Article VI Blog

Yes, that is a Star Trek reference. Hey, it’s a Friday and my birthday (way too many at this point) so what do you expect?

Anyway, Jonathon Martin points to a Beliefnet interview with our friend Mark DeMoss.

You represent some of the nation’s most powerful evangelicals. What do those leaders say about McCain?

This is one guy’s perspective, but I am surprised by how little I’ve seen or read in conservative circles about McCain since February. I don’t think I’ve gotten one email or letter or phone call from anybody in America in the last four months saying anything about this election or urging that we unite behind John McCain and put aside whatever differences we have. Back in the fall and winter, you’d get several things a day from conservatives saying, “The future of the Supreme Court is at stake. We have to stop Hillary Clinton. Get behind so and so—or don’t’ go with this guy.” It’s just very quiet. It could meant there’s a real sense of apathy or it could mean they’re’ waiting for the general election to begin. But it’s a surprise, given the way email networks work now.

Barack Obama is trying hard to win evangelical voters. Does that effort stand a chance?

If one third of white evangelicals voted for Bill Clinton the second time, at the height of Monica Lewinsky mess—that’s a statistic I didn’t believe at first but I double and triple checked it—I would not be surprised if that many or more voted for Barack Obama in this election. You’re seeing some movement among evangelicals as the term [evangelical] has become more pejorative. There’s a reaction among some evangelicals to swing out to the left in an effort to prove that evangelicals are really not that right wing. There’s some concern that maybe Republicans haven’t done that well. And there’s this fascination with Barack Obama. So I will not be surprised if he gets one third of the evangelical vote. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 40-percent.

Yes, we are a fickle bunch. But then you knew that already.

Mark may be right, but I really hope not. What we learn here is that very few voters actually vote on stances on issue - they vote on PERCEIVED identity. Obama is about as Evangelical as I am Mormon, but he looks a heck of a lot more like one than John McCain - hence Mark’s conclusion. Most conservative Evangelicals are used to pastors that overstate things, so in a weird sense the Wright/Pfleger thing looks like home to them. But then the “vote for your own” phenomena is true for rank-and-file voters of every stripe.

What is really disappointing is Mark’s response to the first question. I expect more from Evangelical leadership. Bottom line is this - we got beat. Now the question is how do we progress towards our desired goals as much as possible having lost the Republican primary. It sure is not be sitting this one out, particularly when there congressional and local elections that can have a far more radical effect on actual conditions on the ground than the White House. As Thomas Sowell pointed out this week, some things matter, even when our choices are not great. (HT: K-Lo)

From my perspective, Mark is right, things have been remarkably quiescent. Some, like Dobson, have no choice - the either/or threats they made during the primaries leave them with no options in the general. But others were more circumspect and now have an opportunity to rise in the Evangelical political spectrum because of it. And yet, it remains quiet.

Could it be that Evangelical leadership is in such a tenuous position that they must pander to the rank-and-file to remain leaders at all? Which takes us back to where we started - we are a fickle bunch. Kind of limits our effectiveness doesn’t it?
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