Christians and the GOP

While getting my daily fill of Hugh Hewitt, I stumbled upon a really interesting New York Times editorial about the dominant role that conservative Christians are playing in the Republican Party. John Danforth more or less blames this large American faith group, which has become increasingly front and center on the political stage in recent years, for hijacking the GOP's agenda. By putting religious issues before traditional socio-economic ones, Danforth feels that Republicans have forgotten about the fundamentals that unite them as a party. I myself am not a Republican, but I do feel that Danforth is right on target on a number of things that I have observed (in the wake of the Terri Schiavo fiasco in particular).

High-profile Republican efforts to prolong the life of Ms. Schiavo, including departures from Republican principles like approving Congressional involvement in private decisions and empowering a federal court to overrule a state court, can rightfully be interpreted as yielding to the pressure of religious power blocs.

Exactly what I was thinking. I always felt that Republican politicians' stance on the issue really seemed to veer away from traditional party ideology. To me it was simple: the federal government is to have as little a role as possible in peoples' lives, whether that be in terms of "private decisions" or intervening in state legal matters. In any case, the influence of right-wing Christian fundamentalists is obvious.

I like the way Danforth wraps things up...

During the 18 years I served in the Senate, Republicans often disagreed with each other. But there was much that held us together. We believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation and regulation. We encouraged the private sector, so that a free economy might thrive. We believed that judges should interpret the law, not legislate. We were internationalists who supported an engaged foreign policy, a strong national defense and free trade. These were principles shared by virtually all Republicans.

But in recent times, we Republicans have allowed this shared agenda to become secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.

All too true. When is the last time present-day Republicans did a thing about the federal deficit? Wasn't "conservatism" applicable to fiscal matters at one point? Of course, I am not pro-gay marriage either, but I certainly think that there are more important issues on the table right now that should be addressed first and foremost. The fact that my generation is basically left with the largest bill to pay in history is a bit disconcerting. Like the saying goes, "the last one at the party gets stuck with the check." And I think my ride just left...