Red God, Blue God?

"Red God, Blue God: Is there a God Gap Between the Parties?"

Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy Center

 

Hello Townhallers! The final day of the Grove City College's Center for Vision and Value's "Church & State 2008" Summit is underway. As promised, they're not wasting any time getting to the heart of what's at stake for this important issue- specifically for the candidates in this exhilarating (and already exhausting, if you ask me) 2008 Presidential election. So roll up your sleeves and let's get our hands dirty.

 

First up this morning was Michael Cromartie, Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center on the topic of "Re God, Blue God: Is there a God Gap Between the Parties?"

 

Mr. Cromartie began by delivering some encouraging news to the conservative audience. "More people attend church on Sunday than attend any football game over the weekends." That includes high school, college, or pro-football games. That's something to cheer about, right?[# More #]

 

Of those who claim to regularly attend religious services, Cromartie asserts that they vote overwhelming (more than 2-1) for Republican candidates. In contrast, those who claim to rarely (if ever) attend religious services vote nearly 2-1 for the Democratic candidates. However, Cromartie reminds us that since most of the population (nearly 70%) still identify themselves as religious church-goers, these statistics are more alarming to the Democrats than they should be to Republicans. That is, until the rise of what Cromartie believes to be the newest and potentially most influential voting block.

 

As Cromartie asserts, Barack Obama's rise to glory (at least prior to the Wright scandal) was, in large part, on the crest of this burgeoning socio-political movement of leftist evangelicals- or less traditional Christians (or religiously inclined) voters attempting to reconcile this faith with their political agendas. Many of the modern churches springing up across the nation, and becoming incredibly populated, are cultivating this new community. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both attempted to align themselves, or at least operate on the fringes, of this community's growing identity. Cromartie aptly distinguishes this group from their evangelical, Republican counterparts, in saying that "A traditional evangelical is someone who really, really likes Billy Graham." This emerging Democratic voting block "think that Billy Graham is a liberal." 

 

Now, and perhaps one of the most stimulating points that Cromartie makes, the challenge for Obama and Clinton becomes controlling or tempering the passion of secular warriors within the Democratic party so as to further attract and ensure that they maintain the flocks of this new, influential values-vote.

 

Mr. Cromartie believes that if the Democrats (specifically these two candidates) are successful, this election could mark the "turning of the tide" for the Republican stronghold over religious Americans at the ballot box...

 

Stay tuned folks!