Gary Bauer, for one, is beginning to see that he and the rest of the evangelical conservative movement
are being used:
Quote:"I'm not blaming the president, but religious conservatives have been doing politics for 25 years and, on every front, are worse off on things they care about," said Gary Bauer, president of American Values. "The gay rights movement is more powerful, the culture is more decadent, the life of not one baby has been saved, porn is in the living room, and you can't watch the Super Bowl without your hand on the off switch."
Now some of what Bauer said was wrong -- for instance, TiVo owners were more likely to have their hands on the rewind button during the Super Bowl halftime show. But he's generally on point.
Sure, this administration is much more conservative than any we've had since the 19th century, and when it comes to the divide between Bible and State, it might be
the most conservative ever. The federal bench has also grown more ideological, as the Nixon, Ford and Carter appointees die off or retire, leaving the judiciary under the domination of appointees from the administrations of Ronald Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II.
But Bauer is dead on about the "progress" he and his ilk have made; just look at the record. Since the early 90's the Supreme Court has upheld both
Roe v Wade and the use of affirmative action in college admissions, and it struck down state sodomy laws. More children attend daycare and more women work outside the home than ever, and most of them
prefer to work out of the home even if it's not necessary for maintaining their standard of living. "Will and Grace" is mainstream, and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is not just on cable any more. Social conservatives' crusade against the teaching of evolution has had little success (outside of Alabama). And knowing that gay and lesbian couples are running down to the San Francisco City Hall to get married hasn't filled me (or presumably anyone) else with a mad desire to file for divorce.
But those sinners in California pledging themselves to a lifetime of monogamy and loving commitment appear to be the
last straw for some:
Quote:Their list of grievances is long, but right now social conservatives are mad over what many consider the president's failure to strongly condemn illegal homosexual "marriages" being performed in San Francisco under the authority of Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Top religious rights activists have been burning up the telephone lines, sharing what one privately called their "apoplexy" over Mr. Bush's failure to act decisively on the issue, although he has said he would support a constitutional amendment if necessary to ban same-sex "marriages."
"I am just furious over what's going on in California and over what the president is not doing in California," a prominent evangelical leader confided. "He says he's 'troubled' -- he should be outraged. If he's troubled, he should pick up the phone and call [California Republican Gov.] Arnold [Schwarzenegger] and tell him we want action against the rogue mayor who is breaking the law."
"They can't possibly guarantee a large turnout of evangelical Christian voters if he does not do what is morally right and take leadership on this issue as he did on the war" in Iraq, said CWA President Sandy Rios.
She echoed other conservative leaders in blaming White House political advisers and not the president himself for the failure to move forcefully against San Francisco's civil disobedience. But the veteran activist and radio host said Mr. Bush could pay a steep price in November for following his strategists' bad advice.
See, Karl Rove is convinced that waning conservative enthusiasm for George H.W. Bush cost him the election in 1992, but he's wrong; it was Bush's inability to convince swing voters that he cared about their economic distress and would do something to fix the economy. (And Ross Perot didn't help, either.) But what's different now is that the Christian conservatives seem to be figuring out that the only reason they haven't gotten what they want after three years of the Republicans controlling all branches of government is that the Republicans won't deliver for them. I'm guessing it's because the Republicans -- starting with Karl Rove -- apparently have determined that they
can't give them everything they want and still control government (and maintaining control prevails).
If more religious conservatives have the scales fall from their eyes and see that they've sold their souls to the NeoFascists and gotten nothing but empty promises in return, then Karl Rove's fear of losing a wholesale bloc of Republican base might just come to pass.
If that happens in eight months, for progressives November 2nd will be a rapturous day. :wink:
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace