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<H1>Religious conservatives dragging down the GOP</H1>
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<H3>By KATHLEEN PARKER </H3>
<H4>Nov. 19, 2008, 6:26PM</H4></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV class=share-related>As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat,
they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the
pulpit.</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<P>Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.</P>
<P>I'm bathing in holy water as I type.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>The choir has become absurdly off-key, and many Republicans know it.<EM> But
they need those votes!</EM></P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><EM>Short break as writer ties blindfold and smokes her last
cigarette.</EM></P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Here's the deal, 'pubbies: Howard Dean was right.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>With the exception of Miss Alaska, of course.</P>
<P>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:</P>
<P>"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."</P>
<P>Let's do pray that God shows Alaska's governor the door.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><EM>Parker is a columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group. She can be
e-mailed at <A
href="mailto:kparker@kparker.com">kparker@kparker.com</A></EM></P></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>