St. PAUL, Minn.
At the 1996 Republican National Convention, when U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas was the party's nominee, the Christian Coalition had an army of workers operating out of a "war room" inside a San Diego hotel.
The Coalition, founded by Virginia Beach religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, was less than a decade old at the time, and was one of several conservative religious interest groups whose message had gained increasing prominence in the GOP.
In the 12 years since, there have been ups and down for noted evangelical groups and their leaders.
Robertson, for example, is no longer involved with the Coalition. When the Republican National Convention begins today, he will not be here.
Robertson said in a recent e-mail that "the evangelical community is not organized this year" but can be expected to "turn out and vote," though he warns "they will not have the influence they used to."
Roberta Combs, the Coalition's president, said the group isn't as high-profile as it once was, but still is an important part of the GOP establishment. The change is a natural part of any movement, said Combs, who will be in St. Paul this week.
Combs and other leaders of the Christian right movement say they're inclined to support GOP presidential candidate John McCain over Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
The support hasn't come easily, however, because of the Arizona senator's past criticisms of their leaders.
Despite some dissatisfaction with the perceived lack of progress on core value issues, such as banning abortion, political scientists say the Christian groups likely will be supporting McCain in November.
Turnout from that bloc has traditionally favored Republicans.
McCain's campaign is getting a surge of interest after his decision last week to make Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a staunch pro-life advocate, his vice presidential running mate.
The Rev. Jonathan Falwell, whose father, the late Jerry Falwell, founded the Moral Majority, told the Lynchburg newspaper that the selection of Palin was welcome news.
"I'm excited to see this," Falwell told The News and Advance. "I think it's a good surprise."
In 2004, white evangelicals and born-again Christian voters favored President George W. Bush over Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry by a 78 to 21 percent margin.
And they'll be "coming home" for McCain this November, says University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato.
Combs agrees.
"I think at the end of the day, people who go to the polls, they are going to vote the issues," she said. "I think John McCain is not going to have a problem with evangelicals."
Others say the Arizona senator still has to convince some that his values align with theirs.
"McCain has his work cut out for him if he expects the kind of support Bush got," said Victoria Cobb, president of the Virginia-based Family Foundation advocacy group.
"Conservatives are growing tired of voting against evil instead of voting for a candidate who supports their values," Cobb said, noting that some "will stay home if the person is not espousing core beliefs."
Those feelings might be because of the steam being "let out, so to speak, of issues such as abortion and gay rights," said Quentin Kidd, Christopher Newport University political science professor.
Those issues "mobilized voters in 2000 and 2004" but have been eclipsed this year by other concerns, including the weakened economy, Kidd said.
Over the years, McCain has endured rough patches in his relationship with the evangelical community.
He took heat for comments he made in Virginia Beach about Robertson and Jerry Falwell on the eve of his loss to Bush in the 2000 Virginia primary. McCain called the conservative Christian leaders "agents of intolerance" and said they were "corrupting influences" on American politics.
McCain later mended fences in a 2006 commencement speech at Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg. Falwell died in 2007.
That uneven relationship with evangelicals has continued this election year. Prominent evangelical leader James Dobson initially said he couldn't endorse McCain, but he has since said he is now open to the possibility.
"A major turning point" came in July when several social conservative leaders gathered in Denver to reach a consensus that it was better to elected McCain than Obama, said Mathew Staver, a Liberty University law school dean and chairman of the Moral Majority.
"When we focus on core values, what we do know is John McCain will best advance those values and Barack Obama will decimate them," Staver said.
The Republican's gains with evangelicals is borne out in a recent Pew Forum on Religious & Public Life national poll showing McCain with a 61-25 percent lead among those voters over Obama.
If those numbers hold, that is a boon to McCain, because that bloc represents more than one-fourth of adult Americans.
Catholics, a traditionally social conservative group, account for about 24 percent of American adults, while more liberal minded mainline Protestants are 18 percent, according to a Pew analysis.
However, two Old Dominion University political science professors say their research shows that conservative congregations aren't more politically active than progressive churches, which have more of a social justice agenda.
"Often, when you read newspaper articles you hear about the Christian right, but you don't often hear about the Christian left," said Professor Joshua G. Behr, who helped conduct the research. "What we found is the religious left is out and as mobilized as the religious right."
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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parise the lord!
Let's get back to the Christian Coalition AKA Christian Right, which is enither.
James Bond . . .
Nutritionists go into the inner city and work with families there. My information came from a friend with long experience in the inner city. She wondered how young, still-forming brains can have maximal growth when they are not nourished with whole foods. I still think about what she told me, though it was a number of years ago, because I think it is part of the cycle of why kids don't get as good grades in the inner city. You can choose your reasons to explain the grades, but that is mine. And it is a total, preventable shame. Cheers, MGM
MarSch7
A personal slip on my part, I apologize. Mrs. Palin has never said that she doesn't care. Unfortunately there is no edit button for the comments on this site.
D.E.
Yes, it seems my post generated a great deal of discussion. Exactly my intent.
Let's debate the issues for a change. What's your first intelligent
position and I will respond intelligently as well. Good Luck!
Marym63240
Soory,
Correction: You never had any intention of voting for anyone but John
McShame.
Marym63204
You never had any intention of voting for anyone other than Obama. We know yout kind a mile a way. You speak of inner city kids eating cokes and fritoes for breakfast. How do you know? Just put a sheet over your head.
MP
I find it hard to believe that Ms. Palin said she doesn't know OR CARE about foreign affairs. Where on earth did THAT come from?
Palin it is!!!
I watched a LOT of information about Palin, including an interview back in February. She is one amazing lady! I was really taken aback by the choice, and a little disappointed until I started checking her out. I like her values. I like her confidence in her ability to get things done (which she has proven since being governor). I like the fact that SHE's the one that started the investigation into some unethical stuff going on in Alaska politics - even in her own party, and even though they're investigating her, too! She speaks with much knowledge and know-how to get things done - and I really respect that. And I respect the fact that she has worked with the "good ole boys" - we all understand what that means. A tough lady she is, and I think she'll do a terrific job.
And by the way, President Reagan was 73 when he took office, and if I may say so, he was one of the very best presidents we've had in modern history!
James Bond & MGM
Bond: I agree. This article, at least, leads one to believe that the "moral majority" cares more about banning abortion and gay marriage than about the protection and prosperity of 300 million citizens. I won't argue if that's truly the case, but it's the way the article makes it seem.
MGM: Stop deluding yourself. Obama has 12 years of experience at the state and federal level. He's been a US senator for nearly 4 years, not two. He's also a member of several foreign relations committees. Palin has nearly 2 years of state level experience. Everything else has been at the city level for a town of only around 6,000. Not to mention Palin has herself said that she doesn't know what the VP actually does and that she doesn't really know what's going on in Iraq. That fact that her short resume involves 20 months of executive experience doesn't matter when she openly admits that she doesn't know or care about national and international issues.
James Bond
Yes, we can't prove how many children in America are hungry because it is not a criteria we agree upon. Much of poor America may be malnourished but not hungry. As my nutritionist friend used to say when she was working in the inner city in the 80's--brains don't grow right when kids are given Fritoes and Cokes for breakfast. But that is an education process, because we can't possibly put enough controls on food stamps to force people to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and whole grain breads and pastas (and learn to cook them). If we did, they would be saying we were embarrassing their kids by not letting them have treats, or something like that.
The food banks are seeing working people these days, but sometimes due to runaway mortgage and credit card debt that we the people will be subsidizing any day now. Frugality was certainly not encouraged so far this decade. Cheers, MGM
James Bond Comment
Anytime a person doesn't want to debate real issues they always bring up the "hungry children" argument. Usually, they can't prove the statement but it sounds good. The biggest evangelical leader in the country, Pat Robertson, has at least put action to his words with his charity, Operation Blessing, that has feed millions around the world.........What say ye?
James Bond
You decided *not* to vote for John McCain due to Sarah Palin; I was undecided before but now I will vote for him. Looks like we cancel each other out!
I see her as having state executive experience, responsible for 16% of our nation's land (and, yes, only a few million citizens, but a diverse group of natives and Caucasians, which is interesting to govern). She has been CEO of a state for two years; Barack Obama has shown up for roll call votes for two years. She has had more accountability, therefore more practical experience.
Right-to-life matters to me, so do millions of hungry children for whom my taxes provide school breakfast and lunch. Their druggie parents may give them Fritoes for dinner, but I can't control how the food stamps are spent. Cheers, MGM
Here to Help Others, What Are the Others Here For?
Consider how many Americans have died defending this nation since the first war for Independence. Now consider the entire count pales to the over 50,000,000 Americans who were terminated before they ever took their first breath of freedom, the pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness, gone forever since 1973. I'll bet 50,000,000 of their jobs have left America too. 50,000,000 social security payers. 50,000,000 medicare payers. 50,000,000 consumers. 50,000,000 votors. 50,000,000 music lovers. 50,000,000 M.I.A.
President Palin?
That's what scares me! McCain is 72 with a history of medical issues, Palin is 44 with no experience. I'm not a hothead McCain/Bush wannabe supporter to begin with and I also don't like Obama, but McCain should have picked someone with experience.
Less Powerful???.........
Thank God!!!
Sarah Palin
Was the right choice. If McCain had chosen just another D.C. insider, he would have tossed the election over to Obama and the democrats, hands down. Palin is a very smart and savy woman and many people, including John McCain, recognize that. With her conservative views and her willingness to take on corruption even within her own party, along with her business sense for cutting budgets, she is a perfect match up with McCain as a VP. The last thing we need in D.C. is another D.C. politician with a law degree. Palin is anything but that. McCain/Palin has my vote in November.
Evangelicals excited
I cannot believe that evangelicals are more concerned about a woman's right to choose and the right to own a gun than about the millions of hungry children in the country, the loss of jobs and the U.S. economy.They keep saying, she is great... she had a child with downs syndrome that she did not abort. We are thankful for that but does that elevate her to V.President of the United States.
Get real..it's the economy not whether you need to make a decision about what a woman chooses to do with her body. The v.p. choice of Mrs. Pallin is pitiful. There are so many more highly qualified women. I can't see her stepping in to be president if something were to happen (God forbid) to Senator McCain. He is getting up in years and has had bouts of cancer 4 or 5 times according to reports. I believe this was quite reckless of Mr. McCain with all that's going on in the world. I was going to vote for McCain but can no longer