[Vision2020] Does this have local application?

[Scott Dredge]

It doesn't have local application.  The majority of Latah county voted for Obama as opposed to Doug Wilson's declared candidate via his pre-election announcement of 'I am going to vote for McCain/Palin.'

A high percentage of religious conservatives vote.  And they vote for overwhelmingly for the GOP.  How could they be dragging them down?  The article doesn't give any solid reasons to back up its headline.

Personally, I would prefer that the GOP not kowtow to the fundys, but I don't see any harm in throwing them a bone as a vote getter every once in while (ie; phoning in support to their anti-choice rallies ala George HW Bush instead of actually appearing in person, mentioning God in a speech or two, firing off a semi-auto rifle, touring and praising a bomb shelter at a fundy compound, etc.).  Reagan and Bush 1 were good at schmoozing the religious the right for votes and then delivering nothing.  Bush II should have followed suit but he's born again and by definition went overboard.

-Scott



From: deco at moscow.com
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:50:32 -0800
Subject: [Vision2020] Does this have local application?














Religious conservatives dragging down the GOP

By KATHLEEN PARKER 
Nov. 19, 2008, 6:26PM




 



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As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, 
they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the 
pulpit.
Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.
I'm bathing in holy water as I type.
To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of 
the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to 
afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh.
Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth 
— as long as we're setting ourselves free — is that if one were to eavesdrop on 
private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely 
that.
The choir has become absurdly off-key, and many Republicans know it. But 
they need those votes!
So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has 
become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden 
crates on street corners.
Short break as writer ties blindfold and smokes her last 
cigarette.
Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. 
In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents, including 
other people of faith (those who prefer a more private approach to worship), as 
well as secularists and conservative Democrats.
Here's the deal, 'pubbies: Howard Dean was right.
It isn't that culture doesn't matter. It does. But preaching to the choir 
produces no converts. And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican 
Party — and conservatism with it — eventually will die out unless religion is 
returned to the privacy of one's heart where it belongs.
Religious conservatives become defensive at any suggestion that they've had 
something to do with the GOP's erosion. And, though the recent Democratic sweep 
can be attributed in large part to a referendum on Bush and the failing economy, 
three long-term trends identified by Emory University's Alan Abramowitz have 
been devastating to the Republican Party: increasing racial diversity, declining 
marriage rates and changes in religious beliefs.
Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely composed of white, married 
Christians. Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can't have missed 
the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; 
the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.
With the exception of Miss Alaska, of course.
Even Sarah Palin has blamed Bush policies for the GOP loss. She's not 
entirely wrong, but she's also part of the problem. Her recent conjecture about 
whether to run for president in 2012 (does anyone really doubt she will?) speaks 
for itself:
"I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I 
always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open 
door is. ... And if there is an open door in (20)12 or four years later, and if 
it's something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my 
nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."
Let's do pray that God shows Alaska's governor the door.
Meanwhile, it isn't necessary to evict the Creator from the public square, 
surrender Judeo-Christian values or diminish the value of faith in America. 
Belief in something greater than oneself has much to recommend it, including 
most of the world's architectural treasures, our universities and even our 
founding documents.
But, like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white 
and Christian. The change Barack Obama promised has already occurred, which is 
why he won.
Among Jewish voters, 78 percent went for Obama. Sixty-six percent of under-30 
voters did likewise. Forty-five percent of voters ages 18-29 are Democrats 
compared to just 26 percent Republican; in 2000, party affiliation was split 
almost evenly.
The young will get older, of course. Most eventually will marry, and some 
will become their parents. But nonwhites won't get whiter. And the nonreligious 
won't get religion through external conversion. It doesn't work that way.
Given those facts, the future of the GOP looks dim and dimmer if it stays the 
present course. Either the Republican Party needs a new base — or the nation may 
need a new party.
Parker is a columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group. She can be 
e-mailed at kparker at kparker.com
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