Evangelicals may face choice: electable candidate or 'moral' one
http://dervishcom.blogspot.com/2012/01/evangelicals-may-face-choice-electable.html
SHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Bible is filled with scoundrels turned good.
Noah was a mean drunk, Moses a murderer, King David an adulterer and then a murderer.
That didn't stop them from being biblical heroes.
So evangelical voters may be willing to support a presidential candidate with a checkered past, and this presidential election, they may have to choose between a candidate who can win and a candidate who mirrors their religious ideals.
They're likely to remain some of the strongest Republican voters -- a spot they've held at least since the Reagan era. But this time, there's no George W. Bush, said Richard Land, president of the Nashville, Tenn.-based Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
"When you had George W. Bush, you had someone who was an evangelical who had the moral character and was electable," he said. "The ones they like the most seem the least electable."
Those would be Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, both evangelicals but becoming also-rans.
Former front-runner and businessman Herman Cain dropped out over alleged adultery, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a pair of failed marriages in his past.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have squeaky-clean personal lives, but Romney's Mormon faith is seen as heretical, and Santorum -- along with Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul -- isn't seen as electable over the long haul.
Republican voter Lee Douglas of Brentwood, Tenn., said character is one reason he switched his support to Santorum once Bachmann suspended her campaign. Santorum's strong showing in the Iowa caucuses has made him a more legitimate candidate for some evangelicals.
Douglas said a candidate's morals will shape how he governs.
"He is devoted to his wife and family. That kind of devotion has an effect on his policies," Douglas said. "I am a Santorum man."
Morality matters
In the 2008 presidential election, a Pew Research Center exit poll showed that white evangelicals made up 26 percent of voters. They voted for Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by 74 percent to 24 percent.
Robert Jones, CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute, said personal morality is a huge issue for those voters.
The institute polled U.S. voters about the personal ethics of politicians during the scandal involving former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner. About two-thirds of evangelicals said they couldn't separate a politician's personal life from his ability to govern.
"They tend to draw a straight line between fidelity and being trustworthy in public office," Jones said.
Because their faith claims that sinners can be forgiven, evangelicals also believe in giving people second chances, said David Fowler, president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee.
If a political candidate has admitted his faults and changed his ways, then evangelicals are willing to forgive him, Fowler said.
"We need to give credence to the fact that people are not perfect," Fowler said. "Grace should be extended when there is a change in behavior."
What evangelicals want most of all is a candidate who shares their values and whom they can trust, Fowler said. They are concerned, he said, about finding the balance between the best candidate and one who can win.
In 2008, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, won the Iowa caucuses. But since he was seen as a weaker candidate than John McCain, evangelicals never rallied around Huckabee, Fowler said, and McCain lost anyway.
Leaders to meet
Some evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, plan to meet Friday at the Texas ranch of Paul Pressler, a prominent Southern Baptist and former Texas appeals court judge. Pressler was one of the leaders of the conservative movement that took over the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s and 1990s.
Robert Parham, president of the Nashville-based Baptist Center for Ethics and a frequent critic of the Religious Right, said the Texas meeting shows evangelical leaders are worried about losing their hold on the Republican Party.
Since many evangelicals are critical of Mormons, Parham said, they won't have much access to a Romney White House, even though Romney shares many of their values.
"This is not about core values," he said. "This is about access to political power."
Noah was a mean drunk, Moses a murderer, King David an adulterer and then a murderer.
That didn't stop them from being biblical heroes.
So evangelical voters may be willing to support a presidential candidate with a checkered past, and this presidential election, they may have to choose between a candidate who can win and a candidate who mirrors their religious ideals.
They're likely to remain some of the strongest Republican voters -- a spot they've held at least since the Reagan era. But this time, there's no George W. Bush, said Richard Land, president of the Nashville, Tenn.-based Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
"When you had George W. Bush, you had someone who was an evangelical who had the moral character and was electable," he said. "The ones they like the most seem the least electable."
Those would be Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, both evangelicals but becoming also-rans.
Former front-runner and businessman Herman Cain dropped out over alleged adultery, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a pair of failed marriages in his past.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have squeaky-clean personal lives, but Romney's Mormon faith is seen as heretical, and Santorum -- along with Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul -- isn't seen as electable over the long haul.
Republican voter Lee Douglas of Brentwood, Tenn., said character is one reason he switched his support to Santorum once Bachmann suspended her campaign. Santorum's strong showing in the Iowa caucuses has made him a more legitimate candidate for some evangelicals.
Douglas said a candidate's morals will shape how he governs.
"He is devoted to his wife and family. That kind of devotion has an effect on his policies," Douglas said. "I am a Santorum man."
Morality matters
In the 2008 presidential election, a Pew Research Center exit poll showed that white evangelicals made up 26 percent of voters. They voted for Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by 74 percent to 24 percent.
Robert Jones, CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute, said personal morality is a huge issue for those voters.
The institute polled U.S. voters about the personal ethics of politicians during the scandal involving former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner. About two-thirds of evangelicals said they couldn't separate a politician's personal life from his ability to govern.
"They tend to draw a straight line between fidelity and being trustworthy in public office," Jones said.
Because their faith claims that sinners can be forgiven, evangelicals also believe in giving people second chances, said David Fowler, president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee.
If a political candidate has admitted his faults and changed his ways, then evangelicals are willing to forgive him, Fowler said.
"We need to give credence to the fact that people are not perfect," Fowler said. "Grace should be extended when there is a change in behavior."
What evangelicals want most of all is a candidate who shares their values and whom they can trust, Fowler said. They are concerned, he said, about finding the balance between the best candidate and one who can win.
In 2008, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, won the Iowa caucuses. But since he was seen as a weaker candidate than John McCain, evangelicals never rallied around Huckabee, Fowler said, and McCain lost anyway.
Leaders to meet
Some evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, plan to meet Friday at the Texas ranch of Paul Pressler, a prominent Southern Baptist and former Texas appeals court judge. Pressler was one of the leaders of the conservative movement that took over the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s and 1990s.
Robert Parham, president of the Nashville-based Baptist Center for Ethics and a frequent critic of the Religious Right, said the Texas meeting shows evangelical leaders are worried about losing their hold on the Republican Party.
Since many evangelicals are critical of Mormons, Parham said, they won't have much access to a Romney White House, even though Romney shares many of their values.
"This is not about core values," he said. "This is about access to political power."
