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WHAT VALUES VOTERS VALUE.
Another element of the straw poll results came up at the press conference. When they said that the top four issues for "values voters" were life, marriage, tax cuts, and permanent tax relief for families, what they actually meant was that those were the top four among the narrow range voters were allowed to pick from. Each voter got to pick one issue from a list of 12 selected by the FRC that they considered their biggest priority. Other issues they listed were things like stem cell research, public display of the 10 commandments, and school prayer. Conspicuously not included: the Iraq War, national security, poverty, or environmental stewardship or "creation care" as evangelicals have termed it. These are some of the issues that the recent CBS poll found to be top concerns for a number of evangelicals and social conservatives in general.
According to an FRC representative: "We put the issues that we as an organization have worked on."
--Kate Sheppard
COMMENTS (7)
So... they could only choose twelve issues to put on this ballot and they decided to make "tax cuts" and "extra super awesome tax cuts" take up two slots?
I guess they need to make up something to put on the ballot in place of the aqIray arWay, but then why have twelve slots? We do, after all, use a base-ten number system.
Posted by: rufustfyrfly | October 20, 2007 9:53 PM
Duh...one issue per apostle.
Posted by: Sabutai | October 20, 2007 10:32 PM
Jeez, even their fucking polls are stupid.
Posted by: CJR | October 21, 2007 5:42 PM
There has been a coalition in the conservative movement for years, between a more populist sentiment against cosmopolitan social values like abortion-on-demand, or gay marriage, and the "libertarian" wing, which pushes "free market"---read Wall Street---economics. It's called "fusionism"...and it's reaching it's stretching point, as the "libertarian" wing is NOT generally socially conservative.
Increasingly, the same folks who are resentful of having cosmopolitan/elitist social values on gay marriage, sexuality and family, abortion-on-demand, are the ones who are also hit the hardest by globalization, outsourcing, and transfers of wealth from working folks to the CEO classes via "outsourcing" and "downsizing" policies of the "libertarian" wing.
If this coalition breaks, it will be the end of the Republican Party dominance of the congress and presidency, which is the big news that the Democrats aren't realizing. By being the party of the "blue" state social values, the Demcorats are shooting themselves in the foot.
Posted by: Joe Populist | October 22, 2007 9:49 AM
By being the party of the "blue" state social values, the Demcorats are shooting themselves in the foot.
So the Dems should abandon gays and abortion rights? I have a better idea. Let's continue to support those things and let the Republicans continue to try and win with a white, rural, southern, male constituency that is shrinking year-by-year.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 22, 2007 11:17 AM
May I assume, then, that Joe Populist also favors all those other blue state values that have majority support, too, like racial equality?
Gay people are far less likely to vote the lesser of the evils and far more likely to split ballots instead than minority groups who have gone before them. They are fiercely loyal to those who are loyal to them but not fools who will let themselves be taken for granted by those who are not.
Think you can win in this era of ultra-close elections without doing right by them? Think again.
Posted by: Marla Randolph Stevens | October 22, 2007 5:10 PM
"So... they could only choose twelve issues to put on this ballot and they decided to make "tax cuts" and "extra super awesome tax cuts" take up two slots?"
Of course they did-- Dobson etc, and their funders, make a lot of money! Money politics and class subjugation is no different on the religious right than it is in the broader population.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 23, 2007 11:12 AM