The Religious Right, the GOP and the Wimpy Principle

[Demeter]

http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/8/2/195828/1419


The Moral Majority was founded in 1979 by Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich and Howard Phillips. They were soon joined by others, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and Pat Buchanan to name a few. The purpose of the Moral Majority was to unify diverse religious voters into a malleable voting bloc, which could be used to promote a conservative Christian agenda. Richard Viguerie, in a May 19th, 2006 editorial in the Washington Post, claims that the conservative base was the deciding factor in every presidential election since 1974.

In 1974, conservatives were unhappy with the corruption and Big Government policies of Nixon's White House and with President Gerald R. Ford's selection of Rockefeller as his vice president, and this led to major Republican losses in the congressional races that year. By 1976, conservatives were fed up with Ford's adoption of Rockefeller's agenda, and Jimmy Carter was elected with the backing of Christian conservatives.

In 1992, conservatives were so unhappy with President George H.W. Bush's open disdain for them that they staged an open rebellion, first with the candidacy of Patrick J. Buchanan and then with Ross Perot. The result was an incumbent president receiving a paltry 37 percent of the vote. In 1998, conservatives were demoralized by congressional Republicans' wild spending and their backing away from conservative ideas. The result was an unexpected loss of seats in the House and the resignation of Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).

Yet, even though they were unhappy with the GOP's "wild spending," in 2000 the "religious right" threw their support behind George W. Bush. So much so that in 2004 Vigurie is noted as saying he supported President Bush "enthusiastically." Yet only a year later, by 2005, that support was beginning to ebb. Again from Viguerie's Washington Post editorial ...

In 2004, Republican leaders pleaded with conservatives -- particularly religious conservatives -- to register people to vote and help them turn out on Election Day. Those efforts strengthened Republicans in Congress and probably saved the Bush presidency. We were told: Just wait till the second term. Then, the president, freed of concern over reelection and backed by a Republican Congress, would take off the gloves and fight for the conservative agenda. Just wait.

We're still waiting.

Sixty-five months into Bush's presidency, conservatives feel betrayed.
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ARTICLE GOES ON TO EVALUATE CURRENT GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FROM THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT VIEWPOINT