hallucinogenic qualities) that had been slipped into their Kool-Aid. The overtures last year were never really about long-term commitment.
Many evangelicals were seduced to a one-night stand on November 4, 2008. It was all about fun, excitement, and a big party. Then the morning after (in this case, a morning equals a year), surprise, surprise, there was just a note with a fake phone number. And all some evangelicals have left is a terrible headache, overwhelming nausea, and the feeling of being used.
“Yes, we can” is becoming: “What have I done?” Continued... |