Posted by
JRMatheny on Friday, October 05, 2007 10:15:33 AM
Donald Lambro calls them "social issues." Pat Buchanan calls them "social and cultural issues." For some, those are good tags. Considering the weak support evangelicals give to them, in spite of their talk, they are probably fairly accurate.But for others, these are misnomers, for they are in truth non-negotiable moral issues, just as conservative principles of limited government are supposed to be to the Republican Party. It's all too true that many so-called Christians vote more with their pocketbook than with their conscience. Others, even at the cost of losing an election, from frustrations of betrayal by a long string of double-talking candidates, will stick to their convictions.But let's be reasonable, we're told. Since no candidate is perfect, we should take what we can get. With that kind of thinking, we'll always get not only the imperfect, but the deeply flawed. Lowered expectations yield bitter fruits.
If the religious conservatives are becoming less of a force within the Republican Party, it is because they feel betrayed and their commitment to the party is nearing the breaking point. Many will continue to take what they can get and be content; others will vote even for Hillary thinking Bill was responsible for bringing us a good economy.
A significant number of religious conservatives, however, has had it with the empty promises of politics and will either sit out another election, opt out completely or take a narrower road with a third party, whose success will be doubtful but whose principles, they hope, will be clearer. Better a loss with integrity than playing the fool again to lose in the win.