Religious Right decides McCain will have to do

July 19, 2008

Guest Post by Morbo

I’ve been wondering what the Religious Right is going to do about John McCain. These groups are clearly not crazy about the guy. But I predicted months ago that the fear of a Democratic president would terrify them so much that they would come around. That’s what appears to be happening.

I’ve been monitoring e-mails from the Family Research Council (FRC) and other groups and have noticed a trend: They are coming after Barack Obama with guns blazing while finding reasons to forgive McCain every time he lets them down.

Consider McCain’s recent comments about gay adoption. Is he for it or against it? I’ve read the news accounts and still have no idea. McCain seems to be saying the matter ought to be left to the states to decide – at least that’s his stance this week. This infuriates the Religious Right, which is so homophobic it would rather see children warehoused in orphanages than be giving safe and loving homes by gay people.

Yet Tony Perkins, president of the FRC, this week issued an e-mail praising McCain’s stand:

“Trying to appeal to both moderates and social conservatives, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has generally tread lightly on some touchy values issues. That was not the case last weekend when the Arizona senator’s personal experience led him to make some candid comments about his opposition to homosexual adoption.”

Later in the message, which was sent by FRC Action, the group’s political arm, Perkins blamed McCain’s communications director, Jill Hazelbaker, for qualifying McCain’s comments and muddying the waters. So you see, it’s all Hazelbaker’s fault. McCain is solid and can be excused for not knowing what his position is and trying, once again, to play both sides of the issue. When Obama alters a position even slightly, he’s a flip-flopper. When McCain does it, it’s all a misunderstanding; he’s really being candid.

Media pundits continue to claim that the Religious Right will sit this election out, or that the power of these groups is waning. I don’t agree.

The FRC’s annual meeting takes place in Washington next month, and I expect it to be two days of Obama bashing. With the Supreme Court hanging in the balance, these groups will do whatever it takes to fire up the shock troops.

Don’t count the Religious Right out just yet.

One more thought about Perkins’ message. He wrote, “The McCain campaign should not fall into this ‘lady or the tiger’ trap and should emphasize the need to rebuild the natural family.”

I hate to break it to the nitwit, but Perkins needs to know that when people reach out and give an abused, neglected or abandoned child a loving home, it’s a cause for celebration and applause. Whether those people are gay or straight shouldn’t make a whit of difference.

Media pundits continue to claim that the Religious Right will sit this election out, or that the power of these groups is waning. I don’t agree.

I agree that the Religious Right is not going to sit this one out.

But I am in the camp that says their power is waning. People are getting tired of their one-note hysteria that seems more concerned with abstract aggregates (“the gays”, “the children”) than with actual human suffering or even actual human sin. They might continue to be big players in this election but their time is clearly ending. It’s that generational thing…

  • Gotta disagree a bit. The institutional leaders of the religious right will come around to supporting McCain, but the evangelical rank and file are still very splintered. The leadership needs to show that they can deliver Republican votes, but the followers aren’t all that crazy about McCain and aren’t as rabidly anti-Obama as in previous years (see Clinton, Bill).

    The enthusiasm gap is real this year; the religious right will still vote McCain (unless Bob Barr becomes well-funded!), but they just won’t knock on as many doors and make as many phone calls. Church parking lots won’t be filled with as many flyers and speakers in pulpits will be more neutral than in prior years. Obama’s outreach efforts to faith-based voters is working.

  • The religious right has an agenda that, more than most, is particularly sensitive to the findings of the judicial system. They really, really, really care about who ends up on the courts, much more so than do people on the other side of the aisle for whom issues particularly sensitive to the courts, while important, are generally a small part of the agenda. And the religious right knows that, whatever McCain’s heresies may be, the judges he’ll nominate are going to be very favorable to their pet concerns.

    I expect a mildly depressed religious right turnout this election, but I expect those who show up to vote to vote as strongly as usual or more so for the Republican candidate. The Supreme Court is an even more salient issue than usual this election, and a vote for McCain is almost certainly a vote to end federal abortion rights and to severely slow the progress on homosexual rights. While the religious right may despise McCain the person and be skeptical of McCain the legislator, those two points are more than enough to assure their loyalty.

  • Danimal has it right; McCain will underperform, and Obama will overperform with the grassroots, which is all that has to happen to destroy the GOP nominee.

    As much as I disagree with the religious right’s grassroots on just about everything, from personal experience in speaking with some of these people (in Wisconsin), my conclusion is that committiment to “community” matters and perception of authenticity matters.

    That McCain does not have to a sufficient degree, though their campaign is working on it.

  • ‘danimal’ is spot on. Regardless of official positions by religions leaders (or con artists, or delusional demagogues) the rank-and-file righteous will mostly stay home.

    These people (sheep) are motivated by two things: inspiration and fear. So unless we get attacked again on our shores, “fear” is the only leverage McCain has, because he sure doesn’t inspire anyone.

  • Rather than “count them out,” I prefer to “count them divided.” The RR denizens of WingNuttia have driven a wooden stake into their own bloodsucking, vampiric, Philistine-smiting heart wedge into their own midst, and I’m still leaning toward the notion that Obama will take at least a full third of the evangelical vote. Besides, Perkins and his ilk have no idea how to deal with this—a Dem who not only doesn’t reel back when he’s hit by the mud, but who also knows how to play hard offense.

    Tony Perkins, here’s your pea-shooter. The Panzer Obama camp awaits you—with unbridled anticipation….

  • I think McCain needs a social conservative with economic expertise in order to unify Republicans. Huckabee and Romney top my list. Romney makes Huckabee look economically and internationally iliterate, but the Evangelicals prefer Huckabee because of his priestly background. Any of McCain’s middle-of-the-road choices, like Crist, Jinda, or Pawlenty, just won’t generate excitement or cash. Which reminds me, cash is another huge obstacle for Romney. With foreign countries sneeking money to Obama voters (50 million last month), McCain is going to have to find a pot of gold in order to compete. I wonder if Romney will donate a hundred million if he’s not chosen as VP or if wealthy Mormon voters will donate their millions if Romney is not chosen? Either way, I hope we can unite or we’ll have Obama to deal with for at least 4 years!

  • Sorry- typo. The last word of the 5th sentence should be “McCain” and not “Romney” (though I did vote for Romney in the primaries….hehe)

  • Shaun – eight years of President Obama will bring prosperity once again back to the American people – better than the last eight years of Bush lies and deception. Look where he has taken this country.

    God Bless President Obama

  • And this week, the Bush Administration gave these folks a good reason to vote for McCain: President McCain will keep the new regulations that HHS is promulgating that define abortion in such a way that the prescription of birth control pills and the morning-after pill are “abortions.” Of course, then when President McCain’s Supreme Court majority votes to overturn Roe, with this definition of abortion, they will also strike down Griswold, which the far right has been after for 43 years now.

    No matter what the Progressive Puritans have to say about any “move to the center” by Obama, the Right knows well that these regulations won’t survive the first 24 hours of an Obama administration. One more reason to vote Democratic, regardless.

  • I want to congratulate Shaun for his tremendous effort in demonstrating once again that there really are two different species of hairless biped on the planet: Homo Sapiens (us) and Homo Sap (him).

    Proof positive that computers are so user-friendly that those who lack frontal lobes and opposable thumbs can use them.

    Thanks Shaun!

  • The Family Research Council is a throwback to a darker time in world history, a time when fear and superstition based philosophies were widespread and effective in motivating people who simply didn’t have the benefit of access to knowledge based, rational information. What’s the excuse today??? Science and statistics are at our fingertips (and have been for a long time now) yet actual knowledge is anathema to most of the FRC message. I suppose none of this would matter so much if they stayed the heck out of politics and minded their own business, but since they are determined to insert themselves into a process that has the potential of effecting all of us, they have opened themselves up to greater scrutiny. The real shame here is the existence of a large demographic in 21st century America which is still backward enough to be exploited in this way. Any christian based messages of love these people claim are at the heart of their message, have been tainted and distorted, but their willingness to brush off real facts and statistics in favor of fictional ones should be the greater concern.

  • Not only will the Religious Right vote for McCain, but many Christian Democrats will too. Bash us all you like, we are not monolithic, homophobic or modernly
    agnostic. We do not endorse gay lifestyles in our families, churches or states.
    Individuals have a right to self determination, but OUR faith requires us to just say “no deal”.

    Don’t be surprised the morning after the election when all the media hype, money and endorsements don’t move Senator Obama over his 46%-approval-rating-wall.

  • I have no doubt that many in the Evangelical Leadership will, in the famous words of John McCain’s mother, “Hold their nose and vote for him”. But the rank and file I suspect are far more likely this year to follow their own urgings, rather than those dictated from self-appointed leaders. After all, the only true leader of a religious believer is his or her God, not someone who has a large church or television channel. This is the year that some temples may find that their power has waned significantly.

  • Danimal has it right. The RRers will probably vote for McCain in nearly the same proportion as they have for other Republicans — proportion, not numbers, many more will return to the traditional apolitical position they had until the Seventies. But the RRers were also the heart of the GOTV effort — and they won’t be this year. They provided what positive enthusiasm the Republicans had — that is, the people who were voting for the Republican instead of against the Democrat. Again, that won’t be true this time.

  • I keep suggesting to Steve that he include a section in his links to the organizations that focus on the interface between religion and politics, particularly AU, Talk2Action and JewsOn1st. The latter tends to pick up stories that both the MSM and the blogosphere miss — and are particularly good at linking to the specific articles from the “Christocrats.” (So labeled, but it is always better to see their ravings comments in their own words.)

    There is a particularly good piece this week

    Christian coalition puts up website “James Dobson Doesn’t Speak For Me”

    which begins

    “A coalition of pastors and other Christians who support Barack Obama for president and are “standing up for our Christian faith” have posted Obama’s statements as rejoinders to each of the assertions that Focus on the Family head James Dobson made about Obama during his June 24th radio broadcast. …”

    The whole group of articles are at
    http://www.jewsonfirst.org/08a/obama_religion_attacked.html

    and are much worth checking out. (They are also very good on GLBT rights and have been one of the stronger supporters of Mikey Weinstein’s MRFF and may have been the first group — other than Talk2Action — to really take after John Hagee. They’ve even produced a video — narrated by Ed Asner — on Hagee.)

  • …Homo Sapiens (us) and Homo Sap (him).

    I find myself sorely tempted, from time to time, to relabel the second species, “Homo Clap” (in vulgar reference to a particular STD). However, I’ve yet to discover how sex could make one so incredulously stupid—unless, of course, Shaun is the logical byproduct of excessive inbreeding, coupled with being anally assaulted by a bipolar, hydrophobic squirrel, and the entire series of in utero sonograms being performed with a microwave oven….

  • Thanks for the links purp…they are encouraging. I for one wo8uld like to see a massive recall effort for all those hired into the government justice scene from Liberty and Regency U as well as Bob Jones U as I believe they were all political payback from the Bush regime for the votes and money coming from these so called Christian coalitions.

    I feel they are dangerous government employees who hold their oath to the constitution secondary to their religious instruction. Like sleeper cells ready to “take back the country for Christ” in spite of democracy and our right to freedom from religion.

    They have already demonstrated their dangerousness and willingness to defy our constitutional rights by making oaths to the president rather than the constitution(Gooding) and withholding prescribed medications from temporarily jailed prisoners because they don’t “believe” in them.

    Yes, the Dobson/Robertson types are desperate to infiltrate our Judiciary to enforce their own religious agenda (far removed from Christ principles)….more power to dictate how others should live. Hopefully the younger evangelicals turn out to be less hypocritical schemers and more progressively principled.

  • CB is entirely right. To the religious right, it’s all about the federal courts. They’re not going anywhere. I only wish that we could educate our base (and independents) about the dangers of putting idealogues on the courts. This issue doesn’t seem to be as high a priority among those of us on the left (listen to the Hillary supporters who are planning to sit out or vote for McCain). It should be.

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