According to organizers of the “Values Voter Summit” held in Washington, D.C., the weekend of Sept. 22-24, less than 2,000 individuals attended.
The list of speakers for the event boggles the mind: American Values President Gary Bauer, uber-right author Ann Coulter, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, evangelical minister Jerry Falwell, conservative hack columnist Maggie Gallagher, Fox News personality Sean Hannity, anti-gay marriage amendment pusher and Colorado Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, Massachusett’s Governor Mitt Romney, former FOX News anchor turned White House Press Secretary (my, what a surprise) Tony Snow and the American Family Association’s Donald Wildmon, just to name a few.
With all that rhetorical right-wing hot air under one roof it’s amazing the building didn’t explode.
Among the lively topics discussed at the event (I swear I’m not making these up):
• The Preservation of Marriage: Why Children Need It
• Liberal Sisters of Doom: Are They a Thing of the Past?
• Courts Gone Wild: The Rightful Place of Judges in Our Republic
• Left Out: Exposing Liberal Groups
A number of other less notable right-wingnut theocrats were on hand for the event. Based on the hate spew they aimed at the gay community, it’s clear they haven’t quite got the hang of right-wing code speak just yet: “I want the gays mad at me,” said Georgia Minister Wellington Boone. “Back in the days when I was a kid, and we see guys that don’t stand strong on principle, we call them ‘faggots.’ …[People] that don’t stand up for what’s right, we say, ‘You’re sissified out!’ ‘You’re a sissy!’ That means you don’t stand up for principles.”
Rev. Dwight McKissic of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Texas called the gay rights movement “insulting, offensive, demeaning, and racist.” He went on to coin what will probably become the next catchphrase for anti-gay evangelicals for the foreseeable future when he announced that gays and lesbians should not “compare their sin to my skin.”
When you consider the figures outlined in a 2003 Princeton University report that estimated the number of fundamentalist evangelical voters somewhere around 102 million (35 percent of the American population), it’s clear a remarkably small number of devotees attended the event.
Poll numbers have been pointing to continuously failing support for the GOP — but a new survey released late last month reveals even darker clouds on the horizon for Republicans.
Conducted by the Center for American Values in Public Life, the survey refutes some widely held assumptions about how Americans’ religious views and values influence their political behavior.
“There’s been a lot of talk about values voters, and a lot of that talk is just plain wrong,” said Dr. Robert Jones, executive director and senior fellow of the Center. “Most Americans do not think restricting access to abortion and keeping gay couples from getting married are the most important issues facing voters. When Americans think about voting their values, they’re thinking primarily about candidates’ honesty and integrity.”
Jones noted that even among evangelical Christians, issues like addressing poverty and providing affordable health care handily trump restricting access to abortion and banning gay marriage.
In addition, said Jones, data from the American Values Survey indicates that hasty conclusions about the size and permanence of a partisan “God gap” have been premature. While the most frequent church attendees are still most likely to vote Republican, the gap has shrunk dramatically, and it appears that Democratic candidates have an opportunity to attract majorities of every other group, including weekly worship attendees.
“It is simplistic and inaccurate to suggest Democrats have lost their ability to win support from religious Americans,” said Jones.
Jones said that analysis of the survey’s religious demographics makes it clear that the American religious community is far from monolithic, and is not heavily weighted to the Right. Journalists, public officials and candidates should take note, Jones said, of the fact that fully half of Americans can be classified as centrist in their religious orientation, while 22 percent are traditionalists, 18 percent are modernists and 10 percent are secular or nonreligious.
What does all that mean for you and me? It’s simple, really. The element that has taken control of our country and led us to the brink of disaster is a minority. Let’s hope the rest of us are ready to stand up to these loudmouth bullies and take our country back. |
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