Saturday, May 20, 2006
Saturday Morning Fish Fry
Midterm Elections * Liberal Christians
Is Bush dragging the GOP down ? The much sought-after presidential coattail has lost its appeal for many GOP incumbents fighting to retain their seats. "VIRGINIA BEACH, May 19 -- When some of the country's top political handicappers drew up their charts of vulnerable House incumbents at the beginning of this year, Rep. Thelma D. Drake (R-Va.) was not among them. Now she is."
- President Bush carried her district with 58 percent of the vote in 2004, but strategists say his travails are part of the reason the freshman lawmaker now has a fight on her hands. He swooped into town briefly Friday for a closed-door fundraiser for Drake but made no public appearances.
- Some veterans of the 1994 GOP takeover of Congress see worrisome parallels between then and now, in the way once-safe districts are turning into potential problems. Incumbents' poll numbers have softened. Margins against their Democratic opponents have narrowed. Republican voters appear disenchanted. The Bush effect now amounts to a drag of five percentage points or more in many districts.
Encouraging. If only the Democrats don't get carried away by the polls and lose a sense of balance. When it comes to grandstanding, the Democratic leadership isn't much different than those on the other side of the aisle.
Christianity in America - Emergence of Religious Liberals
According to a report in the Post, liberals in the Christian community are making their presence felt. The conservative Christians found a champion in the White House. The president cynically courted them and together they subdued Christians who felt uncomfortable with what was taking place. "Long overshadowed by the Christian right, religious liberals across a wide swath of denominations are engaged today in their most intensive bout of political organizing and alliance-building since the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the 1960s, according to scholars, politicians and clergy members."
- In large part, the revival of the religious left is a reaction against conservatives' success in the 2004 elections in equating moral values with opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
- Religious liberals say their faith compels them to emphasize such issues as poverty, affordable health care and global warming. Disillusionment with the war in Iraq and opposition to Bush administration policies on secret prisons and torture have also fueled the movement.
The winds, they are changing.
