Guardian
For God's sake
The strong influence of the Christian right on US policy will only increase if George Bush wins a second term, says Philip James
Friday April 23, 2004
Evangelical lobbyists used to talk about access to previous Republican administrations. Today, they can say with confidence: "Who needs access when we are already on the inside?"
The influence of the Christian right on the Bush White House is self-evident. As well as George Bush, cabinet members Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft and Don Evans all consider themselves to be born again.
This administration has embarked on a bold agenda to roll back liberalism in the US, and won't let up if it gets a second term.
The September 11 attacks, Afghanistan and Iraq have overshadowed Bush's conservative domestic agenda, but it should not go overlooked by voters as we approach the November elections.
Bush's self-description as a compassionate conservative belies a much harsher reality. And as America's attention has been focused on historic events overseas, the ground at home has shifted just as dramatically.
The administration is acutely aware of the power of the Christian voting block in the US. Gallup surveys consistently count 46% of the population as being self-described born again Christians, the bulk of whom live in middle America.
It is a stunning statistic, and one that escapes the attention of the chattering classes who populate the much less devout coastal strips.
Many of these churchgoers voted for Bush in 2000, and Carl Rove is determined that all of them should do the same this year. The latest data should put a spring in his step - Bush's job approval among grassroots Christian social conservatives hovers between 92% and 96%.
If Bush wins the election, it will mean that, after 30 years as the law of the land, a woman's right to choose to have an abortion will be under serious threat. The ultimate goal of the Christian right is to overturn Roe versus Wade, the landmark 1973 decision enshrining a woman's right to choose.
In the likely event of one of the ageing supremes stepping down in the next few years, the balance of power in the US supreme court will be up for grabs, and Bush will not hesitate to nominate a pro-life candidate. Having already signed a ban on late term abortions, he believes he has the momentum on this issue.
If he wins, he has four more years in which to push a constitutional amendment to "protect" marriage from same-sex unions. He will not have to weigh pre-election expediency against his belief that it is the right thing to do.
If Bush wins, it will mean four more years of Middle East policy influenced by the evangelical belief that the Messiah will not return until Israel rebuilds a temple on the site of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
It should come as no surprise that there is not much daylight between the beliefs of hardcore evangelicals and the Bush White House.
When asked, during the 1999 Iowa caucus debate, who his favourite philosopher was, Bush replied: "Jesus." At the time, pundits thought this was a canny signal to grassroots religious voters from a sophisticated campaigner. It was - but what people didn't realise at the time is that Bush actually believes it as well.
The story of how he found faith at the bottom of a whisky glass was thought to be a rote rallying yarn intended strictly for the Republican faithful during the campaign. However, Bush has passionately and consistently repeated the story at after-dinner speeches throughout his time in office.
He dispelled any doubts about the strength of his Christian faith during his last press conference on Iraq, when he made it clear that God was personally directing him to fundamentally reshape the Arab world.
As surely as fundamentalism has kept much of the Islamic world in a state of cultural regression, so the fundamentalists of the US threaten to do the same thing in the States.
John Kerry should steal a powerful line from Bush's speech on Iraq and rephrase it thus: "Now is the time, and America is the place, where the forces of fundamentalism are arraigned against the forces of enlightenment."
He should make this election about a choice between two visions: one that wants to take the country to a dark, puritanical tyranny, as opposed to one that wants to restore the US as a light unto nations, a place of freedom, diversity and opportunity.
And he should fire up women voters, the one voting block that rivals the size of the born-agains and tell them: "If you want to protect your right to choose, make sure you choose correctly in November."
· Philip James is a former senior Democratic party strategist
For God's sake
The strong influence of the Christian right on US policy will only increase if George Bush wins a second term, says Philip James
Friday April 23, 2004
Evangelical lobbyists used to talk about access to previous Republican administrations. Today, they can say with confidence: "Who needs access when we are already on the inside?"
The influence of the Christian right on the Bush White House is self-evident. As well as George Bush, cabinet members Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft and Don Evans all consider themselves to be born again.
This administration has embarked on a bold agenda to roll back liberalism in the US, and won't let up if it gets a second term.
The September 11 attacks, Afghanistan and Iraq have overshadowed Bush's conservative domestic agenda, but it should not go overlooked by voters as we approach the November elections.
Bush's self-description as a compassionate conservative belies a much harsher reality. And as America's attention has been focused on historic events overseas, the ground at home has shifted just as dramatically.
The administration is acutely aware of the power of the Christian voting block in the US. Gallup surveys consistently count 46% of the population as being self-described born again Christians, the bulk of whom live in middle America.
It is a stunning statistic, and one that escapes the attention of the chattering classes who populate the much less devout coastal strips.
Many of these churchgoers voted for Bush in 2000, and Carl Rove is determined that all of them should do the same this year. The latest data should put a spring in his step - Bush's job approval among grassroots Christian social conservatives hovers between 92% and 96%.
If Bush wins the election, it will mean that, after 30 years as the law of the land, a woman's right to choose to have an abortion will be under serious threat. The ultimate goal of the Christian right is to overturn Roe versus Wade, the landmark 1973 decision enshrining a woman's right to choose.
In the likely event of one of the ageing supremes stepping down in the next few years, the balance of power in the US supreme court will be up for grabs, and Bush will not hesitate to nominate a pro-life candidate. Having already signed a ban on late term abortions, he believes he has the momentum on this issue.
If he wins, he has four more years in which to push a constitutional amendment to "protect" marriage from same-sex unions. He will not have to weigh pre-election expediency against his belief that it is the right thing to do.
If Bush wins, it will mean four more years of Middle East policy influenced by the evangelical belief that the Messiah will not return until Israel rebuilds a temple on the site of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
It should come as no surprise that there is not much daylight between the beliefs of hardcore evangelicals and the Bush White House.
When asked, during the 1999 Iowa caucus debate, who his favourite philosopher was, Bush replied: "Jesus." At the time, pundits thought this was a canny signal to grassroots religious voters from a sophisticated campaigner. It was - but what people didn't realise at the time is that Bush actually believes it as well.
The story of how he found faith at the bottom of a whisky glass was thought to be a rote rallying yarn intended strictly for the Republican faithful during the campaign. However, Bush has passionately and consistently repeated the story at after-dinner speeches throughout his time in office.
He dispelled any doubts about the strength of his Christian faith during his last press conference on Iraq, when he made it clear that God was personally directing him to fundamentally reshape the Arab world.
As surely as fundamentalism has kept much of the Islamic world in a state of cultural regression, so the fundamentalists of the US threaten to do the same thing in the States.
John Kerry should steal a powerful line from Bush's speech on Iraq and rephrase it thus: "Now is the time, and America is the place, where the forces of fundamentalism are arraigned against the forces of enlightenment."
He should make this election about a choice between two visions: one that wants to take the country to a dark, puritanical tyranny, as opposed to one that wants to restore the US as a light unto nations, a place of freedom, diversity and opportunity.
And he should fire up women voters, the one voting block that rivals the size of the born-agains and tell them: "If you want to protect your right to choose, make sure you choose correctly in November."
· Philip James is a former senior Democratic party strategist
