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Message
Evangelicals in Republican Party are feeling left out, see no standard-bearer
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:00 pm
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:00 pm
quote:
LITTLETON, Colo. — Perched on the edge of his chair in a study overflowing with books, Pastor Gino Geraci reels off the Republicans he no longer believes in. His friend Mike Huckabee is an “odd bird” who couldn’t win a general election. Sarah Palin doesn’t inspire him with her “cliched responses to difficult questions.” Rand Paul is “fascinating but frustrating.”
Of all the Republicans weighing a bid for president in 2016, the only one who puts a smile on Geraci’s face is doctor-turned-conservative-media-darling Ben Carson. And yet, Geraci concedes, Carson is “not in the mainstream” and has little chance of ever being elected.
The assessment from Geraci, the founding pastor of Calvary South Denver, a sprawling evangelical church with several thousand congregants, reflects a broader sense of despair among white evangelicals about the Republican Party many once considered their comfortable home.
Many social conservatives say they feel politically isolated as the country seems to be hurtling to the left, with marijuana now legal in Colorado and gay marriage gaining ground across the nation. They feel out of place in a GOP increasingly dominated by tea party activists and libertarians who prefer to focus on taxes and the role of government and often disagree with social conservatives on drugs or gay rights.
Meanwhile, the list of possible front-runners for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination includes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has a limited relationship with evangelical activists, and the libertarian-leaning Paul, the senator from Kentucky who only recently began reaching out to social conservatives. One prominent establishment favorite weighing a bid, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), is a supporter of legal same-sex marriage who claims his views on the issue could help him and his party appeal to younger voters.
quote:
Discontent among evangelicals could have implications for the GOP next year as campaigning for the presidential nomination escalates in early-voting states such as Iowa, where social conservatives are a major bloc. Their presence could complicate matters for top-tier candidates such as Christie and Paul who want to remain viable in a general election but will feel pressure to appeal to religious voters. A surge of support for more fiery contenders such as Carson or former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) could turn candidate debates into a spectacle while pulling everyone to the right, affecting the party’s image more broadly.
Even if social conservatives turn out this year to support like-minded candidates for Congress and help propel the GOP into the Senate majority, they could just as easily decide to sit out a presidential race if they feel the party again has produced a nominee who does not represent their interests.
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Once again they don't understand that not everybody agrees with them and their view of morality and when they try to push candidates that will legislate morality, they'll always get a backlash. It's just like when liberals try to push gun control and they always get their asses handed to them. They don't understand they're making it very hard for the GOP to win general elections.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:02 pm to Sentrius
quote:
Evangelicals in Republican Party are feeling left out
Good
quote:
see no standard-bearer
Even better.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:05 pm to Sentrius
Yup. Libertarians are concentrating on things that matter (role of government, taxes, economic freedom) and agreeing that certain social issues should be accepted like mj and gay marriage.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:05 pm to Sentrius
quote:
Once again they don't understand that not everybody agrees with them and their view of morality and when they try to push candidates that will legislate morality, they'll always get a backlash. It's just like when liberals try to push gun control and they always get their asses handed to them. They don't understand they're making it very hard for the GOP to win general elections.
I think this is overstated a bit. There is a large portion of the democratic base that will vote for the party even though they likely agree with the evangelical wing of the Republican party on legislating morality. Mitt Romney, for instance, was not looking to legislate morality in the slightest. He ran on foreign policy and economic issues and still lost.
This post was edited on 8/19/14 at 4:06 pm
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:07 pm to TK421
quote:
There is a large portion of the democratic base that will vote for the party even though they likely agree with the evangelical wing of the Republican party on legislating morality.
there are some, but "large portion" is pushing it
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:08 pm to Sentrius
quote:
Once again they don't understand that not everybody agrees with them and their view of morality and when they try to push candidates that will legislate morality, they'll always get a backlash.
You can say that about almost anyone.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:09 pm to Sentrius
At least they can admit Huckabee is "an odd bird."
I am so pleased at the notion of having a potential Republican candidate whose platform is not predicated on pandering to evangelicals. They need to get over themselves and recognize that their religious ideals aren't the supreme tenets of the conservative movement.
I am so pleased at the notion of having a potential Republican candidate whose platform is not predicated on pandering to evangelicals. They need to get over themselves and recognize that their religious ideals aren't the supreme tenets of the conservative movement.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:10 pm to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
there are some, but "large portion" is pushing it
What portion of the democratic party is black? What is the consensus in that demographic with regards to gay marriage, for instance?
Furthermore, what percentage of the democratic party cared that Obama was against gay marriage and the legalization of drugs when he ran for president in 2008?
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:12 pm to TK421
quote:
What portion of the democratic party is black?
a good bit in the south, not nearly as much when you look nationwide.
quote:
what percentage of the democratic party cared that Obama was against gay marriage and the legalization of drugs when he ran for president in 2008?
i don't think this really has anything to do with anything. that was one of like 3 things i didn't agree with obama on when he first ran.
he came out for gay marriage before the 2012 election and got more votes than he did in 2008
This post was edited on 8/19/14 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:12 pm to ChewyDante
quote:
I am so pleased at the notion of having a potential Republican candidate whose platform is not predicated on pandering to evangelicals. They need to get over themselves and recognize that their religious ideals aren't the supreme tenets of the conservative movement.
its a long time between now and 2016. The social base will impact the election, especially in IA.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:14 pm to Sentrius
Why would a Christian look to Washington for a standard bearer? I want a President and government that just leaves me alone.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:15 pm to TK421
quote:
What portion of the democratic party is black? What is the consensus in that demographic with regards to gay marriage, for instance?
about 25% but not all of them are social conservatives.
btw - this was the angle the dems used in the 90s about the republicans. Social conservatives would be better off with our economic policies. It didn't work. Not that you are suggesting that but its relevant.
quote:
Furthermore, what percentage of the democratic party cared that Obama was against gay marriage and the legalization of drugs when he ran for president in 2008?
I think its a comparison state. Was HRC pro gay marriage and legalization of drugs (don't think so). what about mccain? (definitely not).
So if both candidates are against those issue, what choice do you have? 3rd party is it.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:17 pm to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
i don't think this really has anything to do with anything.
Why do you say that? He was in agreement with Rick Santorum on those issues.
Social issues may help drive turnout, but I fail to see any evidence that typical evangelical issues are at the root of the Republican party's national problems.
What libertarians are missing in all of this, I fear, is the fact that a Republican will not win the presidency without the evangelical vote. I can easily envision a situation where a hard core libertarian snags the nomination, evangelicals vote for someone else like Rick Santorum, and Warren becomes president.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:19 pm to TK421
quote:
What is the consensus in that demographic with regards to gay marriage, for instance?
Last polling I saw had it around 40% approval, but trending up at about the same rate as other demographics.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:20 pm to Sentrius
quote:
social conservatives say they feel politically isolated as the country seems to be hurtling to the left, with marijuana now legal in Colorado and gay marriage gaining ground across the nation
They can continue to weep tears of bitterness and rage whilst sliding further into irrelevance. Few will care.
This post was edited on 8/19/14 at 4:21 pm
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:20 pm to TK421
quote:
There is a large portion of the democratic base that will vote for the party even though they likely agree with the evangelical wing of the Republican party on legislating morality.
It's the collective, big tent nature of the democratic party and that doesn't exist in the GOP.
They may agree with legislating morality but not the morality that evangelical want.
quote:
Mitt Romney, for instance, was not looking to legislate morality in the slightest. He ran on foreign policy and economic issues and still lost.
Hence why they are making life difficult for the GOP and impeding libertarians from making any real progress in the GOP ranks.
Posted on 8/19/14 at 4:21 pm to TK421
quote:
Social issues may help drive turnout, but I fail to see any evidence that typical evangelical issues are at the root of the Republican party's national problems.
They aren't. It's just the people that are in favor of these issues what republicans to think they are so that they'll "just drop it".
It's funny all the so called libertarians who will say gay marriage doesn't matter but then state they won't vote for anyone who's against it. If it truly doesn't matter to you then you shouldn't care if a politician is for or against it.
Oh and also why does weed and gays keep getting lumped together? Can't you be for one and not for the other?
This post was edited on 8/19/14 at 4:22 pm
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