Posted on 05/17/2006 12:15:13 AM PDT by Ranald S. MacKenzie
President Bush is an easy target these days. Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing and even Bush’s loyal supporters are taking the opportunity to pile-on. Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and other evangelical leaders are criticizing the president for inaction on social issues dear to their hearts and threatening to withhold their support in the November elections.
While the threat seems intimidating at first glance, the concept of staying home in November carries little long-term consequences for President Bush and Republicans but virtually certain consequences for the very issues social conservatives wish to promote.
First, President Bush is not on the ballot in November. Evangelicals patted themselves on the back in 2004 for reelecting the president, returning the House GOP majority, and taking over the U.S. Senate. Evangelicals demanded credit, recognition, attention, and action on their issues.
Conservative evangelicals were promptly disappointed with the president for not taking strong action to prohibit gay marriage. It shouldn’t be a big surprise since he only paid lip service to the issue during his first four years in office.
Now, President Bush has no real electoral reason to cower to evangelical threats, because he won’t be on a ballot ever again. So, by attempting to punish Bush in November by staying home, evangelicals will actually punish conservatives like Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sen. George Allen (R-VA), Cong. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Cong. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), Cong. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), and others who could be sent packing by voters instead.
Note to evangelicals: it will be harder to get your agenda passed by exercising a strategy that allows political friends to be defeated for reelection. Then you’re left with an uncooperative and unpopular president, minorities in Congress, and no friends in those minorities.
On a macro-level, Republicans are already in danger of losing their majorities, but dismal turnout by base Republicans will make Democratic takeovers near-certainties. Then, conservative evangelicals would have no hope of getting their issues passed and would be lucky to get a meeting with the new majority, let alone private nurturing.
And with a Republican minority, conservative evangelicals will have to wait for 2008 and moderate-talking Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to ride in on a white horse and trumpet conservative social issues he has never championed in his life.
Conservative evangelicals find themselves in a political predicament of their own creation. They have chosen to put all of their eggs in the Republican basket. But now that President Bush is as popular as the bird flu, they have nowhere to go. Instead of utilizing the incredible diversity and potential of the one-quarter of the U.S. population that calls themselves evangelicals, the movement’s leaders have chosen to paint themselves into a partisan corner.
So, while Republicans could suffer significant losses at the polls in November, they are in no real danger of losing the largest section of their base to the Democratic Party. Conservative evangelical leaders are determined to control the Republican Party instead of expanding their influence into both parties. That’s also why Democrats shouldn’t read too much into any electoral gains this fall. Democratic gains will be a result of President Bush’s lousy job numbers, not the effectiveness of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean’s embarrassing outreach to evangelicals.
The current rhetoric of Dobson, Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, and others shows a complete misunderstanding of the political environment. President Bush is not broadly unpopular because he has failed to ban same-sex marriage.
Yet, conservative evangelicals continue to press him to do so.
With the War in Iraq and increasing threats from Iran, if President Bush were to spend all of his time and energy on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, he would simply look silly, and his job approval ratings would likely plummet even further.
The idea of “staying home” to punish the Republican Party is absurd. For conservative evangelicals to tout the fundamental need for freedom and democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, but simply ignore their own opportunity to vote here in America is hypocritical.
For too many conservative evangelicals, the message appears to be: if you don’t get what you want, stay home. Apparently, to some of these evangelical leaders, the best way to win the political game is to take themselves out of it. That makes little sense in today’s world, or in today’s politics.
That would be ignorant if they did that IMO.
That would be like donating to Satanic cults to show how much you love Christians.
I agree not supporting Republicans would be like shooting your own foot. Bush and Republican Senators that aren't up for reelection seem to be the problem at this stage of the game. Possible solutions are give the Dems Bush to impeach and recall the problem Senators.
How do you give the Democrats Bush to impeach, I didn't get that part?
And if there was a big desire to recall Senators, then why aren't they recalled like Gray Davis was as Governor?
There is not a big call to recall Senators, and there is nothing to impeach Bush on. I'm just spouting off.
Good article. We need to stick together and advance our conservative adgenda. I won't be sitting out this coming election.
Some FReepers would be wise to read this article.
There was an analysis posted yesterday of who would suffer if we sat home in November, and it would be some of the most conservative Senators and Reps, with the exception of Shays and a few others. So the "boycott" would in fact leave RINOs in and toss out conservatives. That WOULD be giving the Dems Bush to impeach.
So I agree, the suggestion IS idiotic in the extreme, but I don't understand the surprise--supposed conservatives around here are calling for action (or inaction) that would do just that on a daily basis around here.
P.S. Regarding MS's "the Guard is the bait" tagline comment: Gee, I could have sworn the Guard is what everyone around here was asking for all along. And then today Cheney talks up a wall, or the more reality-grounded version (a number of walls and fences).
That sure shows the mentality around here: Bush gives us what we ask for, what a liar he is!
The left is no longer a place where Christian thesis (which is correct behavior according to the Word of God) could have any say., the left is antithesis- a "whatever feels good", or picking and choosing of what scripture to extrapolate at the very best is all that could be achieved. That is dangerous and destroys the church, so why promote that in government.
The evangelists aren't that stupid to divide their power and make themselves even weaker. They'll just do a little picking and choosing themselves, get rid of the rino's and put in someone else who keeps their word. Eventually the numbers will be there.
Don't you think Mexico is already unstable? The President said the border patrol turned back 3 million people. I understand all of them were probably not Mexican, but even if it was 2 million I'd say there's a problem.
If you're referring to the interview with Rush, Cheney did so begrudgingly and talked more about a virtual wall.
The people calling for staying home/voting fringe, are not only political naifs, but not CONSERVATIVES! Conservatism is not supposed to be supported by emotional, childish, non-thinkers; that's the Dems.
I can't figure out the cavailing around here, either. The president gave them what they said they wanted, but now they say it's NOT what they wanted at all. Now, they say it's not enough. Oh course it's not enough; NOTHING is ever "enough" for them.
I should add that it's one thing to get elected (and we elect more than a president) and it's another to stay there. Campaign $$$ are important if someone in the house or senate wants to stay there, so they have to listen to who puts them there.
The President is only ONE person with a veto. Bills are put through and amendments are made by a majority effort.
Fox is at the end of his term. There is soon to be an election in Mexico and one of the candidates is much like Chavez. So no, Mexico could get a whole lot less stable.
I read hsi words, in print, and he will be held accountable for them, I don't you to spin for the Minutemen.
I actually told someone I wasn't coming around here anymore today, but I figured, Why let those idiots chase me off?
But as of right now, I am no longer bothering to pander to these SAVAGE!Weiners. They bitch, they whine, and when the discussion with Bush BEGINS they start by calling him a liar, instead of saying "OK, now we're talking, this is a good beginning now let's explore what we think is really needed."
These are not serious people, and those of us who think they're a bunch of babies have to start pointing that out to them and not giving them a cookie everytime they start crying. They run on emotion and hate and get off on calling the President of the US at a time of war a liar, Jorge, etc.
The rest of us around here have been far, far too appeasing to these jerks. I can't tell you how many times I've posted or discussed information and facts and got no response or childish "Gotcha!" crap over tiny details.
They can all stand out in the desert with their Red Ryder BB Guns and claim to be the only ones who REALLY care about America, as they have so casually spouted for a month now, while the rest of us will discuss REAL solutions, like the employer-based one I was talking about today.
The SAVAGE!Weiners have gotten their last attempt at civility they will be getting from me. From now on I treat them as the illogical, self-loathing, ignorant whiners they are.
I try to just post facts, in the hope that some will finally manage to get through to them; but, reality is something which they are incapable of grasping.
I have resigned from the Trying To Reason contingent after their retarded reaction to Bush's speech. He is the President of the US, for ALL of us, not just some goofballs who have meetings in their cellars on Tuesday nights to talk about revolution while the wife is at prayer meeting.
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