Posted on 12/22/2015 5:24:57 PM PST by presidio9
In August 1980, Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan stood before a crowd of 15,000 evangelicals in Dallas, Texas, and declared: “I know you can’t endorse me. But...I want you to know that I endorse you.†Shortly thereafter, various leaders of what would become known as the religious right would endorse Reagan, and their support would help make him the 40th president of the United States.
In December 2015, several dozen religious right leaders gathered yet again—this time in secret, at a Sheraton hotel outside Washington, D.C.—to determine which candidate would earn their endorsement. After four rounds of balloting, one candidate finally emerged with the 75 percent supermajority of votes needed to earn the group’s support for the presidency. They passed over soft-spoken Ben Carson, beloved by many Christians, and former Southern Baptist Pastor Mike Huckabee, and then on the fifth round, several votes shifted and their favor fell upon Ted Cruz, the junior U.S. senator from Texas.
Can the support of conservative Christian leaders propel Cruz above the seemingly impervious Donald Trump and land him the Republican nomination? There are millions of evangelical Christians in America—up to a quarter of the electorate, depending on which definition you use—and they are joined by many conservative Catholics.
And yet, the nation has come a long way since 1980. The religious right of 2015 is just a shell of its former self in terms of both cultural influence and the ability to mobilize voters. The support of conservative Christian leaders is nothing to sneeze at, but it is not breathtaking, either. Cruz will need more than the support of this shrinking, aging, and mostly white niche to win the White House.
The Reagan-era religious right was similar to today’s movement in that it was mad as hell. Traditionalist Christians were reeling from
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
I pray that they do!
As Bob The Builder would say ‘Yes We Can.’
Happy Birthday Ted Cruz!
Nope. Too narrow of a base.
The Atlantic sneering at those ignorant Christians. Their circulation is only 400 thousand in a country of over 300 million, but they claim to be the mainstream.
Good thing Ted appeals to a wide range of voters, libertarians, independents...more...and without the Evangelical base, if they stay home no candidate will defeat Hillary.
GO TED!!!
Just like on FR, people are beginning to understand that this is a Cruz vs Trump battle and it is a good close fight.
Let the Rah Rah continue for your best choice... it looks to be a good fight.
illistrated = illustrated
I have been hearing about ‘the religious Right ‘ for years .... They were going to carry the day for McCain-Palin , then Romney-Ryan .
WE LOST every time ..... Just like I am not waiting for a Rapture to sort things out , we must get out the damn vote and shame anyone to hell , that thinks they would rather vote for another Democrat than Trump . I consider those to be grounds to tell anyone , even close family members ; “ If you do that I shall have nothing further to to do with you . Forever “ and mean it ....Ambivalent dipshits gave us Obama , twice . If they do it again , there needs to be a cost . A cost too terrible to bear .
YUP.
The single biggest voting bloc in the country.
More boots on the ground for GOTV than anyone else can imagine, already on the ground, in every single town.
The biggest and only independent media network that can rival the MSM.
Get the Christians excited and you’ve got it made. Piss them off, and you’ll lose. Simple as that.
No, the so-called religious right cannot since this is not now, nor is it likely to be an election on religion and morality.
If Cruz wins Iowa the eight days following will be decisive. I can see a number of candidates withdrawing at that point -it would not surprise me at all if Bush did. If that happens, Trump could easily lose New Hampshire.
A few weeks ago, I would have expected some Massachusetts liberal to try an "Operation Chaos" in the open NH primaries, but I talk to a lot of liberals in NYC. A month ago they were laughing at Trump as a candidate. Now they are terrified that he might actually win. I expect that they will mostly stay home in NH.
So that primary will be decided by Republican voters. As I said, it is still very possible that there were be an enormous shakeup on February 9th. There are three more Republican debates between now and then, presumably with less crowded statges.
No, they were not going to carry the day. Predictably. Two declared enemies of the Christian Right and the Christian Right is supposed to haul their water? Not going to happen.
You might ask what those candidates had to offer the Christians, not the other way around.
Ambivalent dipshits gave us Obama , twice . If they do it again , there needs to be a cost . A cost too terrible to bear .
ahhh. A lesser evil kind of guy. You got your 'cost too terrible to bear'. Next time, try supporting the Christians, and they'll support you. That's how it works. If the Christians don't like your guy, go find a different guy.
But you won't, because it's easier to blame them for not voting against their principles.
Every election is an exercise in religion and morality.
I sure hope these presstitutes keep up the insults to Christians, because it might inspire them to get off their duffs and love the democrats out, everywhere!
An estimated 5 million pubbies sat out 2012
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-winning-hispanic-vote-would-not-be-enough-for-gop/article/2528730
Nope, but they give the establishment a win.
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